The Mountain Races Podcast

We begin the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race in Talas, a small town tucked in a green valley in Kyrgyzstan's far northwest, walled off from the rest of the country by mountains and best known as the birthplace of the hero Manas. We hear from riders on Registration Day before they embark into the mountains.

Riders featured:
Avri Beach — Cap 15
Lajos Köves — Cap 97
Rob MacLennan — Cap 104
Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53
Doug Dunlop — Cap 51
Leonie Leitgeb — Cap 99
Justinas Leveika — Cap 100
Sofiane Sehili — Cap 157
Sara Bukies — Cap 29
Lois Hunter — Cap 214A
Jonathan Quarrie — Cap 214B

Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.

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.

Silk Road Mountain Race begins 15th August, 2026 at 09:00 local time. Beginning in Tala and finishing on the shores of Issyk-Kul in Cholpon Ata, riders will embark on a route of over 2000km and 35,000m in elevation — the longest route to date. We'll be on the ground throughout the racing, bringing you visual updates on Instagram and our daily race podcast.

Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cynthia Carson, women's winner of Hellenic Mountain Race 2026, fell violently ill on the opening hike-a-bike over Smolikas — what she calls the hardest thing she's ever done. With 700km still to go, she was forced to recalibrate and what follows was a masterclass in relentless self-care, patience, and perhaps a record quantity of glasses of milk consumed.

Read the interview

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Riese took the overall win at Hellenic Mountain Race 2026 by just 24 minutes, after a knife's-edge battle with his friend and rival Marc Büchel in the final days. We get into the obsessive route prep, a hailstorm that tipped him toward hypothermia, the full-compromise bike, and the metal-and-drum-and-bass playlist that carried him to the line.

Read the interview

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final episode of our Hellenic Mountain Race coverage. We hear from riders at the finish line about their journey, and everything that they learned along the way.

Riders featured in this episode:
Daniel Magrizos — Cap 40
Colombine Courouble — Cap 33
Jeff Hehn — Cap 214A
Efthymios Tsipouras — Cap 43
John Roe — Cap 86
Christina Chappetta — Cap 206A
Sabrina Ste-Marie — Caps 206B
Giannis Adamoudis — Cap 66

Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.

Production & hosting by Mel Webb
Sound design by Ben Crannell

Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.