The “Epic” is epic by name and certainly epic by nature. If you have ever turned a pedal in anger, irrespective of what level, you will understand the ferocity of the competition. At the sharp end of the field, you get to witness the international cream of the mountain biking crop duking it out over seriously tough terrain in whatever the weather gods dish up. This year it was hotter than satan’s cats’ nether regions on occasion, and then it rained on two of the days. To have a South African pair, Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje, win overall was spectacular to watch. Tristan Nortje’s emotion at the finish was serious lump-in-the-throat stuff. There is no stiffer job in mountain biking than to be drafted into partnering a guy like ‘Matt’ Beers in arguably the world’s toughest MTB stage race. I have it on good authority that Matt doesn’t shave. He hammers in the stubble with a 4 lb hammer, then chews it off inside! On the final stage, they pulled back a 13-second deficit and won by 1 minute and 4 seconds after eight days of racing!
And then we have the Elite women. Watching the fairer sex getting down and dirty in a gruelling event like the Epic almost seems wrong on some level. I mean, ‘sugar and spice and all things nice’ doesn’t fit the Epic picture even remotely like the ‘frogs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails’ in the men’s category. In order to have the women finish in a similar time to the men, the women’s route was shortened, which perhaps favoured the Cross-Country athletes a wee bit over the diesel-engined marathoners. To try and get a handle on what makes a top women’s Pro cyclist tick, I caught up with veteran Pro, Samantha Sanders, the current SA Marathon Champion, who, with her teammate Bianca Haw, finished sixth overall and won the trophy for the top all-African ladies’ team home.
Sam’s story is fascinating. Born on the East Rand, she moved at an early age to Hoedspruit, where she grew up in what she describes as “an amazing childhood”. She got into cycling relatively late while studying at Tukkies. She describes her dad as “a petrol head”, so predictably she raced off-road motorcycle enduros with her three brothers from an early age. Yet another 4-year-old whose intro to dirtbikes was a Yamaha PeeWee 50! It was while at varsity that she decided to buy a mountain bike on which to keep fit. The salesman at Frits Pienaar Cycles must have done a proper job, because he persuaded her to enter ‘a race’ the next weekend on her new Merida Hardtail. Turns out the race was a National event in Groenkloof, where Sam, despite claiming to be really unfit, ended up winning her age group, and the rest, as they say in the classics, is history! Clearly, those technical motorcycle enduro skills worked! The bicycle bug bit properly, and an amazing career was launched.
Sam transitioned to the National team at 23 years old, racing Cross-Country Nationals and half-marathons. 2012 and 13 saw her racing a Commencal in Europe. It was there that she says she learned what being a Professional athlete was actually all about. In 2015, her coach got her riding on the road as well. 2016 saw her really in the crucible of pain, racing the 2016 World Road Champs as well as her first Absa Cape Epic, where she teamed up with Jeannie Dreyer, wife of adventure racing legend, Martin. In 2017, she was signed to Dormakaba SA, a heavyweight SA women’s cycling team, joining Vera Looser and Candice Lill. This was another game-changer for Sam. She was introduced to an even more holistic approach to performing as a Pro Cyclist. Training, nutrition, cross training, and and and…Sam adapted with reasonable ease to the life of a Pro. By nature, she is a creature of habit, methodical, focused, and disciplined. All the attributes that are essential for a Pro athlete. 2018 saw her teammate caught for doping at the Epic, so all her efforts were ultimately in vain. In 2019, her teammate Amy Wakefield was forced to pull out, which perversely and, in a way, fortuitously allowed Sam to focus on winning her first SA Marathon Champs.
2021 was what she terms “a disaster”. Her mom got diagnosed with cancer, she signed with a new team, Galileo Risk (now Team Efficient Infiniti Racing), but she just had too much distracting her. 2022 saw a pickup until COVID struck the world. Things got properly back on track in 2025 when she had a great year, clinching her second SA Marathon Championship with a dominant display at Karkloof, where she won with a 9-minute margin over her teammate at this year’s Epic. Whilst the format of the shortened women’s route may have favoured the Cross-Country athletes, Sam reckons the results would have been no different over a longer route. She says that despite the weather and tough nature of the route, she could ride within herself and enjoy the event.
Sam rode a Specialised full ‘susser’ at this year’s Epic, the performance of which she says is next level. Electronic shifting and adaptive electronic suspension are just part of this package. She is a brand ambassador for Lynnwood Cyclery in Pretoria. Sam is exceptionally appreciative of her sponsors, whom she feels indebted to. In no particular order of importance, as she values them all so much, they are GWM Mbombela, Infiniti, Lynnwood Cyclery and Liqui Moly South Africa.
People who deserve an honourable mention for input on her journey are Shaun Frayne from Dormakaba, an early sponsor, Valencia Wholesalers, and her long-term coach, John Wakefield.
Her immediate goals for the rest of 2026 are to defend her SA Marathon jersey and to make a serious impact on some of the ever-more-popular gravel races. Chatting with Sam gave me some rare insight into the life of a top Pro athlete. We see athletes standing on the podium or crossing a finish line with their hands aloft. What we don’t always fully appreciate is the amount of dedication, discipline, self-denial and just plain old-fashioned guts it takes to perform consistently at a top level.
Sam, to you and those of your ilk, I applaud you!
