Taurus Mountain Race 2026: 250 riders battle through biblical mud near Antalya

The as yet completely unknown cycle route in the Taurus Mountains in Turkey. The 250 bike packers taking part in the Taurus Mountain Race are currently tackling it. | Photo: dotwatcher.cc / Livetracking

​It’s THE chance to experience a completely uncharted area on the mountain biking map first-hand: the Taurus Mountain Race via our live updates. The bikepacking race set off yesterday from Antalya in Turkey and is now climbing to an altitude of 3,000 metres into the virtually unknown Taurus Mountains. Currently among the leaders in the women’s race is Marei Moldenhauer from Freiburg.

​The Turkish Mediterranean coast on 14 October: who wouldn’t expect blue skies and sunny weather there? That’s certainly what one would have wished for the bike-packing racers on their pioneering ride through the Turkish Taurus Mountains. After all, over the coming days they face 1,440 kilometres and 35,000 metres of elevation gain through terrain that is completely unknown to all participants.

The derailleurs are sticking together in rows

Instead, the nearly 250 competitors were met with torrential rain yesterday, Wednesday, in Antalya – rain that was set to continue until midnight. The downpour was already heavy, but it got worse: just past the coastal resort of Antalya, the route left the tarmac road and turned onto an off-road track. The anxious question of whether the ground in these mountains – still unknown to the cyclists – would turn into peanut butter paste in the rain was answered after just a few kilometres: yes, it does. And to a massive extent.

One by one, the derailleurs started to jam. We made use of every slightly deeper puddle to rinse the mud out of the derailleur pulleys, sprockets and tyre treads. After all, right from the start, we were climbing a steep 1,100 metres in altitude from sea level. The view from the first pass we’d fought our way up to would probably have been magnificent – if rain clouds and mist hadn’t spoiled the panorama.

After 232.7 kilometres and 5,600 metres of elevation gain, the fastest riders reached Checkpoint 1 at around 11 pm, completely soaked, caked in mud and shivering: a hostel offering food and accommodation. An offer that is normally rarely taken up at the start of a bikepacking race. But this time, even the last centimetre of covered floor space was quickly snapped up. 113 sleeping bags were soon lying there, packed tightly together. Those who arrived later had to head back out into the rain after a quick bite to eat – with the next climb looming ahead.

Because now we’re moving up to the next stage; the route continues eastwards, with the 2,000-metre altitude mark in our sights. Right up there at the front is Germany’s Jochen Böhringer, who is currently holding on to third place behind the leaders Benedek Borsos (Hungary) and Justinas Levelka (Lithuania). In the women’s race, Marei Moldenhauer from Freiburg led for much of yesterday (23rd overall). She has since been overtaken by the Frenchwoman Nathalie Baillon, but is keeping up well.

Weather forecast: The next thunderstorm is on its way

The second day of the race got off to a dry start this morning, with some tentative sunshine, although it was still a bit nippy. That said, temperatures are expected to rise to as high as 24 degrees. The bad news: a powerful thundercloud is currently sweeping in from the Mediterranean and is likely to settle over the mountains again in the next few hours. At an altitude of 2,000 metres, this is set to be the next gruelling test for the fastest riders.

The race will continue to climb to an altitude of over 3,000 metres, and the weather forecast for the next few days does not look good.

On “Dotwatcher” Thanks to the live tracker, map, elevation profile and live commentary, you can follow the race almost as it happens and learn a great deal about a truly exciting European mountain range that cyclists and tour organisers haven’t even had on their radar until now.