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Respect and congratulations go out to Sofiane Sehili, who rolled across the finish line in Kyrgyzstan last night and became the overall winner of the 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race. Learn more about Sofiane’s third win in this challenging race and find a gallery of photos here…
Photos by Usmanov Danil via Silk Road Mountain Race
Sofiane Sehili was the first rider to make it to the finish line of the 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan, late last night. Sofiane completed the grueling 1,880-kilometer course in just 6 days, 16 hours, and 47 minutes (6d:16h:47m). Given the difficulty of the course, that is a very impressive time. Equally as impressive is that this is Sofiane’s third win in just as many years!
This was the hardest fought of all three of his wins, however. The lead changed numerous times with a solid field of incredibly strong riders. Jakub Sliacan was nipping at his heels and came very close to catching him toward the end. From the race organizer: “It was a very clean run from Sofiane, his experience with the race helping him overcome its many obstacles. He raced without a phone, having broken it on the first day during a crash which left him far back in the field on the first day. He got sporadic updates on his competition by borrowing phones occasionally from locals but was otherwise without news for much of the race. He knew Jakub wasn’t far at the end because he could see his lights lower down the mountain.”
Jakub Sliacan was the second rider to make it to the finish. He arrived only 2 hours and 14 minutes behind Sofiane with an official time of 6 days, 19 hours, and 1 minute (6d:19h:1m). Jakub won the race in 2019 and was able to finish this year’s course 11 hours faster despite it being 180 kilometers longer. No doubt, the fierce competition was the driving force.
After a strong second-place finish at this year’s Tour Divide, Justinas Leveika was the third rider to complete the 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race. Justinas came in earlier this morning, pushing over the final pass for a finishing time of 7 days and 50 minutes (7d:0h:50m). Justinas suffered from breathing difficulties after CP3, having coughing fits that forced him to take extra rest. This makes it all the more impressive to see him on the podium.
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