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Standing in the warm orange sun on the outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco, it’s hard to imagine that the riders taking to the start line will be battling temperatures of -5 degrees later this evening – climbing above 2,500 meters and into the snowline of the High Atlas mountains.
Organised by Nelson Trees – the man behind the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan and, new for 2023, the Hellenic Mountain Race in Greece – this is the third edition of the Atlas Mountain Race (AMR) and it’ll cover 1,302km and 20,200m meters of climbing (809 mi / 66,000 ft) as it winds its way from Marrakech south into the mountains and then west over to the beautiful city of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast.
Here’s a route of the race and you can ‘dot-watch’ over here:
As with Trees’ other events, the AMR is an unsupported, single-stage bikepacking race with a set route and checkpoints along the way – the clock never stops. The race leaders will be expecting to finishing in about three and a half days but the after party is on February 11th, so plenty of time to ‘ride’ the course rather than ‘race’ it – and really make the most of Morocco’s gravel!
The variety of kit and bike setups spans drop bars, aero packs, tri bars and fully rigid frames to flat bar, fat tire, full suspension rigs with a very high luggage capacity – and most are some combination of each.
One theme that pervades all the bikes, though, are tech-heavy solutions – here’s a round up of the best gravel bikes which caught our eye.
Bikes of the 2023 Atlas Mountain Race
1. Tony King’s polychrome Ritchey
(Image credit: Stefan Abram)
First up, we have Tony King who indisputably claims the crown of riding the most eye-catching rig of the AMR. Colour-matching your bar tape is one thing but going for a polychrome and playing on the highlights throughout your kit is quite another.
The Voile straps, Sea-To-Summit dry bag, Rouge Panda frame bag and Oxford Hydra 750 – interestingly paired with Camelback lids for improved leak-proofing – each draw out the oranges, blues, yellows and pinks of the bar tape, and are all set against the leafy green of King’s steel Ritchey frame.
Few custom builds are complete without a heavy helping of purple anodizing – and that holds true here. Hope hubs are matching the Hope pedals, while the Wolf Tooth chainring bolts and Garbaruk cassette all continue the purple anodized theme.
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