The emphasis is on fun at Cape to Cape, with the riders navigating exhilarating forest trails, back country and coastline in the south western tip of Australia.
Cape to Cape MTB was first held in 2008 and now, over a decade later, it now holds the title as Australasia’s longest running and biggest MTB multi-stage endurance race.
The grand plan, from year one, was to introduce a new major mountain biking event to the magnificent South West of Western Australia, one that engaged the community, showcased the fabulous countryside and something that riders would enjoy and return to year after year. From the outset this event was to be more “a ride not a race” but even the most social riders can’t help but get caught up in the rivalries that four days of stage racing brings out in friends and strangers alike. Many return to catch up with those they’ve met and ridden with in previous years. Sharing stories and a beer after each days race is as much a part of the experience as time spent in the saddle.
The trails do not require a high level of technical ability and comprehensive trail marking ensures that navigation skills are not required; the only riders we’ve ever lost turned up ‘stuck’ at a local winery soon after. With multiple check ins and water points included, riders are well looked after. Each day’s racing finishes at the event village with local hospitality on offer. Every stage is unique and will be super enjoyable with the final day starting and finishing at the renowned Colonial Brewery, the perfect place to celebrate achieving something truly epic!
Absa’s She Untamed programme brings mountain biking to women across the country, and mountain biking women to The Untamed African Mountain Bike race in numbers the event has never seen.
Katherine Ross and Sarah Gardner will pair up to take on Cape to Cape; the women will be racing as MSisters, a team name that reflects both their multiple sclerosis diagnosis and the close bond they share.
After four days and more than 200km of the toughest and fastest racing the iconic Cape to Cape MTB stage race has ever seen, it was a happy, dusty and beat up group of riders who rolled across the finish line at the Margaret River Distilling Co.