It was born from the urge to go find what lies beyond the pavement. Four editions later, it still has the same dust on its legs.
Friday to Sunday
Épica is much more than Saturday. It kicks off on Friday with check-in, the expo and the social ride, and it ends on Sunday with the after ride. In between is gravel in its purest form: roads to discover, people to share them with and a Tercer Tiempo nobody wants to miss. The toughest competition here is with yourself: going a little farther, pushing past your limits and heading home wanting more.
50 miles
The 50 miles are the best way to step into a discipline that gets better every year. That's 87 km and 1,080 m of climbing through hills, woodland and dirt roads: an unmatched natural setting to enjoy the sport. You don't have to fight for a podium. The challenge is to dare, to prepare and to cross the finish line.
100 miles · competitive
Edition after edition, Épica has become a meeting point for riders from several countries with one goal: to win it. That's 170 km and 2,057 m of climbing, fully self-supported, with a 10-hour limit. The hills make it demanding and the fast surface makes it quick. That mix decides everything: here you go all out, at high speed, from start to finish.
How it began
Uruguay has no big mountains. It has something better for anyone who loves riding a bike: thousands of kilometers of dirt roads that cross the hills, run through small towns and lose themselves among fields and woods. Rodrigo Artigas and the Gravel UY crew knew it, and in November 2023 they decided to invite everyone to come and find out.
There were 150 of us that first time. We set out with more hope than certainty, pointed our wheels at the hills of Maldonado and came back covered in dirt, legs empty, wearing a smile that wouldn't go away. That's when we understood this wasn't just another event.
Épica hasn't stopped growing since. Riders came from 10 countries: Olympians, and friends daring to try it for the very first time. We've pedaled through the night, through the November heat and into the wind. The routes and distances have changed, but not what makes it unique: the wave on the road, the hug at the finish and the stories told at the Tercer Tiempo, our post-race party.
This is Épica: going out to find your own limit and finding, along the way, your people.
Épica now belongs to everyone: the Ministry of Tourism declared it of national interest, and the Intendencia de Maldonado, of departmental interest.
