Last month our ambassador Matt Grayson headed to the Rwandan Epic mountain bike event. Despite the event being in its infancy, it is already making waves in the world of cycling. Matt shares a selection of his photography, capturing the stories and overall energy around the 5 day stage race.
It’s fair to say that for most cyclists, Rwanda is not on the tip of the tongue when asked for great places to go mountain biking. The land of a thousand hills is more familiar to a global road cycling audience, especially since being chosen as hosts for the 2025 Road World Championships.
The purpose
The Rwandan Epic, now in its second edition is trying to get the message out loud and clear. Rwanda is one of the most beautiful and ‘epic’ places in the world to go Mountain Biking. With a mix of technical trails, rocky descents, steep climbs and long, fast flowing single-track, the four-stage course challenged the rider’s skills and stamina.
How it started
The idea for the race began like lots of good things in life; a group of mates riding together and discovering new trails in the incredible landscape, wondering why nobody was organising an event here. So they went and did it themselves. The Rwandan Epic had that familiar feeling of a group of riders living, riding, sharing drinks and stories after each stage.
For all the riders, the reception from the locals was one of the biggest highlights of the experience. The sight of 41 riders, some professionals, most not, from 12 countries hurtling over rock gardens and weaving through farmsteads on endless natural and un-manicured single tracks was as much a curiosity as a source of entertainment.
The next one
The next edition of the event takes place this November and with 5 days of racing planned, it looks set to be another epic ride around one of the best-kept secrets in Mountain Biking.
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