Jesse Yates and his brother Liam set off two weeks ago to take on the fearsome Atlas Mountain Race - the longest race Jesse has ever attempted. The goal for both was to simply finish strongly and gain experience, but it went even better than we dared to hope...
Atlas Mountain Race is the real deal - so many of these races are lorded all over Instagram as something epic, whilst in reality, for most racers, it’s really just a nice escape and a holiday, but the Mountain Races (Silk Road, Hellenic, and Atlas) hit a little bit different. Jesse says, “I was a bit uncertain what the track would bring, but I knew either way, that this would be my biggest challenge yet. Over the first pass to CP1 we tackled a snowy Hike-a-bike section for more than an hour which set the tone.” This was followed by high temps, deep sand and broken rocky river beds - the whole route covered 1310km crossing some of the very most remote passes in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Glen - As mentioned, Jesse and Liam were there to gain experience, and whilst I watched their dots heading from one pass to another, I was pleased to see that they were taking it steady and riding to a really sensible pace. These kinds of races rarely favour the initial leaders and it takes time, and participations, to build up the knowledge of how to race them. They were running in 4th place in the pairs category on day one, but the riders ahead started to fall by the wayside quickly, and as broken bikes and broken riders left the race, the Yates’ climbed up the rankings.
...As they pushed on to CP2 the riders crossed several more high passes and sections of desert, testing the bikes to the limit. I have a tiny bit of experience in racing in dry dusty conditions and when I built Jesse’s bike I intentionally went very light on all the oils, fluids and greases - basically minimising anything which would attract dirt, therefore reducing the chance of mechanicals due to the light sand, known as “Fech-fech” (pronounced Fesh-fesh). I knew this would coat the bikes and quickly become trouble, so I avoided excess grease as much as is possible and we choose to treat the chain with a hot wax rather than oil. Jesse topped the treatment up with Squirt drip wax throughout the race.
Jesse - “Into day 3, and during the night we hit the Colonial Road, and first place in the pairs category. A few caffeine tabs helped me stay awake, and we made it to CP3 at 880km. After loading up on burgers, and pizza, and 2hours of sleep, we pushed on towards the finish.”
Glen - Last time Liam attempted the Atlas he struggled with multiple punctures. Both riders have gained a lot of experience since then and came well prepared with multiple repair options. I fitted Orange Seal Regular Sealant in the tyres because we’ve found it plugs the biggest holes out of al the sealants we’ve tried. We decided against inserts because Jesse was happy plugging holes quickly when he needs to, and inserts can get in the way of this. I picked Schwalbe's super tough Nobby Nic Super Trail Speedgrip TLE Tyres (2.4 front, 2.25 rear) which proved to be a reliable choice. The Super Trail carcass was super strong and we even found thorns in the tyres afterwards which weren’t a problem during the race, meaning that Jesse could concentrate on racing rather than plugging tyres!
Jesse - “We played it safe and slept again on the 4th night, this time in a roadside tent that some locals had setup. After that we headed to the coastline, where the temperatures rose again, and then up to Essaouira, eventually crossing the line in 5 days 23h and 45min, with my brother, winning the Pairs category.”
Glen - From listening to the stories, it’s clear that this was a brilliant experience - Jesse has built up his knowledge of longer and longer races over the last few years, and Liam has been doing it even longer. They clearly worked well as a team, and there’s no shortcut to that. You can’t just get lucky in a race like this. You have to experience years of prep to finally be in a place where you can use your knowledge. Now they’ve taken that to the next level by racing together, and it’ll be good to see what the pair of them do next...
Photos by Jesse Yates, Liam Yates, and Glen Whittington
Words Jesse Yates and Glen Whittington
2025.RIDERS – JESSEYATES
Jesse started cycling in 2013, initially with TT’s and then with some local road races, while being supported by his Dad. In 2015 he got a taste for racing in Britany and this led to two seasons on a French team living abroad while on The Dave Rayner Fund. Then he joined Team Wiggins in 2018, racing across Europe. After a years break he continued road racing before making the switch to competing in off road events and Ultra races in 2022/2023 where the most notable result has been a Badlands Pairs win and a host of top ten places. In 2024 he stepped things up with strong rides at Traka 360 and at Unbound in Kansas, coming as the first British rider - supported on the ground by AEIGHT.
Jesse is sponsored and supported by Fifty One Frames (available at AEIGHT), CAMS, SRAM Groupsets, Zipp Wheels, Schwalbe Tyres UK, Time Pedals, SN Vitae BBs, Exposure Lights, Fizik Tapes and Saddles, Ten Eighty (Oakley) Glasses, OTE Nutrition, Sean Yates Coaching, Restrap Bags and The School House Clinic. You can follow him on Instagram, Strava and YouTube.
2025.RIDERS - GLENWHITTINGTON
#aeightracer – Bike Rider / Framebuilder / Mechanic - Glen started racing in 1998, initially specialising in XCO and Solo 24-Hour Mountain Bike. He became a mechanic in 2002, working in shops and also for professional race teams including Joker, Trinity and Saint Piran. During this time he spent more time racing ‘Cross and Road, and then also TT. In 2013 he built his first bespoke frame and then spent several years at Roberts learning the art. Since then he’s designed, tested and now sells his own frames/bikes to the public as part of his ÆIGHT brand - you can find his business Instagram account here.
GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO RACE WITH US?
We’re always looking for riders to be part of our ÆIGHT CØLLECTIVE. The #aeightbikeco is about doing things a little differently - Rather than a jersey being the common theme, we kit our riders out with bespoke steel bikes and handbuilt wheels made in our Sussex workshops, the ÆIGHT WHEELWØRKS and the ÆIGHT MANUFACTØRY. We then support each other at events and races regionally, nationally and internationally - whether that’s for mountain bike, ‘cross, gravel, crit, road or TT - it’s what we call, the #aeightbikeco
The best part is that we’re not asking you to leave your team or club - that includes racing in your club/team kit. We’ve got certain brands that we work with, mostly so we can standardise shared equipment, but your own sponsors and clubs are almost always welcome. We have some strict qualifying criteria but don’t be put off by this – if you’re interested in being part of the #aeightbikeco then please get in touch by emailing your racing CV to eightbikeco@gmail.com
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