The Mountain Races Podcast

Day two of the inaugural Taurus Mountain Race, and the field has well and truly spread out. A night of thunderstorms has left riders scraping peanut-butter mud from their tyres. Some slept on mosque verandas, in goat sheds and under concrete shelters. Others found a warm welcome from strangers, including a Syrian refugee family offering tea, dry clothes and a litter of kittens. We catch riders pushing up the hike-a-bike before CP1, chat with others as they head back out from the checkpoint, and follow them through the cedar forests and up onto the yaylas.

Riders featured in this episode:
John Roe — Cap 161
Tori Riemersma — Cap 159
Justine Rondeau — Cap 162
Blair Blackwell — Cap 15
Gürkan Alarçin — Cap 2
Catherine de Medici Jaffee — Cap 36
Lucas Le Glaunec — Cap 108
Steven Petrar — Cap 149
Melina Boening — Cap 16
Maarten Vanhaverbeke — Cap 203
Leanne Bentley — Cap 11
Maxi Unger — Cap 199
Merlijn Sluiter — Cap 177
Svenja Betz — Cap 13
Rogan Martin — Cap 117
Emma Bateup — Cap 10
Jacob Dugdale — Cap 46

Follow the dots here.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Music by Visal

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races

Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex, Tailfin, Supernova and STYRKR.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first Taurus Mountain Race gets a baptism of rain, with 100 millimetres forecast for the first 24 hours. In places the track has turned to thick, sticky mud. We hear from riders as they settle into the adventure ahead.

Riders featured in this episode:
Lorenzo Carraro — Cap 22
Daniil Sadomskij — Cap 167
Marco Sartori — Cap 303B
Jost Litzen — Cap 113
Christian Dupraz — Cap 48
Hannah Simon — Cap 175
Josh Ibbett — Cap 82
Steven Davis — Cap 35
Chris Mehlman — Cap 122
Joachim Maclean — Cap 115
Sebastian Sarx — Cap 169
Sean Geivett — Cap 312A
Emma Missale — Cap 312B
Stefan Haehnel — Cap 70
Grzegorz Sowa — Cap 181
Nicholas Hulse — Cap 80
Eric House — Cap 79

Follow the dots here.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Music by Visal

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races

Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex, Tailfin, Supernova and STYRKR.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin our race coverage in Antalya, where the Taurus Mountains rise straight out of the Mediterranean, for registration day at the inaugural Taurus Mountain Race. Riders trickle in throughout the day outside The Beaver, a coffee shop on the beachfront boardwalk, collecting trackers and race caps while storm clouds gather over the mountains. With the route only revealed 48 hours ago and 100mm of rain in the forecast, the mood is equal parts excitement and nerves. We hear from first-timers and old friends from past Mountain Races, ahead of what will no doubt be an exciting first edition.

Riders featured in this episode:

Stephen Fitzgerald — Cap 56
David Hornick — Cap 77
Jochen Böhringer — Cap 17
Rufus Wenlock — Cap 208
Karen Ekman — Cap 51
Alexander Kopp — Cap 99
Joachim Maclean — Cap 115
Bengt Stiller — Cap 186
Emma Bateup — Cap 10
Paul Creusvaux — Cap 30
Sinan Kargi — Cap 89
Svenja Betz — Cap 13
Katrien De Smet — Cap 37
Chris Mehlman — Cap 122
Sean Greene — Cap 66
Conan Thai — Cap 194
Jacob Hora — Cap 317A
Jay Petervary — Cap 317B
Claire Stevens — Cap 185

Follow the dots here.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Music by Visal

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races

Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex, Tailfin, Supernova and STYRKR.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not long now until the start of the inaugural Taurus Mountain Race…

With the route under wraps until 11th October and little known about what lies ahead, follow our race coverage for a full taste of what’s in store.

Follow @taurusmountainrace on Instagram for daily visual updates, and subscribe to The Mountain Races Podcast wherever you listen for daily episodes from the trail.

Racing begins in Antalya at 9AM local time on Wednesday 14th October. Follow the dots here.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Music by Visal

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races

Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex, Tailfin, Supernova and STYRKR.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The clock has finally wound down. After more than fourteen days, 2,060 kilometres and 38,000 metres of climbing, the 2026 Silk Road Mountain Race comes to an end on the shores of Issyk-Kul, at the finish line at Hotel Zeto. Riders roll in sun-weathered, filthy and running on empty — five spokes gone and a wheel rebuilt in Bishkek, blistered hands from one last descent of sand and cobbles, a phone broken on day two, a mascot named Beaker who's been everywhere and never had a wash. We greet them as they arrive on the final day of racing.

Riders featured in this episode:
Walter Mayerhofer — Cap 109
Luke Patch — Cap 125
Nina Holtrup — Cap 212A
Verena Walter — Cap 212B
Frank Soll — Cap 161
Avri Beach — Cap 15
Thomas Quirk — Cap 136
Matthew Franklin — Cap 59

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races

Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.