photos by Chris McClean, Danil Usmanov and Nils Laengner
Some 140 riders showed up for the fifth annual Silk Road Mountain Race (SRMR) last year, all set on finishing the challenging 1,880-kilometer course through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan following a route made up of gravel, doubletrack, and old Soviet roads. Anything is possible in the Tian Shan Mountains, and the weather is unpredictable. It’s not unusual to see snow, hail, rain, and below-freezing temperatures on some of the higher passes.
Sofiane Sehili took first place, his third win in just as many years, with a time of just 6 days, 16 hours, and 47 minutes (6d:16h:47m). Jakub Sliacan was the second rider to make it to the finish. He arrived only 2 hours and 14 minutes behind Sofiane with an official time of 6 days, 19 hours, and 1 minute (6d:19h:1m). Peggy Marvanova and Nathalie Baillon crossed the finish line together in 8 days, 16 hours, and 18 minutes, taking first place in the women’s race.
Here’s what race organizer Nelson Trees had to say about the new film: “Reasons to Ride tells the story of the race through the lens of director Evgeni Chistyakov. What we get is a condensed series of snapshots from the race that attempt to capture the essence of this grand adventure, told by the riders themselves. We wanted to put them center stage and try to answer the question of why they ride.
Why do they come out here to this distant land full of remote mountains? Why do they choose to take on this challenge full of so many unknowns? Why do they put themselves through such hardships in the pursuit of completing this incredibly difficult course? The result is a beautifully shot short film without music or voiceover, with nothing superfluous, that lets the images do the talking. It gives the spectator an insight into what it feels like and what it means to take part in what is possibly the wildest bikepacking race out there.”
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