Atlas Mountain Racers: Sofiane
The Atlas Mountain Race, the famous bikepacking race in Morocco, starts tomorrow. More than 250 racers will head out of Marrakesh and cross the Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. There will be very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply points are large. The Atlas Mountain Race is a true adventure!
We take the opportunity to catch up with a few riders who will be on the start line tomorrow. We start this mini-series with Sofiane Sehili, who is returning to the Atlas for the first time after winning the inaugural race in 2020.
JH: Hi Sofiane! Let’s start at the beginning—why did you pick up ultra cycling?
Sofiane: I was curious about the sport; curious how I would fare against top-tier racers. I tried it and found both joy and pain. And, most of all, a desire to improve on all the mistakes I made. I discovered that it’s something I excel at and something that (most of the time) makes me happy.
JH: The joy of racing sometimes surprises outsiders. You also mention the satisfaction of doing something really well. What are some of your best races?
Sofiane: Well, my best result in Morocco is winning the inaugural Atlas Mountain Race. But the two feats I’m most proud of are winning the Tour Divide—and winning the Silk Road Mountain Race three years in a row.
JH: What your goals are for this year’s Atlas Mountain Race.
Sofiane: First and foremost—always—is to make it out alive. That’s usually the easy part. The one that ranks second in order of importance is finishing. It is extremely important for me to finish what I start, especially when it comes to bikepacking races. And then the third one is winning. Which is not going to be easy, as we have a lot of very talented racers on the roster this year.
JH: As you mentioned, winning is nice, but it’s not the most important reason to race. Tell us about some of your best moments on a bike.
Sofiane: There are so many that it’s very hard to just pick a few. If I stick to last year, I’d say discovering Montenegro and especially the Durmitor National Park, exploring the Dolomites and falling in love with Passo Valparola, and seeing the best the Basque Country had to offer during a race called Basajaun.
JH: With your experience, many riders want to know about you bike. What do you ride?
Sofiane: I’m riding a Bombtrack Beyond, which is a titanium monster gravel bike, with a KS GTC suspension fork, Hunt Limitless 42 carbon wheels equipped with Rene Herse 700C x 48 Oracle Ridge tires. My groupset is a Shimano GRX 1×12-speed with a 38 chainring and a 10-51 cassette. My bags are made in Italy by Miss Grape.
JH: What else is on your mind as you are getting ready for the race?
Sofiane: The world is getting a bit scary at the moment with some angry and dangerous people in power or close to it. It’s hard to look at the future with serenity. I do feel helpless when I see that on a global scale things seem to be taking a turn for the worse. But there’s one thing we can all do and that is being kind to each other. It’s not a lot, it doesn’t take much, but it does make things a tiny bit better.
JH: Kindness is something we can all practice. Thank you, Sofiane, and good luck in the race!
Further Reading:
- Sofiane’s story of his three rides (and wins) in the Silk Road Mountain Race was published in Bicycle Quarterly 86.
- Follow the riders with the Atlas Mountain Race tracker
