The Mountain Races Podcast

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 & hostin...

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...

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...

In our penultimate episode, we jump ahead to the sea. CP3 is now closed, the heat is on, and Nafpaktos is filling up with riders who've made it. With plenty hanging around, we hear from some of them before heading up to the final climb before the sea. Abe Kaufman — Cap 1 Arthur Bonal — Cap 17 Marc Büchel — Cap 106 Simone Eder — Cap 153 Urs Mannhart — Cap 164 James Penny — Cap 78 Sebastian Perzlmae...

Day six, and the field is on the home stretch. As riders collect their final stamp at CP3 in Karpenissi, the race is taking its toll — cut hands, burst spokes, nine stitches, and a bumblebee with a bottle of Smirnoff for antiseptic. The weather has flipped: the snow and frozen passes of the early days are a distant memory, replaced by thunderstorms and scorching heat. We hear from riders at the ch...

Day five, and nearly a week of living on the bike is starting to show. As Checkpoint 2 in Melissourgi closes its doors, we hear from the riders streaming through, as well as those who have just arrived at CP3 in Karpenissi. Riders featured in this episode: Urs Mannhart — Cap 164 John Roe — Cap 86 Andrei Tereskin — Cap 14 Simone Eder — Cap 153 Maciej Swinarski — Cap 103 Moez Bhatti — Cap 128 Gala G...

Three days into Hellenic Mountain Race and past the halfway mark, we begin our day at Checkpoint 2 in Melissourgi. The route swings from snow-lined waterfalls and 1,600-metre climbs to baking valley heat, leaving riders salt-stained, sunburnt and behind on sleep. Giulio Soffiati — Cap 67 Evert de Proost — Cap 54 Moez Bhatti — Cap 128 Sean Geivett — Cap 209B James Lindsay — Cap 79 Conor McKenzie —...

Day three of the 2026 Hellenic Mountain Race begins in Metsovo after a brutal night of storms, with riders rolling in soaked and muddy to dry kit, resupply, and weigh up whether to push on or sit out the next storm. As the field settles into the rhythm of the race, things also start to unravel for many. Riders featured in this episode: Cynthia Carson — Cap 37 Valentin Robe — Cap 165 Agostino Luran...

Day two of the fourth Hellenic Mountain Race takes us to CP1 at the Mount Smolikas refuge, reached only by a tough nine-kilometre hike-a-bike over the second-highest peak in Greece. What follows is one of the finest, and gnarliest, single tracks in the country. Riders trickle in bleary-eyed and hungry, swapping stories of punctures, loose cranks, bear tracks and not-quite-enough sleep over spaghet...

The 2026 Hellenic Mountain Race is underway. We wasted no time showing riders what they signed up, ascending a 1,200-metre climb straight off the start. Rolling out of Agios Athanasios, riders are quickly dropped into the adventure, surrounded by alpine tundra and snow drifts. In this episode we transport you to the side of this first mountain pass, before catching up with riders resupplying and t...

The fourth edition of Hellenic Mountain Race has finally arrived. We gathered in Agios Athanasios for the usual registration day proceedings. Hear from our riders, along with Nelson Trees. Riders featured in this episode: Sabrina Ste-Marie — Cap 206A Christina Chappetta — Cap 206B Abe Kaufman — Cap 001 Kristen Tonsager — Cap 096 Mateusz Wąsowski — Cap 115 Benedek Borsos — Cap 022 Colombine Couroub...

Hellenic Mountain Race begins Saturday May 23rd at 09:00 local time. This year we start in Agios Athanasios, a picturesque stone village in the north. 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 @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hostin...

At long last, we arrive at the finish line of the sixth edition of the Atlas Mountain Race. We hear from our riders arriving in Essaouira about their stories from the road. Riders featured in this episode: Darragh Cushen — Cap 52 Martino Basilico — Cap 11 Luise Ollick — Cap 162 Gala Giannini — Cap 81 Patrick Schwarz — Cap 191 Greg Martin — Cap 307A Rebecca Rusch — Cap 307B Silas Schmid — Cap 189 J...

