MUST-WATCH! TWO EVERYDAY RIDERS VS. EUROPE'S BIGGEST GRAVEL RACE

Embargoed until 16:00 CEST, Monday 29 June: You might know Canyon as the brand powering World Champions but you probably don't know Canyon as a brand helping to make beginner riders feel like heroes.

This week Canyon is releasing a raw, unfiltered two-part documentary following two beginner riders - and Canyon employees - who stepped far out of their comfort zones to ride The Traka 100km course earlier this spring:

• Mira Thelen: A Customs Specialist getting back on the saddle for the first time in nearly eight years.

• Ilkin Yagubov: A company cook whose cycling motivation was primarily pasta-based.

A year ago, they answered a Canyon call to chase a goal they thought was impossible. The challenge was whether two Canyon employees with no competitive riding experience could build up over 200 training days to finish The Traka 100 gravel race within the 7 hours cut-off time.

The result isn't a polished corporate promo; it’s a funny, painful, and honest look at the confidence-building, fat-burning and skills-development journey that many beginner cyclists experience. Spoiler alert: there's a good amount of blood, sweat, tears and hate-my-bike moments. It’s exactly the kind of story that resonates with any riders discovering their own limits this summer.

Film maker, Agon Syla: "What transpired through this campaign was the creation of two unlikely heroes - Ilkin and Mira. They are equally as heroic as the elite athletes who more typically appear in front of our cameras. Yet they are also typical of the core riders we aim to serve. The pure joy of riding shouldn't only be reserved for highly trained riders. It belongs to everyone. What we are trying to communicate to every rider, at every level is, if you ride, you belong - for us, that's the essence of our Pure Cycling message."

Episode 1: Fish Out Of Water drops on Monday 29th June and Episode 2 goes live on Friday 3rd July. You can watch Episode 1 now on Canyon's Youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/pybcLjq3m_0