Nelson and I finished our interview about the Taurus Mountain Race (the last addition to the Mountain Races launching in 2026) with a memory of the Silk Road Mountain Race of 2019:
And greetings from Danil! I met him a couple of weeks ago and he still believes you stole all the toilet paper before the start.
When I am talking about Nelson, I mean Nelson Trees, the magic mind behind the Mountain Races. And I was part of this circus when in 2019 I left Zurich Airport destination Bishkek to produce the official podcast of the Silk Road Mountain Race, the event that changed my life opening so many perspectives and friendships like the first edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race, the year before, changed the world of ultra cycling for good, bringing a completely new community to discover the beauty of Central Asia.
The beginning of the Mountain Races
Everything started in 2018, with the first edition of a race in Kyrgyzstan which everybody talked about with a mix of curiosity, fear and pioneering spirit.
Now the Silk Road Mountain Race is on more cycling bucket lists than a trip to Colorado for craft beer bucket lists, cyclists not only have in mind to step foot in beautiful Central Asia to experience the Old Soviet Road, Kegety Pass or Chinese Highway.
Taurus Mountain Race: the new addition to the series
But from 2018, the Mountain Race concept became a real series, with a total of 3 races in 2025 (Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco, Hellenic Mountain Race in Greece, and SRMR in Kyrgystan). And they will become four soon, with one more in the list: the Taurus Mountain Race that will have its inaugural edition in 2026 in Turkey.
The sneaky announcement on Christmas Time
In a perfect Nelson's style, the race was announced during the AMR rush, there was not even a name yet, when during the first episode of the Ultrascape Podcast Josh Ibbett and Beccy Water talked about those mysterious IG stories appearing on Nelson's account, and even guessed the name of the event which until that moment was just the Fourth Mountain Race.
Of course, I was curious, so as soon as I had the opportunity I asked Nelson to give a sneak peek of the event on the BroomWagon Podcast to uncover the full concept (and course) of the Taurus Mountain Race.
So, here is the episode with Nelson, where we also talked about nice stories, golden tagines and, of course, the brand new course of the 2025 Silk Road Mountain Race, the event that changed them all.
Enjoy!