We sit down with 2026 women’s winner Cynthia Carson following her second victory at the Atlas Mountain Race. Returning with more experience and a clear plan, Cynthia used this race as the opening chapter of a season in which she’s racing all four Mountain Races. Finishing in 5 days, 5 hours, and 2 minutes, she rode with patience and composure across a longer course marked by more extreme weather t...

After days of mountains and desert, riders cross back over the Atlas one last time, descending through fog and green hills toward the Atlantic coast. The air shifts, the ocean comes into view, and the end begins to feel within reach. In this episode, we hear from riders in the final kilometres before rolling into the finish line. Riders featured in this episode: Thierry Le Floch— Cap 125 Kevin Mas...

We've jumped forward to the finish line to catch up with our men's winner, Victor Bosoni. The young French rider won this year's race in a time of 4 days, 1 hour and 46 minutes. We sat down in the Medina of Essalouira to hear all about his ride: the highs, the lows and how prioritising rest throughout allowed him to not only race to his fullest potential, but to enjoy the experience to its fullest...

The Old Colonial Road is one of the most iconic sections of the Atlas Mountain Race route, featured across all six editions. Carved into the mountainside, it winds through folded layers of sedimentary rock, the earth rippling in bands of rust and ochre. From a distance the surface appears smooth; up close it is loose, and badly broken in places from erosion. Many riders will rider it at night, mis...

Checkpoint Two: the halfway mark of the Atlas Mountain Race. Riders descend out of the desert and into an oasis of palms, couscous, showers, and stamped brevet cards. For some, arrival brings relief. For others, difficult decisions. Ankles, batteries, bottom brackets, and nerves are all negotiated in equal measure. We hear from riders resetting body and mind, celebrating birthdays, managing setbac...

One of the most famous sections of the Atlas Mountain Race is the 100KM stretch of no resupply through the desert. Here riders meander through the Anti Atlas, climbing their way up to a plateau with stunning views of the network of canyons below. We meet riders chasing the snail here. We also hear from riders at Café Atlas in Ait Saoun which has become a popular stop for riders, and potentially th...

Conditions remain incredibly demanding as our riders press on towards Checkpoint 1 in Boutharar. The weather has improved in some ways, and worsened in others. The silver lining is that, at long last, most of the tarmac is behind them and the route turns back into the terrain riders came to the Atlas Mountain Race for. In this episode, we hear from those still pushing toward their first stamp, as...

After a cold, rain-soaked first night at the Atlas Mountain Race 2026, riders emerge from darkness into morning light scattered across the High Atlas. Frigid temperatures, flooded roads, and icy descents define the opening hours of the race, forcing decisions around shelter, sleep, and when to keep moving. In villages along the early tarmac corridor, riders gather briefly around wood stoves, cafés...

Atlas Mountain Race 2026 is finally here, beginning with the usual proceedings of registration. Riders trickled into the cultural centre at Ain Asserdoun Park in Beni-Mellal under persistent rain. After years of drought, high rivers, lingering snow on mountain passes, and late route changes set the tone for the adventure ahead. In this opening episode, we hear from riders across the field to heart...

Welcome to our podcast coverage of the 2026 Atlas Mountain Race, supported by Tailfin , Pertex and Albion . The sixth edition is a year of change for the Atlas Mountain Race with a new start in Beni-Mellal. In this episode, Media Manager and host of this year's race podcast, Mel Webb, sits down with Race Director Nelson Trees to provide an overview of this year's route, our favourites for the win...

The sixth edition of the Atlas Mountain Race kicks off Friday 6th February, 2026. For the first time, we'll start in Beni-Mellal, a new gateway into the Atlas Mountains. From CP1 riders enter classic AMR terrain, into the rugged Anti-Atlas, winding their way to the old port town of Essaouira. Riders will have have until midnight on February 14th to reach the finish line. Tune in every day for a fr...

After 1,924 kilometers, riders finally reached the finish line in Karakol. Some had been there for days, others arrived just in time for the cut-off. The end of the race can be disorienting—time on the trail stretches and bends, days blur into nights, and by the time they reach the finish line, their ride can already feel like a different lifetime. In our final episode we hear from some of our rid...