The most brutal MTB race in Europe
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- The Highland Trail 550 is the oldest bikepacking race in Europe and arguably the hardest. With harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, numerous technical downhill, countless long hike-a-bikes, it is a test of character for anyone who is bold enough to sign up. The reward is gorgeous landscapes in a remote and wild part of that populous continent that is Europe.
The course and conditions make it super challenging, but on top of that, I had to deal with a string of bad luck that made it even harder.
Follow along to see what it takes to complete this legendary race.
_____________________________________________
Footage
Sofiane Sehili
Editing
Fanny Bensussan
Music
Epidemic Sound
What an area, what a race. Thanks for giving that insight!
Merci d’avoir pris le temps de filmer, monter et partager Sofiane. Simplement Bravo!!!
Avec plaisir 😊
One dry sock is better than no dry socks. 🤪
You’re a beast Sofiane!! Well done mate! 🚴♂️🏔️ 👊🏻
Haha! My obsession with keeping my feet dry probably cost me a spot on the podium. But it is what it is
What a true athlete, a race like this requires a warrior mindset. I salute you sir.
Absolute massive respect. You’re a winner for finishing simple as that 🎉
🙏🙏🙏
Looks tough,did you finish on that cut tyre? Kudos💪
@@daniellovett6213I did. I had no choice but to put a tube in, which made the ride pretty harsh
Bravo Sofiane! Pour ta performance bien sûr, quelle ténacité, quelle résilience! Le film est super, belles images, beau montage et le personnage principal est bien choisi:) Bel effort aussi d'avoir pu filmer pendant l'effort, ça prend du temps et de l'énergie..
Massive welldone Sofian watched all your videos, SRMBR epic. The way you ride the resilience and endurance you have your win on the Highland 550 is ahead of you. Thanks for a great film
Glad you liked the channel. Thanks for watching
And stay tuned as there's more coming
Sounds like an extreme Version of me noticing my dynamo is on while training at daylight.
That you didnt realize is imediately actually shows how strong and humble you are man.
As always inspriring.
Ride on!
Lesson learned though. Next time I find myself somewhere in the mid pack, I'll double check everything on my bike!
Great vid Sofiane
Well done. Super video. Thanks
You mr. are a real CHAMPION !!!
Fabulous insights as to what’s involved. Thanks for sharing @fanny nice edits
She's the best, ❤️
Congratulations! for completing
Thanks for that insight.
Le défi est fou, et la vidéo est folle ! Merci pour ces moments !
Avec plaisir
Inspirational as always! I watch a lot of bikepacking/self supported races an the feet play up a lot of the time when the weather turns. When I go on a bikepacking trip (not racing) I always carry a pair of waterproof socks like sealskins, I would probably add a second pair riding in Scotland, they saved my feet more than once.
I tried waterproof socks while racing but they're a bit bulky. They work in some situations. But one they get wet, they weigh a ton and it's very hard to dry them
what mental strength you have! just pushed hard again, bravo!
"Good" memories, fun to see it out of your perspective! 🙌
Love how you used the hyphens 😂
Thanks for the video. It's amazing!
Total respect. An amazing effort, if you still want to win keep going 🙂
We'll see. I've come to terms with the fact that not every race has my name on it
amazing achievement
Sofiane, thank you for sharing your amazing adventure…
No worries, my pleasure
Juste incroyable.. bravo! Et le clin d’œil au morceau des tindersticks, parfait 😊
Oh y en a pas beaucoup qui l'ont cette ref !
Brilliant mate , 🎉
Wow Sofian! That’s a great video you put together!! I rode it about a week after and it blows me away hot fast you did it!! Great video and well done! I definitely think about you for motivation out there sometimes!
Thanks for the compliment. I did the filming part but the real talent is my girlfriend Fanny who edits all the footage. Needless to say she has to hear a lot of rambling when she watches the 2/3 hours of footage I come back with 😅
tremendous effort, well done.
loved your letting us know how you felt throughout.
That sounded like a bit too much complaining when I watched the final edit 😅
Thanks for sharing, I loved taking part this year. Crazy as you finished it I still had soooo long left!
It's very much a love and hate relationship for me. Not sure if I'll ever go back
Oh yeah warm air on the feet, now ya livin!!
You need two maps for HT 550. One with all the bothys and one with all the hand dryers.
@@sofianeshl Did you have waterproof socks in this race or just a regular ones? I have the former but I haven´t tried them yet in the ultradistance race so I don´t know if they absorb water after some time or not. Insane effort and great video as always.
Nice !! so great !
Bravo soufian😊
Thanks for taking me with you! Beautiful place, nice ride and a damn good host! 👍🏻
Not to mention gas station cheese burgers 😉
Finally a real race.
