Most of these were taken on Stage 5, a grey, wet and windy day that demanded everything from the riders. I met Paolo and Nacho, our photographer and film maker respectively, at a pretty cold Refuelling Station 2.

‘Today will be all black and white,’ Paolo said to me.

‘Got it.’

Here’s the text I wrote for the MBC IG post.

Black and white was the mood today. There were no grey areas, no hint of colour, not just in these shots but in the mood of the steppe as well. 

This was Mongolia at its rawest – cold, wet, windy, punishing, the kind of day that demands all you can give… and then some.

You got through today? You became a Khan. One and all.

And so these images, specifically chosen to be portrayed in black and white, embody the grit and determination of those who set out into the wild, those who expressed their inner desire to be counted. 

This is Mongolia. This is the Mongolia Bike Challenge. And don’t you forget it…

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All images by Paolo Penni Martelli.