Saffers off to a magical experience at Swiss Epic

That’s 5 days of premium mountain biking in Switzerland covering 339km and 10850m of climbing.

When given the news, Ila and Kylie jumped at the chance to ride their first stage race together. Having participated at many of the same races over the years, they were stoked to share their love for trail riding as a team.

Ila Stow is the mom to a busy 4-year-old and works at their family run business, Bike Park at Constantia Uitsig. She only really started riding after her studies and marrying local mountain bike coach, Darryn Stow. Kylie Hanekom was bitten by the bike bug in 2012 after riding her dad’s 26er and spends her day running content and marketing for SA’s largest online cycling platform, Bike Hub. She also recently added an energetic puppy to her plate of responsibilities.

In the lead to the exciting event, it hasn’t been easy to juggle work, family, puppy, and this year’s terrible SA winter.

“Thankfully I have discovered indoor training, which has cut training time down significantly. I focus on efficient training, and even though it's not always perfect, it works perfectly for us.” Shares Ila.

Both women love adventure, the freedom that comes with riding, meeting new people in the community and exploring the unknown.

“I’m always so amazed and inspired by the friends I’ve made through cycling. I’ve met so many positive and powerful women who are not scared to push the limits both on and off the bike.” Says Kylie.

Ila hopes to show women that you can find balance in life to have it all. “You just have to choose to make it happen.”

“I hope that we can continue to bring more women into the sport and show them that you don’t need to be a full-time professional to compete or enjoy riding your bike.”

Make it MAGICAL ladies.