Have you heard of the Carpathian MTB Epic? It is a multi-stage mountain bike race, accredited by UCI held in Romania. In it’s second year big names from the world mountain biking stage have already announced their intentions.
On August 16, 2018, the next famous cyclists will compete in 4-day EPIC race: Ariane Lüthi, who has won the podium of some of the world’s toughest international mountain bike competitions, such as Absa Cape Epic, where she has been 5 times champion; Frans Claes, number 1 in the UCI World Series Marathon; but also Olympic athlete Vitor Gamito, winner of the MTB Tour of Portugal.
Lüthi and Claes.
Ariane Lüthi and Frans Claes have been announced as Event Ambassadors at Carpathian MTB Epic 2018. Vitor Gamito will also be racing the 2nd edition of the mountain competition in the Southern Carpathians.
Born in Switzerland, Ariane Lüthi, 34 years old, is revered among her competitors for her fierce and fearless marathon racing ability. She is a multiple winner of the most gruelling mountain bike stage races in the world, including the Absa Cape Epic, the Cape Pioneer Trek and the Swiss Epic!
Ariane holds many impressive titles: 5 times Absa Cape Epic category winner – Mixed in 2012 and 2013 and 3 times Women Elite winner during 2014-2016; 2 times Swiss XCM champion in 2013 and 2016; recently she gained a bronze medal at European XCM Championships 2018.
Luthi wins. A lot.
“I like to collect memories, not things! The personal motive to enter this race was the opportunity to explore a country I have never been to. I cannot wait for this adventure… discovering the magical Carpathian Mountains, which look absolutely stunning on the pictures I’ve seen, in real life! I just hope Dracula won’t come visit me at night…“, stated Ariane Lüthi, with a large smile.
Belgian cyclist Frans Claes won the UCI Marathon Series overall in 2017. From his teenage years, Frans has been determined to take his bike all over the globe and participate in all kinds of mountain bike events. The 34 years old cyclist holds the number 1 place in World Series Marathon Ranking, being also a National XCM champion in his home country Belgium.
“Winning stage races like Trans-Wales (2008), Trans-Portugal (2009) and the Trans-Maurienne (2012) gave me the motivation and the confidence to put more energy into my sport. I really look forward to compete in the Carpathian MTB Epic and explore the beauty of the region! When people told me about the route and the race I got curious about what it could be like to ride in the Romanian mountains. Then, I watched the trailer of the race and was immediately convinced to add this Epic ride to my calendar!”, said Frans Claes.
Another top rider attending the multi-stage competition from Carpathian Mountains is the Olympic athlete Vitor Gamito, who has a rich sport history and admirable achievements, both in road and MTB races.
Aged 48, the Portuguese Vitor Gamito has won in the last two years the champion titles of Portugal Tour MTB Race UCI, Algarve Bike Challenge and also of Alpen Tour Trophy in the Masters category. In 2015 he finished 4th at Absa Cape Epic, in the Masters category. He also participated at Sydney Olympic Games!
The Carpathian MTB Epic is the first multi-stage event in Romania registered in the UCI international calendar, at S2 category, and it will be held during August, 16-19, 2018, at Cheile Gradistei – Fundata, an Olympic-level resort in the Transylvanian “Alps”, in Brasov county.
The race is open to both to professional and amateur MTB riders to race in two options.
The 4-day Epic
This includes a Prologue and 3 stages. The Prologue on Thursday, August 16, is a XCO race of 4 km. The 3 stages, organised between 17th and 19th August 2018, are XCM format and each will take on a distinct route, with a distance of 60 km, having the Start/Finish set at Cheile Gradistei – Resort Fundata.
1-day Challenge
The one day option takes place on August 19. and, as a novelty to the first edition, proposes a shorter route of only 40 km, designed to be a great introduction into longer distance mountain biking.
Joko Vogel is the co-founder of Perskindol Swiss Epic and Tortour and he is a co-initiator and organizator of the UCI Cyclocross World Championship to be held in Switzerland in 2020. Vogel joined the organising committee for the Carpathian MTB Epic for 2018.
Full service in Romania
The competition from the Southern Carpathians is a full-service event – “eat, ride and sleep”, which means you can rest easy knowing that just about everything is taken care of once you enter. The prize pool for Carpathian MTB Epic 2018 is over 30.000 euro.
Registrations are open on the official page: www.carpathianmtb.ro, the last day available for entering the multi-stage race is August 5, 2018.