Adrien Liechti Wins 2023 Ascend Armenia + More Race Updates

Words by Stephen Fitzgerald, photos by Ascend Armenia

In what can only be described as a mind and body over matter ride, Adrien Liechti has won the first edition of the Ascend Armenia bikepacking race. By the numbers the 1,162 kilometer, 25,300 vertical meters ascent route shows as challenging but do-able. But for the majority of the riders who lined up for the start, the steep pitches, unrelenting mountains, grass-covered tracks, and mud caused by inclement weather simply proved beyond completable. Armenia herself was the most challenging opponent.

Even with those facts undisputable, a top-three finisher podium has formed, with a handful of determined riders set to complete the course eight days since the race began.

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Adrien Liechti, fresh off his win at the Hellenic Mountain Race, built an almost undisputed lead early in the race, especially after the scratch of his primary rival Sebastian Sarx. As he navigated the course, Adrien encountered a very dynamic Armenian landscape that, while stunningly beautiful, threw curveball after curveball at racers in the form of tracks overgrown with fresh spring grasses not yet grazed by mountain sheep and cattle. What may have been a merely difficult ultra with a mix of hike-a-bike here and there became tricky pushes through alpine fields and meadows made soggy by a strong late spring snowpack.

Even with those challenges, the leader’s dots moved almost non-stop throughout the week, rarely halting for more than an hour or two, and often not stopping for days at a time.

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Once in secnd place, German rider Kai-Uwe Lehnung, at 55 years of age, showed incredible consistency himself. Vlad Podofedov from Kyrgyzstan showed signs of being capable of closing the gap and overtaking Kai-Uwe, but never quite made contact before he himself was felled from the race by a rear derailleur failure with only 150 kilometers left.

With Vlad now out of the race, Jacob Hora, who had been overtaken by Vlad at CP2, moved back into third position. The 18-year-old from Idaho rode an incredibly clean, incredibly measured race from start to finish.

While clear skies and heat had described the climate earlier in the race, the latter part of the race was defined so much by the arrival of both mild and extreme rain and thunderstorms that, at times, changed the track from dirt roads through mountains and farmlands to mud soaked bogs that coated bikes and soaked rider’s feet. Ashley Carelock, who had been riding strong toward the front of the race up until CP2, was soon after forced to abandon due to the onset of trench foot and concerns for her long-term health if she continued going. Kai-Uwe was also quite affected by wet feet but decided to continue regardless, and upon arrival at the finish line, he could barely stand due to the foot pain.

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Another rider, Maksim Valoshyn from Belarus, rode through CP2 entirely in Crocs shoes, and with no socks. He eventually decided to switch to touring mode to the finish, but before doing so may have been the rider with the best footwear strategy for the entire course!

Adrien Liechti powered through said mud, rain, grass, and the like, aided by stops along the way at more car washes than we can count, to finish in 5 days, 11 hours, and 45 minutes. At the finish, he looked unbelievably fresh, reported having been able to sleep more than usual, and made short work of a dinner fit for three normal people.

Kai-Uwe finished the next day to a warm welcome and a beer from a group of riders who had scratched and toured their way to the finish from various locations out on the course. Kai had a bit of a million-mile stare and was nearly able to walk on his feet, but minute by minute, he began bouncing back almost immediately, which is equally surprising and unsurprising considering the caliber of athlete he is.

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Further back, riders in the mid-pack to the back had a different mindset than those at the front. Instead of riding through the night or bad weather, they stopped at hostels, hotels, and homes along the way, and quite often when they were spotted by locals or shepherds, they were invited in to warm homes and tents and were fed generous meals paired with mandatory servings of vodka. The natural beauty of the course was seen the most by riders in this group because they traveled by day, not night, and even if the views were hard earned, the alpine vistas, valleys, and incredible array of spring wildflowers were their own kind of reward for the efforts.

Jacob Hora rode the final two climbs of the race deep into the night, and reported very little sleep since Thursday. He was greeted at the finish at 2 a.m. by his parents, race organizers, and Adrien Liechti, which was a lovely gesture from the race winner.

As of this writing, there are still six riders out on course. Some are still trying to finish in time for the finishing party on Sunday evening, and some will probably scratch due to the painful choice of finishing or being able to enjoy the final party with their fellow racers or catch flights that were scheduled when it was thought that this race would be completed with much faster times and in less adverse conditions.

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It has already been repeatedly said by many that Ascend Armenia was not the longest race that people had participated in, but it was definitely the most difficult. No doubt, there will be plenty of discussion of the track, the conditions, and the difficulty after the race, but for now, we have been shown by an incredible podium of three determined rides that willpower is the most necessary ingredient in overcoming Armenia’s beautiful mountains and remote places.

Further Reading

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