No support, no cookies, no medals, and no fees.
✌Congrats
Bikepacking in its purest form. As it started and, hopefully, as it will stay.
Bravo sir
Un très grand merci Sofiane de nous faire vivre ça. Vraiment grandiose, sauvage, rude. Tu fais 4eme avec des soucis de matériel, c'est vraiment bien ! Total respect
Merci
J'ai pas trop de chance avec cette course pour le moment, mais ça viendra peut-être un jour.
🙏 As tu pensé aux chaussettes imperméables ? Ça marche du feu de dieu (les verjari par exemple)
hahaah the feet up in the hand dryer is iconic
I agree the third highlander movie is really bad... but your version of it is really good! Well done on the riding and congratulations on taking the energy to document it in such tough conditions 👏
It is so bad it's actually fun to watch. Don't know about you in Switzerland but that's we call a nanar in France
Funny that in the original “Highlander” movie, a Frenchman played the Scottish main character, and the Scottish actor played a Spaniard. BTW, a good way to keep yourself awake on the smoother parts of the course is to eat something hard, like beef jerky, or, better yet, dog biscuits. Chewing and an occasional swallow increases the blood flow to your head, and keeps you more alert. This is an old trick soldiers on watch use to stay sharp.
Legend
C'est un triathlon cette course, vélo/natation/marche! Bravo pour cette incroyable performance malgré une roue libre défaillante sur un tiers du parcours.
Haha j'y avais jamais pensé mais c'est pas faux !
Great edit Sofiane. Now you've got the bike carry sorted you'll be sorted for the TTW!
It's not my sponsor so I had to buy it. Might as well use it as much as possible now 😅
But please tell me TTW has less hiking than HT 550
@@sofianeshl no, but its worth every step cos of where it gets you. Eg the hike in Fisherfield is worth it, cos of the payback. Postie Path, a huge disappointment
Thx for this video Sofiane, It gives me the opportunity to see my back at 0'49'' :-) ( but I was a bit slower than you then ;-) )
I regretted not to take a camera to do my own movie.
Contrary to too many other events which are claiming to be the hardest one for obvious commercial purposes, this one contents just to be...
That's the beauty of it. No sales pitch as there's nothing to sell.
@@sofianeshl Exactement, c'est bien pour ça qu'elle est devenue aussi mythique cette HT. Je pars sur la SRMR dans 3 semaines. Il me semble que tu connais plutôt bien ;-)
Great video! Scotlands the only place where you can get all four seasons in one day!
Luckily we only experienced autumn and spring
Très belle images. Merci pour ce partage !
Avec plaisir
Its ok not to win. Thanks for the video 👍
Finishing this in spite of all the problems was a win in itself
Merci pour ce partage Sofiane, je sais où je vais tenter de m’inscrire l’année prochaine !
J'espère que ta candidature sera retenue :)
super de s'immerger dans cette course mythique...on prend mieux la mesure du chantier!!!...Et puis c'est beau et sauvage...Merci Sofiane et bravo 👍
Il ne manque que les chutes que j'ai faites sur la fin quand j'étais trop épuisé pour piloter correctement sur les pierres mouillées
Great ride, fantastic experience. I’m preparing to do pretty much the same route but not as a race. A tough tour with a few luxuries in the bag. Far more civilised as it gives me time to soak up the place.
Amazing effort, well done Sofiane. Anyone else would have cracked after the freehub issues
Where there's a will there's a way
17 minutes qui donnent envie de sortir le vélo du garage 😊
C'est le but 😉
i rode this route in 15 days before and after the race guys did it at 65 years on an old scott scale ,was tough ride in 15 days but to do alex or sofiane time of 3 days 5 hr or 16 hrs u gotta give them a lot of respect well done lads u r soemthign more than champions ,,legends ...........or mayeb tale a look at silk road race in krygstzhan
I hope you had fun and didn"t get rained on too much :)
Epic
Congratulations on a great ride. 3rd time lucky? Would love to see you have another go at it.
Not next year. Maybe 2026
magnifiques paysages, vidéo et performance!
Les paysages j'y suis pour rien, mais les autres compliments je prends 😁
🐐
Da feet of a BEAST! You Go Boy!
Should I add footfetish as a hashtag?
That's brutal.. A 900 Km race on an unforgiving terrain.
Just touring it would be challenging. So racing it, well, you saw the video...
