Mountain Bike Icons – the Sofiane Sehili story

Quite possibly the world’s best off-road long-distance rider of the moment.

Ruben Plasencia

off.road.cc staff

Jun 23 2023

[Words by Steve Thomas / Photographs by Ruben Plasencia, Sergio Villalba, Patrick Farnsworth / @bikesordeath]

You’re highly unlikely to ever see his name on the result boards of a UCI World Cup MTB race, yet 41-year-old Parisian off-road ultra-racer and bike packer, Sofiane Sehili is a beguiling legend of the long-ride game. Be that on flat or curly bars, it makes little difference to the Sofiane, he simply lives to ride non-stop offroad - and to do it fast, and more importantly to enjoy and savour every moment of his sleep-deprived epics.

From the bustling streets of Paris and with an Algerian family background, Sofiane found cycling late in life – in 2010, as he tells us.

“I was a journalist working for a magazine called Telerama. I wrote reviews of TV documentaries.”

Even back then he had a wanderlust for adventure and set off on a backpacking adventure across Southeast Asia.

“I had backpacked from Bangkok using a mix of trains, buses, and tuk-tuks. The last leg of this journey consisted of a 24-hour bus journey from Vientiane north to Luang Namtha in northern Laos. I arrived there and my spirit was broken. I had just realised traveling on buses was not my idea of a good time.”

By accident, in this northernmost outpost of Laos he discovered cycling.

“I needed to be more independent and more adventurous. Sticking to the Lonely Planet stuff just didn't cut it for me. So, I bought a second-hand mountain bike in a rental shop. It cost me $100. It was obviously no good and also too small for me. But I started riding it all over Laos, then Cambodia, then Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, all the way to Singapore. My life completely changed. I became obsessed with bikes and the possibilities they opened. I discovered there was nothing that brought more happiness than discovering a foreign place while on two wheels, propelled by the power of my own two legs.”

Delivering the message

On returning to France, he decided that he needed to make lifestyle changes and they were all based around his love for cycling.

“For a while, I was just content to be a bike tourer. Riding my 100-120km a day. Not doing crazy stuff. Then the second milestone and life-changing experience was becoming a bike messenger. After a couple of years of traveling a lot on my bike, I needed to get back to work. Working in an office was not an option. I needed to have the sky above my head and so I became a bike messenger. I loved it and so I wanted to be good at it, as I like being good at stuff when they bring me joy. I found out I was pretty gifted as a cyclist by riding with my messenger buddies. We would go on 200km rides and the next day they'd rest and I'd go for another double century.”

Getting serious

Early on in his cycling journey, racing was not on his radar, and back then, the whole gravel and ultra-scene were in their infancy – and yet, there was one legendary off-road race that sparked his interest.

“Tour Divide 2016 was my first race. I heard about it when I was riding the Great Divide in 2014 and thought it was mad. I was having a hard time just touring this route and so racing it seemed insane. Then I started getting the hang of it. What first appeared like pure madness transformed into a worthy challenge. After all, riding my bike for hours on end in remote places was something I was pretty good at. What if by training hard I could become very good at it? So, I started being obsessed with Tour Divide. But not just finishing it, that wasn't enough for me. Even if I had never raced a day in my life, I wanted to win it. And this is how this whole journey started. Two years after touring it I went back and raced it. I suffered a lot, learned a to, and finished third.“

In 2022 he returned to the race and duly won it outright, adding to his incredible list of ultra-endurance victories, which includes two Silk Road Mountain Race wins, the Italy Divide, French Divide, Inca Divide, Atlas Mountain Race, and a bunch of other wins and podium finishes.

Why is he so good?

“Well, first of all, I think I'm a pretty good cyclist. But I also think that, physically, I have the ability to keep going when most people start to fade. I also have a rare ability to go for days without any sleep. I built my successes by being very disciplined, cutting back on breaks, not sitting down for meals, eating on the go, resupplying only once a day, and sleeping very little. Mentally, like all elite bike pack racers, I have an above-average ability to endure pain and discomfort. Pain might be an excuse to slow down but it will never be a reason to stop. I am just obsessed with forward progress. I think my main quality is that I'm relentless.”

Off-road vs road

“If you're talking ultra, I think off-road is much more about how tough you are mentally. Whereas on Tarmac, it's a lot about how fit you are and the actual power you can push. On the road, there are fewer things to derail your plans, fewer variables, you're always riding, it's easy to resupply, easy to find shelter. Off-road, when shit hits the fan, it can be chaos. Walking for hours in the mud or snow, hiking up a broken road, running out of food, getting caught in a snowstorm, slashing a tyre. You need to deal with all that kind of stuff. And having a 400w FTP is not gonna help you as much as being tough as nails will. Off-road bikepacking is an adventure. It's about how good you are at surviving on top of being good at riding bikes.“

Recognition and reward

Sofiane does not ride bikes for the money, although it is nice to have some help and support along the way – something to help in chasing those passionate dreams a little easier, and for many years he funded all of his own adventures.

“Yes, I spent a few years working as a courier in Paris. That's how I would make my money but that was also my training. Couriering makes you mentally tough and physically fit. That's the perfect mix to become an ultra-endurance athlete. Many of the best ultra racers out there were at some point or still are bike messengers.”

It's always been tough to make a living as an ultra-endurance athlete and adventurer but thankfully in recent times brands are waking up to the potential of ultra-riding and racing, and that was to play out well for Sofiane.

“In 2020, I won a big race and appeared on many radars. Brands started to take an interest in me and, after a few other good results, I was offered several small contracts by different brands. Put together, these little cheques allowed me to quit my courier job to become a full-time bikepack racer.“

The highlights and lowlights

“My favourite event is the Silk Road Mountain Race. It's an absolute beast of a race where so many things can go wrong. You're riding rough gravel roads and hiking gnarly singletrack at 4000m of elevation. Re-supplies are few and far between, temperatures range from -15 to 40°C, no one speaks English and there is no bike shop on the course. It's a challenge of such epic proportions, an adventure of such magnitude that it can't be overstated. But the sheer beauty of Kyrgyzstan makes all the moments spent suffering well worth it.”

Although after a couple of rough rides, he has also had something of a passionate highland fling.

“And lately I fell in love with the Highland Trail 550. A race that takes place in the Scottish Highlands. As brutal as it is beautiful.”

With living every moment of life to the fullest Sofiane considers himself well blessed to be doing what he does, and he has no regrets.

“Well, I honestly don't think there have been any (regrets). I get paid to ride my bike. What is there to complain about?”

Where is ultra-racing heading?

Ultra-endurance and bike packing have evolved at a crazy pace in cycling terms, and not coming from a traditional cycling background Sofiane didn't have those old-school preconceptions to restrict his outlook. Where is it heading – especially with regard to UCI intervention and regulations?

“More and more former pros want to try bikepacking and ultra-endurance events. The sport is changing, with a more scientific approach to training, and more big brands wanting to dip their feet in ultra waters. It's growing bigger and bigger but so far we've managed to keep it real.”

As for the rule book?

“The day UCI puts its foot in the door is the day I will walk out. They stand for everything that is wrong with cycling. The bikepacking community wants nothing to do with them at all. We have our rules, our ethos, and we don't need them. They're ruining gravel with their races, taking the joy out of what is supposed to be fun.”

“To be honest I don't really care about pro cycling. I seldom watch bike races on TV. I'm much more interested in unsupported events, like bikepacking. Adventures on a level playing field, where you need both your legs and your head. That's what it's all about.”