Show Notes
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
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More from The Mountain Races Podcast
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.
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.
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