Bravo et merci pour ces merveilleux paysages. Je me suis marré un peu sur les images des pieds sous le sèche mains. J'imaginais le gars qui passe par hasard et qui voit un gars les pattes en l'air dans les toilettes 😊
Oh il s'est passé des choses encore plus bizarres dans ces toilettes et que j'ai préféré ne pas filmer 😅 la bise Patrick
Great footage, tough game that. Some questions please: 1). Restrap harness for carrying the bike? 2). Any midge protection. If so, did it work? 3). Reason for no upholstery needle and thread for the tyre? 4). Fully waterproof socks for rivers and bog crossings? I can see you’d end up with trench foot if you didn’t take care like you did. Thank you for the video, I knew this was tough, this shows how tough. Shame about the freehub. Congratulations on the finish. Tim
1) Yes
2) No. Just avoiding to stop. Which is what I do when I race anyway.
3) I was carrying a needle and thread. I didn't think of using them.
4) Waterproof socks are waterproof to a certain point. After which they become very wet, very heavy and very hard to dry
@@sofianeshl thank you for taking the time to answer, good luck in Basajaun!
👍👍👍
Awesome seeing some of your race firsthand! Thanks for sharing and making this recap!! I'm guessing you'll be back for another go since you didn't meet your goal of winning? Or is it too soon to say?
It's way too soon to say. It takes time to forget how brutal this one is.
@@sofianeshl I can definitely respect that! Plus only imagine how brutal it is coming from you.
The axle screw torque messing with the bearings sideload/alignement may tell the hub is deffective. (Missing an internal spacer?)
It was actually a problem with the end cap
Great video - what make are your cycling glasses 👓?
They're Shimano Ridescape
@@sofianeshl merci
Well done & bad luck with the mechanical issues that slowed you down. Could you not repair the tyre with Restraps tyre kit for sidewall repairs?
I have no experience with such kits. Can you keep your tubeless with them?
WOW!!! Congratulation. Big admirations. Apart from race, you are frenchman, how did you perfected your english to level you have?
Relentless practice is key 🙂
Nice way
Hi Sofiiane, do you ever try Shimano SPD sandals, I use them all the time and have no foot issues, obviously not in the cold winter but even then you can get away with water proof socks some days. Great video
Scotland would probably be too cold for sandals. Also they're not really suited to long hike-a-bikes
@@sofianeshl I've not found a problem once we get into spring and also walking is fine. I know I never wear shoes and socks anymore bikepacking bar the winter
@sofianeshl what are you using to carry your bike on your back? I can see it appears to be a backpack but, with your bags and stuff and struggling to understand how you are setting it up to carry on your back. Great recap, thanks for sharing.
It's a harness made by restrap
Hi Sofiane, always the best! 1)Are your shoes the fizik terra ergolace gtx?Are you happy with this choose and what do you think of goretex? I think that when you have a situation like yours where you know your feet will gett wet anyways gtx is not good, it will get wet anyway and will not dry easily. 2) which camera are you using for recording?
I was happy with the shoes as they are great to walk but they do take time to dry. I have never found shoes that actually dry fast. Goretex is pretty useless for shoes.
All my lastest vids are recorded with a GoPro 11
Sofiane, I know that feeling on the west coast of Scotland of riding until there's no place else to go. You might like a song by Runrig called The Edge of the World which treats this very subject.
Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a listen. What a place that northernmost point is!
How do you find that pedaled long sleeve jersey? I've been looking at getting one for the cooler days, but not sure how warm they are.
It was actually a bit too warm for the weather we had because I had a merino long sleeve baselayer underneath. It's a good combo for temps between 10/15°C
Bravo pour une course ou tu as eu des problèmes mécaniques.
Pas facile les Highlands.
Un vrai test même pour les bikepackers les plus endurcis
Sofiane would you have a kit list you used on this ride
Nope sorry. But you can watch the video about my tour divide kit
@@sofianeshl thanks for replying, will watch now :)
2:20 I usually come to this opinion in every race 20 seconds later after it started. ^^
😂
Where is the track at 12:03? Looks epic!
It's on the way out of Fisherfield
@@sofianeshl Thanks!
I've just realised, I'm not a mountain biker,
Au début je me dit que ça devait passer en gravel après j’ai compris. En tout cas c’est trop beau.
En gravel ça signifierait marcher en montée ET en descente !
What kind of MTB is that?
It's a Bombtrack Cale full suspension
@@sofianeshl sup, bro! Great video
Gortex shoes with shoe covers??????
I'm pretty sure everything would get wet anyways
@@sofianeshl that’s my winter set up 95% of the time feet stay dry.
Do you ride off-road 20 hours a day with rain, puddles, bogs and river crossings?
@@sofianeshl yes to all but max 8-12hr. I have also in the past used silicone to seal any air vents in my shoes. Aero shoe covers from aliexpress work well. I also have water proof socks. I have also used backcountry skiing gaiters that are gortex. For me if my feet don’t stay as comfortable as possible my performance drops to the point of it not being worth it to even ride.
Don't be a putz just drink the whiskey.