Article

Preparing to be Epic in Andorra

The Andorra Epic is the third stop on the Epic Series’ global mountain biking calendar and sees a stacked field of age groupers take to the high alpine trails of the Pyrenees alongside some of the world’s top elite racers.

The 2025 edition of the Andorra Epic brings Epic Series stage racing to the Pyrenean Principality from the 3rd to the 6th of July. Along with a stellar UCI Men’s field, the UCI Women’s category sees a competitive group of teams lining up. The favourites are no strangers to the global mountain biking series, Janina Wüst and Rosa van Doorn of Buff Megamo. In fact the current Marathon World Cup leader is in line to earn an Epic Legend medal on the La Massana finish line on Saturday.

“To be honest, it started as a happy coincidence,” Van Doorn smiled when asked about becoming an Epic Legend, the special recognition riders receive for completing the Absa Cape Epic and two Legend Status events within the Epic Series. “Now that I realize I could become an Epic Legend, it definitely puts a big smile on my face. Stage races are the kind of competitions I love the most. They always feel like an adventure. The Epic Series is the biggest stage race competition, so earning that title would be a valuable bonus and something I’d be very proud of. It feels like a milestone, and I really hope to achieve it.”

Van Doorn and her teammate, Wüst, know all too well that there are no sure things in mountain bike stage racing. “I learned at the Absa Cape Epic that it isn`t the best idea to injure yourself on the very first stage,” the Swiss rider grimaced. “Riding seven stages of the Absa Cape Epic, injured and in insane pain, was something that brought my body and mind to their limit. It took me weeks to recover. Actually, my comeback will be at the Andorra Epic. The last three months were quite challenging for me and required a lot of patience. But now I’m fine and I can`t wait to be back racing.”

With Wüst returning from injury, Van Doorn will likely be the senior partner for the four days of racing. “I’m expecting the Andorra Epic to be intense, with high-altitude climbs and technical trails,” the Dutch rider predicted. “The Pyrenees have a wilder, more raw feeling in comparison to the Swiss Alps. I’ve never done the Andorra Epic or the SPAR Swiss Epic, but I know Andorra’s trails are beautiful, steep, and technical. In some of the stages, there are more downhill meters than climbing meters, which makes it really funny. I’m really looking forward to it!”

The Buff Megamo pair will face competition from 2023 Absa Cape Epic and SPAR Swiss Epic winner, Vera Looser, and her Efficient Safari Essences teammate Danielle Strydom. Cannondale ISB Sport, who has enjoyed a remarkable year in the Epic Series thus far, will be represented by Costanza Fasolis and Pilar Fernández. Antonia Daubermann and Naama Noyman (1Vision), Sanchia Malan RSA and Stephanie Wohlters (Index Efficient Infinity), Ila Stow and Laura Stark (Fortress Real Estate Investment) and the Scott BTB Sport team, of Cristina Moran Roza and Noemi Moreno Castañeda, are likely to contest for the remaining two top five places.

In the UCI Men’s race Singer KTM’s Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey start as the top ranked team. The German combination will have to see off the formidable strengths of the Klimatiza Orbea, Buff Megamo 2, Orbea x Leatt x Speed Company, Cannondale ISB Sport, and Scott – Calabandida squads. Of those, Georg Egger and Lukas Baum are arguably the most feared team. Baum resides in Andorra too and will thus be at home on the testing trails. The formidable climbing power of Marc Stutzmann and his Chilean partner for Klimatiza Orbea, Sebastian Gesche, will not be underestimated. Nor will the superb organisation Buff Megamo bring to Jose Dias and Pablo Rodriguez Guede’s campaign. Riccardo Chiarini and Peeter Pruus, of Cannondale ISB Sport, and Jose Maria Sanchez and Enrique Morcillo, of Scott – Calabandida, are dark horses for a podium place rather than outright favourites.

Further down the seedings, both Klimatiza Orbea and Cannondale ISB Sport have strong second squads who could provide a wheel or help with pace-making if needed. While the host nation are represented by La Massana ciclista’s Oscar Cabanas Quintela and Xavier Jove Riart, as well as Abel Mira Muñoz and Alex Sempere Jover of Synapse Andorra.

To follow the mountain biking action as it unfolds – starting Thursday, 3 July – from the Pyrenees, like the Andorra Epic Facebook page or follow @andorra_epic on Instagram. Daily highlights from the race can be viewed on the Epic Series YouTube Channel. To find out more, visit www.epic-series.com/andorra.

~ ENDS ~