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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 161Tori Riemersma — Cap 159Justine Rondeau — Cap 162Blair Blackwell — Cap 15Gürkan Alarçin — Cap 2Catherine de Medici Jaffee — Cap 36Lucas Le Glaunec — Cap 108Steven Petrar — Cap 149Melina Boening — Cap 16Maarten Vanhaverbeke — Cap 203Leanne Bentley — Cap 11Maxi Unger — Cap 199Merlijn Sluiter — Cap 177Svenja Betz — Cap 13Rogan Martin — Cap 117Emma Bateup — Cap 10Jacob 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 22Daniil Sadomskij — Cap 167Marco Sartori — Cap 303BJost Litzen — Cap 113Christian Dupraz — Cap 48Hannah Simon — Cap 175Josh Ibbett — Cap 82Steven Davis — Cap 35Chris Mehlman — Cap 122Joachim Maclean — Cap 115Sebastian Sarx — Cap 169Sean Geivett — Cap 312AEmma Missale — Cap 312BStefan Haehnel — Cap 70Grzegorz Sowa — Cap 181Nicholas Hulse — Cap 80Eric 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 56David Hornick — Cap 77Jochen Böhringer — Cap 17Rufus Wenlock — Cap 208Karen Ekman — Cap 51Alexander Kopp — Cap 99Joachim Maclean — Cap 115Bengt Stiller — Cap 186Emma Bateup — Cap 10Paul Creusvaux — Cap 30Sinan Kargi — Cap 89Svenja Betz — Cap 13Katrien De Smet — Cap 37Chris Mehlman — Cap 122Sean Greene — Cap 66Conan Thai — Cap 194Jacob Hora — Cap 317AJay Petervary — Cap 317BClaire 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.

Day nine of the Silk Road Mountain Race, and the cutoff for CP3 is looming. Riders arriving are salt-stained and the fatigue is setting in — peeling faces, wrecked lips, bodies ripped thin on Coca-Cola and M&Ms, one pair swollen with altitude sickness, another kept awake all night by cows licking their tent. We hear from them washing kit and hosing down bikes, still lost in the strange parallel universe of following a little blue line for ten days straight. Riders featured in this episode: Nina Holtrup — Cap 212AVerena Walter — Cap 212BPhilly Koehli — Cap 218ABill Mulligan — Cap 218BNiek Bloks — Cap 19Antti Laaksonen — Cap 220ATeemu Lemmettylä — Cap 220BToon Roebben — Cap 147Tom Gibbs — Cap 63Stephane van Rooyen — Cap 178Anirudh Dagar — Cap 41Follow 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 Danil Usmanov 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.

Day eight, and CP2 is now officially closed. The race clock is past halfway, the field strung out across Kyrgyzstan's high passes on the long haul to their third stamp at Tamga. This year the country has shown its old face: scorching heat one day, snow and freezing cold the next, and peanut butter mud that clings to everything. We hear from riders about their journeys so far from CP3. Riders featured in this episode: Cameron Bristol — Cap 27Victor Kouzov — Cap 96Stéphane Logerot — Cap 102Aurimas Mickevicius — Cap 114Paul Creusvaux — Cap 39Kobus van Niekerk — Cap 176Markus Hager — Cap 69Niyaz Janzakov — Cap 86Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53 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.

Over a week into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, and the field has settled into the strange rhythm of life on the road: long days in the elements, time melting, an afternoon gone in a breath and a hard minute stretching on forever. Well past the 1000km mark, we hear from riders as they make their way through the endless Burkhan valley. Riders featured in this episode: Virgile Dana — Cap 43Hannes Noller — Cap 122Benjamin Schmetz — Cap 42Andrew Poynter — Cap 134Chris Rennie — Cap 87Mateo Paez — Cap 217BTheo Kelsey-Verdecchia — Cap 217AEmma Missale — Cap 210BSean Geivett — Cap 210A 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.

