Monday, March 18, 2024
Distance: 88km
Climbing: 2450m
Max Stage Time 8h 20 min
Start Location
Saronsberg, Tulbagh
Finish Location
Saronsberg, Tulbagh
PLEASE NOTE
All trails are open to the public with a permit EXCEPT the Fanties Pass and Assegaaibostrails which are strictly closed to the public
![](https://manuals.epic-series.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ACE24_Profiles_Stage_1_large.jpg)
Brave the UNTAMED
Bravery will be required on Stage 1. Tulbagh, once a frontier town, is still an untamed mountain biking destination. New trails and established challenges ensure a fittingly difficult day. Four major climbs punctuate the day with Raptor Rise setting a tone of sweeping switchbacks through fynbos, continued by Boegoe and the Kliprivier Trails. Fanti’s Pass, infamous in its intensity ensures the day’s elevation gain easily exceeds 2 000 meters. It’s not just all challenges and climbing though. Singletracks, never before ridden in a race, like Jan se Bos offer a welcome reward for uphill toils, as do established trails like Assegaaibos and God’s Window. Fortune will favour the brave on this stage. But the line between bravery and foolishness can be a fine one, so be warned.
PLEASE NOTE
Cut-off times are not an indication of average speed required to make maximum stage time.