Noah Warren is a Café du Cycliste athlete and the youngest ever competitor at the Cape Epic, having raced it every year he has been eligible. This year, he’s adding races in Andorra and Switzerland, to make a trio of Epic Series events!

“Andorra is a place I had heard wonderful things about,” says Noah. “The race was short, being only four stages between 2 and 3.5 hours each. As a young rider, this is good because my legs have far fewer kilometres in them than older marathon riders, leading to a disadvantage on longer days. Additionally, this is considered the most technically challenging race of the Epic Series calendar. I really enjoy riding singletrack on a mountain bike, and this race truly delivered one of the most spectacular courses I have ever ridden. Andorra Epic has some of the most incredible views and I really enjoyed the ‘adventure’ aspect of this race. You feel like you are exploring uncharted territory and seeing places few people have experienced.”

All Epic Series events are raced in pairs, but Noah’s Cape Epic partner was unavailable, so he buddied up with a new rider, Loïc Blanc. The team element adds a particular slant to the race, as Noah explains: “As always, racing with a partner is a different game from solo racing. You have to constantly be paying attention to your partner so as to ride fastest as a team. This one in particular was interesting because Loïc’s strength lies in climbing and laying down power, while mine lies in descending and efficiency. The team dynamic between Loïc and myself is different than past teammates. We aren’t afraid to push each other’s limits. I think this is an incredibly good thing because, most of the time, you can find another little part of yourself that’s able to go farther. For myself, I was emptying myself on every climb in ways I can’t explain, while on descents Loïc was pushing the boundary of speeds he had done on singletrack before. This was super nice and is a good omen for Swiss Epic I think, as now we have time to shore up our weaknesses to ride best as a team.”

The duo combatted punctures and the effects of altitude to remain competitive, improving their finishing position each day. “We paid deep attention to our off-bike fueling, accounting for both daily basic requirements and adding on fuel as dictated by how many kilojoules we burned during the stage. This meant we could keep up the same effort level across four stages, while other teams faded,” Noah says.

He also says the kit was a boost. “The Mathilde bib is incredibly versatile for a range of temperatures. I found that it keeps me warmer on cooler morning starts, while wicking sweat and keeping me cool in the warmer midday,” he says, adding that “the Mona jersey is just the perfect marathon jersey. Protection from the sun and elements, while having plenty of pocket space for equipment and nutrition really makes the difference across long days.”

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The experience with his new partner has left Noah confident about the Swiss Epic later this summer. “I’m really excited to see how Loïc and I can perform as a duo having experienced Andorra together. We know what does and doesn’t work, so we can use it to our advantage to ride as efficiently as possible in August,” he says.

For those who are thinking of taking on the Andorra Epic, he has the following advice: “There are two major things that are important. First, this race is a real mountain bike race. Make sure that your skills are up to snuff and your arms and hands can take long, extended descents on rough singletrack. The second is this race is at altitude.

Be prepared for your legs and lungs to hurt different, especially for those living at sea level with no altitude experience!”