Lachlan Morton has raced the Absa Cape Epic before but even so he had to think hard about whether he’d accept Keegan Swenson’s invitation to partner up for the gruelling eight day mountain bike race in Africa. The US national champion in the discipline and Life Time Grand Prix winner, after all, was clearly entering the event with a spot at the front of the pack as a target.
“He is probably the strongest and most experienced partner I am ever going to get for this race,” said Morton in a media release from his team, EF Education-EasyPost. “When he asked me if I was interested in doing it, I had to think about it, because I was worried I was not going to be on his level.
“Then, I realised that I had a few months to focus and get ready to test myself against the world’s best mountain bikers. It is kind of a daunting prospect, but the fact that I was scared about it, and am nervous about it, means that it is a worthwhile thing to take on.”
The former WorldTour professional who is now following an alternative calendar, has shown up on the road a couple of times over the Australian summer, racing the Buninyong circuit at the National Championships and the 267km Melbourne to Warrnambool, with a bikepacking trip from Ballarat to Adelaide thrown in. However, there was never any doubt where Morton’s focus lay. The adventure rider, in between his road forays, blocked out a chunk of time in Port Macquarie to continue his specific training for the eight-day 658km mountain bike event while in Australia.
“I have just been doing a lot of very specific and really intense training on my mountain bike with the focus of trying to be as ready physically and technically come the start line,” Morton said. “It has been a fun process.
“Regardless of what happens at the race, I am glad to have gone through the process of getting ready for it, and being a bit scared and accountable to someone else, because I think no matter what it is going to set me up well for the season, but I am also just interested to see how it all goes, putting everything together for eight days.”
Morton last raced the Cape Epic in 2021, partnering with Kenyan rider Kenneth Karaya and finishing in 35th place overall. Swenson lined up at the event for the first time in 2022, racing with another experienced mountain biker, Maxime Marotte, to finish eleventh overall and step up to take third on the final stage.
“Lachlan brings a lot of good tactical advice and tactical race smarts from the road…
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