Past Naryn and into the long, braided sweep of the Burkhan valley, the riders climb toward the Arabel Pass — 3,800 metres of loose switchbacks that has them off their bikes and pushing after more than 1,300 kilometres in the legs. Arabel is notorious for its weather, riders often getting all four seasons in the span of a few hours — and today was no exception. Riders featured in this episode: Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105Sofiane Sehili — Cap 157Martin Hilgers — Cap 76Nils Kolb — Cap 93 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.

Nearly a week into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, and the field is all over the map. Checkpoint One at Son Kul closed on Wednesday with 146 riders inside the cut, worn down by 47-degree heat, endless climbing, and the countless challenges the route keeps throwing at them. We hear from riders all over the map, plus the team of volunteers stamping brevet cards around the clock. Riders featured in this episode: Rob MacLennan — Cap 104Kristen Tonsager — Cap 168Anton Stychneuski — Cap 166Tom Baker — Cap 201AAdam Carlson — Cap 201BDmitrii Petrovskii — Cap 128Jens Van Roost — Cap 177Avri Beach — Cap 15Isabelle Scheyltjens — Cap 151Matthew Irons — Cap 84Verena Walter — Cap 212B 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.

As is so often the case in Kyrgyzstan and at the Silk Road Mountain Race… things rarely go to plan. We set out with the best intentions this morning to bring you all the stories. But as they say, shit happens. Today it came in the form of not one, not two but three punctures, and a mad dash to CP2 to catch our leading women.  It's been a long day... All of this to say — there won't be a new episode today so that we can take the chance to rest and recover after our own challenges out here. If you haven't listened to all of our episodes yet, make sure to do so, and we'll be back tomorrow for all of the action yet to unfold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three days into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, we climb to three thousand meters and the still, impossibly blue shore of Lake Son Kul, where Checkpoint 1 sits waiting at the yurt camp of Sarybulak. The riders arrive late into the night off the brutal push up Tuz Ashuu — salt-stained, nosebleeds and cut sleep behind them, the day's forty-three-degree heat traded for four degrees and hard wind on the passes above the lake. We hear from riders arriving day and night, and what it's taken to get here. Riders featured: Mateo Paez — Cap 217BTheo Kelsey-Verdecchia — Cap 217AStéphane Logerot — Cap 102Tsvetan Ivanov — Cap 215ADimitar Mihaylov — Cap 215BVirgile Dana — Cap 43Emma Missale — Cap 210BSean Geivett — Cap 210AMarkus Barden — Cap 14Sven Brenner — Cap 26Jimmy Grade — Cap 65Cynthia Carson — Cap 30Tom Schwemberger — Cap 156Felipe Duque — Cap 52 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.

On the second day of Silk Road Mountain Race 2026 we set out early in search of the leading women. We hear from riders as they push into the Karakol Valley, as well as the leading men arriving at Checkpoint 1. Over the past two days many have had to square up to the race they'd imagined and recalibrate to the one in front of them. Riders featured in this episode: Nathalie Schneitter — Cap 153Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105Max Riese — Cap 144Sven Brenner — Cap 26Ashley Cordingley — Cap 38Christopher Rennie — Cap 142Rob MacLennan — Cap 104Manu Cattrysse — Cap 32Steven Davis — Cap 44Alexander Kopp — Cap 95Justinas Leveika — Cap 100 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.

The eighth edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race is underway! We hear from riders at the startline and on their way up the first long climb. For many this has been years in the making, and now the racing is officially underway — the adventure has begun and their dream is alive. Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105Nathalie Schneitter — Cap 153Rico — Cap 36Thomas Maberly — Cap 221BMatthew Maberly — Cap 221ASean Geivett — Cap 210AAlvin Escajeda — Cap 53Cameron Bristol — Cap 27Mateo Paez — Cap 217BDaniel Anzola — Cap 10Mack Faint — Cap 55Vadim Fatkulbaianov — Cap 56Steph Skinner — Cap 160 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.

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 15Lajos Köves — Cap 97Rob MacLennan — Cap 104Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53Doug Dunlop — Cap 51Leonie Leitgeb — Cap 99Justinas Leveika — Cap 100Sofiane Sehili — Cap 157Sara Bukies — Cap 29Lois Hunter — Cap 214AJonathan 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.