Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Late last night, Cecilia Campuzano became the first woman to finish the 2024 BC Epic 1000 in British Columbia, tackling the 1,000-kilometer route in just 3 days, 13 hours, 40 minutes. We caught up with her the day before at the Kootenay Lake ferry to see how she was doing…
As I mentioned in my congrats post for Svein Tuft, who finished this year’s BC Epic 1000 in record time, I’ve always wanted to hunker down on the Kootenay Lake Ferry to intercept riders. Besides being one of Canada’s most popular bikepacking events, having a mandatory 35-minute ferry three-quarters of the way into the route is interesting. For the fastest riders, it’s a race to catch the earliest ferry possible, and for others, it’s a chance to get off the bike, charge some electronics, and take a quick nap during the 35-minute crossing.
I knew I wanted to catch the first-place woman, Cecilia Campuzano, at some point on the route, but I missed her just outside Nelson. I wasted no time jumping in my van and zipping back to the ferry crossing, where I caught Cecilia and Carl Miiller, the same Carl I rode most of the BC Epic with back in 2017. Unlike Svein, who didn’t have much to say in his exhausted state, Cecilia and Carl were in good spirits and surprisingly chatty.
Cecilia is from Mexico but spends half her year here in British Columbia. She currently works at Gerick Cycle and Ski in Nelson, and one of the first things she did after we got acquainted on the ferry was offer me a slice of pizza, which I politely declined. It was a small gesture, but it spoke loudly to the type of person she is. Despite being tired and the weather being less than ideal, she made an effort to chat, and it was fun to see her and Carl reminisce about previous sections of the route. Cecilia is an excellent mountain biker, so it was no surprise to hear that some of the singletrack sections were her favorite. She told me this was her first time doing anything like this, and despite a flat tire and a stuck tubeless valve, there hadn’t been that many surprises. She told me she was carrying a 1-person tent, which she was glad to have, but didn’t have a proper sleeping bag, so it hadn’t been very warm at night.
Last night, Cecilia became the first woman (and 11th overall) to reach the finish in Fernie with a time of 3 days, 13 hours, 40 minutes (3d:13h:40m). Finishing the route this year, let alone so quickly, is a huge accomplishment considering the range of temperatures and weather the riders have faced. Between the usual temperature swings that British Columbia’s interior is known for, there have been massive downpours that looked extremely challenging to ride in.
According to Trackleaders, there are just six women signed up for live tracking, four of whom have scratched from the event. Claire Allen is set to be the next woman to finish, and she’s currently sitting at around kilometer 660. Congratulations to Cecilia, Carl (who took 8th place overall), and everyone else who is still out riding.
You can follow the race along live here.
Further Reading
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