The Mountain Races Podcast

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.

The race clock is ticking into its final twenty-four hours, and time has gone strange — seconds stretching into hours, hours vanishing in the blink of an eye. High on Ükök Pass, the media team hikes to 3,920 metres alongside riders bouldering their loaded bikes up gray scree toward a hard blue sky, some doing the climb twice to carry bikes and bags separately. Beyond it lie Kegeti, the bonus climbs of Kokorik, and finally the shores of Issyk-Kul. We hear from riders all over the map as they navigate the final days of this year's race.

Riders featured in this episode:

Anirudh Dagar — Cap 41
Toon Roebben — Cap 147
Tom Baker — Cap 201A
Adam Carlson — Cap 201B
Andrew Poynter — Cap 134
Paul Creusvaux — Cap 39
Rob MacLennan — Cap 104

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.

Completing the 2,000-plus-kilometre course in nine days, 15 hours and 51 minutes, Nathalie Schneitter took the women's win and tenth overall at the 2026 Silk Road Mountain Race. She came to Kyrgyzstan with a professional pedigree few could match — a former junior world champion, elite World Cup winner, and Olympian in cross-country mountain bike — but almost no experience of racing this long or this remote. She came, in her own words, out of curiousity: to see how her body would handle the distance, the altitude and the solitude. The answer was a patient, calculated ride that came down to the final quarter, when a race-defining night high on the mountain turned a multi-hour deficit to Kerry into the lead. In this episode, Nathalie shares all about her winning ride, the delicate balance between pedalling and faffing, running out of food on the climb to Arabel, and the tight, thrilling race against Kerry.

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.