The Mountain Races Podcast

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 Perzlmaeir — Caps 218A
Sven Schroeder — Cap 218B
Dániel Kövesházi — Cap 207A
Marcell Gangel — Cap 207B

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.

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 checkpoint, on the climb up Kaliakouda, and cooling off in the turquoise water at the Stenoma–Viniani bridge.

Riders featured in this episode:

Marius Winter — Cap 112
Efthymios Tsipouras — Cap 47
Emma Missale — Cap 209A
Sean Geivett — Cap 209B
James Penny — Cap 78
Michael Gaffey — Cap 125
Reese Butler — Cap 136
John Roe — Cap 86
Nils Dongowski — Cap 130
Alex MacLean — Cap 7
Adam Broyad — Cap 201A
Andrew Proffitt — Cap 201B

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.

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 Giannini — Cap 62
Giulio Soffiati — Cap 67
Albert Schmidt — Cap 4
Ernest Pilecki — Cap 53

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.

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 — Cap 35
Cynthia Carson — Cap 37
Manuel Rauwolf — Cap 105
Lasse Strickert — Cap 99

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.

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 Lurani — Cap 3
Gala Giannini — Cap 62
Stepan Aubrecht— Cap 217
Hannes Klingberg — Cap 69
Mario Conradt — Cap 110
Janno de Bruijn — Cap 80
Sandro Buettel — Cap 148
James Lindsay — Cap 79
Justyna Jarczok — Cap 92
Benedek Borsos — Cap 22
Marc-Antoine Colonna — Cap 216A
Noémie Checa — Cap 216B
Kevin Belyea — Cap 95

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.