HELLENIC MOUNTAIN RACE
RACE COVERAGE - MINI DOC SERIES
Role: Race Cinematographer / Editor
Location: Greece
Client: Hellenic Mountain Race
Year: 2024
DAY 1 : BEFORE THE RAIN
Riders were blessed with warm weather at the start line of Hellenic Mountain Race but obstacles lay ahead; closed roads, washed out paths and a storm on the horizon. As the riders climb high into the Greek mountains towards Metsovo the storm catches up with them on the climbs. As conditions get more challenging as night falls who will ride through the night and who will shelter.
DAY 2: HIGH IN THE PINDOS
Caught up with the riders who braved the rain the night before, trying to try dry out as the Greek sun returns. As they climb higher into the Pindos mountains to an elevation of 2227m they are surrounded by breathtaking mountains on 360 degrees before descending single track down into Checkpoint One.
DAY 3 : CHECK POINT DIARIES
George Sales sets off from Checkpoint One in the dead of night with an aim to push hard and gain ground. Meanwhile, Jana Mascha Lu Wahlig and Emma Missale battle it out for first and second womens position as they approach into check point two.
DAY 4 : HIGH PASS ABOVE CP 2
Sam Fuller is forced to retreat back down from a high pass he had just climbed above CP2 due to a tire blow out. Meanwhile, other riders press on climbing to 1800m before dropping down into the adjacent valley.
DAY 5 : RACING FOR THE WOMENS PODIUM
Jana Mascha Lu Wahlig departed CP3 at 05:30am to push on towards the finish line.
680km into the race is a road climb, switch back after switchback meandering their way up the mountainside.
Emma Missale, being closely followed by Leanne Bentley are neck on neck with just a mere 12km gap. Both pushing hard on the road climb to maintain their position in the women’s podium. With such a small gap between riders, anything is possible.
DAY 6 : RIDING PAIRS
David Nicholls and Mark Diamond scratch from the race after a tyre blow out in the night on a remote stretch of the route. Bringing Manu Cattrysse and Katrien De Smet as the leading riding pairs. As we find them on the trail they are riding through rain and thunder whilst being forced to scramble over landslide debris blocking their route.
DAY 7: KASTANIA HAVEN
The riders discovered a small cafe in Kastania that became known as the secret resupply in a stretch that is otherwise vastly empty.
Avid dot watchers and cafe owners Dimitra and George welcomed our weary riders throughout the day with their bottomless hospitality. Riders ate, laughed and rested under the warm sun in the village of Kastania giving them the energy they needed to push through the approximate 110km to the finish line.
DAY 8: DOWN TO THE SEA
Hellenic Mountain race takes our riders across 880kms and 27,860m of climbing across some of Greece’s most spectacular landscapes.
From the village of Meteora settled at the base of towering sandstone rock faces, through the Pindos mountains and down to the Mediterranean Sea in the town of Nafpaktos.