← All eventsAtlas Mountain Race
~1,300-1,440km self-supported bikepacking ultra across Morocco's High Atlas and Anti-Atlas to Essaouira. ~24,000m climbing, rough colonial pistes, hike-a-bike, passes ~2,900m. Solo/pairs, 3 checkpoints, ~7-8 day limit. Route/start change yearly; 2027 edition moved to March.
One of the standout bikepacking races on earth. Roughly 1,300km self-supported across Morocco's High Atlas and Anti-Atlas, finishing on the Atlantic coast at Essaouira. No crew, no markings, no feed stations.
The 2027 edition packs about 24,688m of climbing over rough colonial pistes, desert plains and passes near 2,900m. Roughly 15% is hike-a-bike, pushing a loaded bike up loose ground.
Remote is the whole point. Long gaps between villages and water, three staffed checkpoints, a clock that runs 7 to 8 days and never stops. You navigate it yourself from a GPX file and carry what you need.
Is Atlas Mountain Race for you?
- Experienced bikepackers who have already ridden multi-day self-supported. This is not a first ultra.
- Riders who can fix a bike and follow a GPX far from help. Self-sufficiency counts as much as fitness here.
- Durable diesels, not sprinters. A fitness of 80 to 100 is plenty; it rewards holding a steady pace for days over raw watts.
- Anyone at ease being hot, cold and alone. Baking plains by day, freezing passes by night, long stretches with nobody around.
Training plan for Atlas Mountain Race
A training plan for Atlas Mountain Race isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Roughly 24,000m of climbing on rough pistes, with hours of hike-a-bike pushing a loaded bike up loose passes
- Hot plains by day and near-freezing Atlas nights, with snow possible on the high passes
- Long resupply gaps: you plan your own food and carry 2 to 3L of water on the plains
- Multiple nights out on minimal sleep, self-navigating with no course markings
- Long off-road Z2 endurance rides, building from 4 hours toward 10 plus, for durability and fuelling practice
- Back-to-back weekends: a long Saturday then a medium Sunday, training tired legs
- At least one 3 to 4 day loaded bikepacking trip with a cold-weather bivvy in the specialise block
- Loaded bike pushes and hill walks with a pack, plus night rides on lights, to drill the specific demands
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
