LEGENDS
Haley van Leeuwen
and Minter Barnard
or seven intrepid athletes, last
year was truly an epic one. We saw
Minter Barnard (AUS) and Haley
van Leeuwen (NZL) each earn the
coveted Epic Legend medal at the Swiss
Epic, becoming the first ever riders to
achieve this honour. In November, South
Africans Tim Hammond, Alan Gordon and
David Wright, as well as Enrico Theuns
(NED), Chak Shing Cheng (HKG) and
Peter Felber (SWI) followed suit at The
Pioneer in New Zealand.
The Epic Series is a global portfolio
of best-in-class mountain bike stage
races showcasing the most exhilarating,
rewarding and beautiful trails on the
planet. Of the Epic Series’ six events, the
three Epic Series Legend Races distinguish
themselves for being formidably
challenging, each featuring gruelling
climbs and testing trails over five, six and
eight long days (at the Swiss Epic, The
Pioneer and Absa Cape Epic respectively).
Just finishing one of them is a great
achievement, which makes it even more
remarkable that Hammond, van Leeuwen
and Cheng rode them all in one calendar
year. That explains their extra jubilation at
the finish line in Queenstown, even with
the fatigue of six days and 424km. At The
Pioneer’s final awards ceremony, a tired
but satisfied Hammond said: “That’s a lot
of racing kilometres in the legs this year!”,
after collecting his Epic Legend Medal
Haley van Leeuwen, the
first woman to become
an Epic Legend
Check out
www.epic-series.com for more details.
176 | MTB | The Untamed African MTB Race
and his trophy for taking second place in
general classification.
While the chunk of metal hanging around
their necks rewards them for passing
the true test of a mountain biker, part of
their post-event glow comes from the full
immersion into the iconic regions that host
Epic Series Legend Races: the Southern
Alps, the Swiss Alps and the rugged semi-
desert of the Western Cape. A true contrast
in terrains, culture and climate. Former
Hong Kong champion Chak Shing Cheng
reflected on the experience of navigating
remote, exposed and scenic trails around
the world: “They’re so different – the wild
nature of South Africa compared to the
steep descents in the Alps and the rocky
trails among the glaciers.”
As the world’s premier mountain bike
stage race, the Absa Cape Epic is the
pinnacle of the Series, and sells out in
seconds. The Epic Series offers riders the
opportunity to earn a guaranteed entry to
the race at Epic Series Qualifier Races – The
Swiss Epic, The Pioneer in New Zealand,
and at Reef to Reef, Port to Port and Cape
to Cape in Australia. Entries may be earned
either with a top performance, or via the
Lottery Draw. As a husband and wife team
placing high in the mixed category at the
Swiss Epic, Haley and Johnny van Leeuwen
earned a berth at the Absa Cape Epic.
With the 2019 Absa Cape Epic the next
Epic Series Legend race on the calendar,
expect to see a few more of these special
riders up on stage, receiving their Epic
Legend Medals at the end of race week at
Val de Vie Estate.
Last year, a small handful of riders
celebrated completing all three Epic
Series Legend Races – the Absa Cape
Epic, Swiss Epic and The Pioneer.