Sharing the road: Robin and Lucas take on the Atlas Mountain Race

Nice to meet you, Lucas. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Lucas: Well, I'm Lucas, I'm 26 years old, and I got into the ultra-distance cycling scene, like, two years ago. I started with the NorthCape4000, and then in 2024, I competed in my first TCR. I got eighth…and then Robin asked me to do the Atlas Mountain Race as a team, so we did that—almost. We didn't finish, but yeah, we did it as a team.

And Robin, most people who read this will know you, but for those who don’t…

Robin: I'm Robin. I’ve officially been with PEdALED since my first TCR, which took place in 2022, but unofficially, let's say even earlier. Back in 2019, I had a photoshoot with [the brand], and the team made sure I would get a spot for the TCR, so that was basically my first connection.

So, what made the two of you decide to attempt the Atlas Mountain Race together?

Robin: For me, I'm just super interested in trying out new things. And the Atlas Mountain Race was, let's say, a bit done in a sense for me, because I was able to win it. I’d really had a super nice and good time, but I didn't see a point in returning, at least not as a single rider, because that story had been told. But I realized that I like Morocco quite a bit, and I enjoyed my time there a lot, So I was looking for a way of doing it a bit differently—so I asked Lucas.

How about you, Lucas, what made you want to try the AMR?

Lucas: I was just curious Morocco, how the landscapes are there. And last year, I’d asked Robin what his plans were for 2025, so we got the idea of doing it together.
Robin: I would say I probably entered the race stating that it was going to be something different, but not really acting like it. I find this is really one of the most interesting aspects of riding as a pair. I am really not a team sports person. I'm a super egoistic sportsman once it comes to racing. And like, facing the challenge of acting as a team is something I still think a lot about, especially now after the race. Knowing that, even if we say we are talking to each other, it still requires so much effort to really communicate transparently. This is something that I will definitely try to improve next time.

Lucas, when did your problems start?

Lucas: I already had some problems on the first hill up to Telouet Pass. I noticed that my pulse was super high, and it was strange because I had trained well during winter, and I had expectations that I could follow Robin's pace, but somehow it wasn't like that. After that climb, I was too exhausted, and that feeling continued during the next day, and that's maybe why we were slow, which led to the other main issue. When we rode the long downhill, I was just not strong enough to hold my handlebar properly. I was super tense, and my neck and arms felt totally blocked. And so, yeah, I got Shermer’s Neck during the second night, and it just got even worse after that.

And for those who might not know, what is Shermer’s Neck?

Lucas: It's basically that you can't lift up your head anymore. So, I was just riding, staring at my wheel and couldn't lift my head up. During downhills, it was really scary and not safe anymore. And I couldn't do anything about it.

When did you both start talking about ending your ride? What was that discussion like?

Robin: It was not a single discussion, but it was a process over the course of an evening and then a night of sleeping and then a morning of noticing that things did not really get better. When it first appeared while going down from the old colonial road, it became clear that if this stays like this, it wouldn’t be possible to continue.
So, then the discussion was how long are we going to sleep and that answer was also really clear: super long until the sun's up again—eight hours, nine hours, which is incredibly long during a race. When we noticed in the morning that it didn't really get better, it was also clear that okay, that it's about 70KM to the next bigger city, the third checkpoint. That will be it. It was somehow emblematic that we didn't really talk so much about this, about scratching. Maybe it's the fact that we didn't talk about it that was also the reason why it ended like this. We should have talked a bit more about our states when things were still going smoothly.

In racing, a lot of attention gets paid to the finish. But what are some things that stood out during your attempt?

Robin: This is a basic answer, of course, but I really enjoyed Telouet Pass, that first big, big climb in the middle of the night.
Lucas: I was surprised by the friendly locals and their hospitality, and yeah, I was also very glad that Robin helped me during those dark hours. Thank you, Robin, because it wasn't that nice to experience that, but he helped me a lot. Robin: Maybe that is also something that was a real highlight for me. Let’s be transparent, I think that Lucas maybe believes a bit that I did some favor for him riding together, which in the way I see it, is not the case at all. It was a really great experience, and I enjoyed it a lot and it challenged me in a way that I love challenges. It was just a great new experience.