Hellenic Mountain Race

Nelson Trees started The Mountain Races after racing the Transcontinental, and the series still follows the ethic of the late Mike Hall: one fixed route, no outside help, and a clock that runs from start to finish whether you are riding, eating or asleep in a bivvy. The Hellenic is the Greek chapter of that idea. There are no prizes, and the organisers vet every applicant on whether they can make safe decisions alone in the mountains, which keeps the field small and serious and makes the race more about self-reliance than spectacle.

The route turns its back on the Greece of beaches and islands. It heads into the Pindus, where forested slopes give way to bare, high summits that the organisers compare to Kyrgyzstan. Riders follow long gravel roads, old stone mule paths and arched Ottoman-era bridges, pass checkpoints at Smolikas, Melissourgi and Karpenisi, and finish in the fortified Venetian harbour of Nafpaktos on the Gulf of Corinth.

Expect relentless climbing, some hike-a-bike over snow and rock, and long stretches between villages. In between, mountain tavernas serve generous home-cooked plates, and riders who have done it often single out the hospitality of the people living in these quiet valleys.