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 interviewProduction & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 interviewProduction & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 40Colombine Courouble — Cap 33Jeff Hehn — Cap 214AEfthymios Tsipouras — Cap 43John Roe — Cap 86Christina Chappetta — Cap 206ASabrina Ste-Marie — Caps 206BGiannis Adamoudis — Cap 66Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 218ASven Schroeder — Cap 218B Dániel Kövesházi — Cap 207AMarcell Gangel — Cap 207BFollow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 112Efthymios Tsipouras — Cap 47Emma Missale — Cap 209ASean Geivett — Cap 209BJames Penny — Cap 78Michael Gaffey — Cap 125Reese Butler — Cap 136John Roe — Cap 86Nils Dongowski — Cap 130Alex MacLean — Cap 7Adam Broyad — Cap 201AAndrew Proffitt — Cap 201BFollow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 164John 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 53Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 67Evert de Proost — Cap 54Moez Bhatti — Cap 128Sean Geivett — Cap 209BJames Lindsay — Cap 79Conor McKenzie — Cap 35Cynthia Carson — Cap 37Manuel Rauwolf — Cap 105Lasse Strickert — Cap 99Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit 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 216ANoémie Checa — Cap 216BKevin Belyea — Cap 95Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 spaghetti bolognese and Coke.Riders featured in this episode:Glenn Bloemen — Cap 211AThomas Ceyrowsky — Cap 211BRichard Lebon — Cap 140Michael Hayward-Brazier — Cap 124Gala Giannini — Cap 62Anastasis Tirtigos — Cap 11Carl Hopps — Cap 29Alex MacLean — Cap 7Mario Conradt — Cap 110Stephane Ouaja — Cap 156Emma Missale — Cap 209ASean Geivett — Cap 209BFollow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the first to arrive at CP1. Colombine Courouble – Cap 33Andy Lingham – Cap 15Stephane Ouaja – Cap 156Femke van Kessel – Cap 55Albert Schmidt – Cap 04Remco Van Gestel – Cap 137Florian Wille – Cap 210AJara Giraud – Cap 81Declan O’Leary – Cap 30Rick Steffen – Cap 141Benedek Borsos – Cap 22Max Riese – Cap 120Abe Kaufman – Cap 01Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail.Production & hosting by Mel WebbSound design by Ben CrannellVisit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.