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Inside Montenegro Mountain Madness 2025: Adrien Liechti
Bombtrack’s latest film seeks to capture the essence of this year’s Montenegro Mountain Madness event, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the route and Adrien Liechti’s third-place finish. Watch it here…
Words by Marc Maurer, photos by Exploro.cc
For those seeking the wilder side of outdoor adventure, Montenegro has quietly become one of Europe’s most captivating destinations. This tiny Balkan nation, with its towering Dinaric Alps and sparsely populated valleys, offers a sense of raw, unspoiled wilderness that’s hard to find anywhere else on the continent. It’s terrain that feels purpose-built for endurance bikepacking—and no one is better suited to harness it than Bea and Luca of Exploro.cc, the experienced duo behind the notorious Trans Balkan Race.
The second edition of the Montenegro Mountain Madness took place in 2025, and after witnessing the race firsthand this year, we can confidently say so. Those jaw-dropping images from the inaugural event in 2024 didn’t lie. With its demanding route, striking scenery, and impressively precise organization, the Montenegro Mountain Madness has already earned its spot among the premier bikepacking races on the annual calendar.
For riders who prefer to test themselves rather than compete head-to-head, the Montenegro Mountain Madness can also be approached as a personal endurance challenge: 700km with nearly 16,000 meters of elevation gain, to be completed in six days or less. For bikepackers who thrive on adventure, the allure is undeniable. In Montenegro, every switchback and mountain pass reveals a scene worth lingering over, making the thought of riding through the night almost unthinkable for some.
This year’s edition crowned Marcus Valentin as the winner, finishing in an astonishing 43 hours and 25 minutes, with Lorenz Eimansberger and Adrien Liechti rounding out the podium.
Bombtrack’s newest documentary captures the essence of Montenegro Mountain Madness 2025, offering not only a behind-the-scenes look at the race but also a vivid glimpse into a true hidden gem of the bikepacking world. For racers and riders still searching for their next great challenge in 2026, the Montenegro Mountain Madness may just be it.
Find out more at MontenegroMountainMadness.com.
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