Lachlan Morton debuts special-edition Rapha kit in Absa Cape Epic

GCN speaks to EF Education-EasyPost's off-road extraordinaire, as he teams up with Team AMANI's Jordan Schleck for the South African mountain bike race

18:00, Sunday 17th March 2024

George Poole

Junior Writer

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White and pink kit, worn by Lachlan Morton (left) and Jordan Schleck (centre/right), gives hint at Rapha's upcoming kit for Team AMANI

Rapha, EF Education-EasyPost and Team AMANI have unveiled a special-edition white and pink kit that is being worn by their athletes Lachlan Morton and Jordan Schleck in the eight-day Absa Cape Epic.

Taking place over roughly 700km and 16,000m of climbing in South Africa from Sunday 17 March, the Absa Cape Epic sees Morton and Schleck pair together as a two-up team and look to better Morton's result from 2021.

That year, the Australian partnered with Team AMANI's Kenneth Karaya, after his expected riding partner Alex Howes broke a bone in his hand at Colorado's Pike Peak Apex. Morton and Karaya had never previously met but finished 25th in the elite men's category.

This time around, after finishing 11th alongside Keegan Swenson in last year's Cape Epic, Morton is back for another joint effort between EF Education-EasyPost and Kenya's Team AMANI, and both he and Schleck are wearing a special-edition kit for the event.

Shared on social media by Rapha on Saturday evening, the white and pink jersey draws inspiration from the teams' kits for this year and will certainly stand out from the crowd. EF Education-EasyPost's pink and yellow kit was revealed in early January, whilst Rapha recently announced its partnership with Team AMANI and has promised that the team's regular kit will be unveiled soon.

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"Jordan Schleck and Lachlan Morton's mash-up kit brings a new definition to the phrase ‘eyeballs out’," Rapha wrote on Instagram. "Each rider will be sporting their own personalised Aero Jersey complete with their respective team sponsors, utilising Rapha’s latest and fastest jersey specification.

"Especially designed graphic flourishes for these Cape Epic jerseys include the phrases ‘TWENDE’ which is Swahili for ‘let’s go’ and ‘UGALI IS THE FUALI’ which moves away from the monotonous dominance of road racing’s rice and gel, instead highlighting ugali as the fuel of choice for these Afrocentric riders."

Even the finer details were looked at by the team's partners, with Wahoo producing a white and pink decal for their head units that both riders will use over the coming week.

Classified as hors catégorie by the UCI, the Absa Cape Epic takes in the twists, turns and notable bumps of the South African wilderness, with the race ridden by teams of two who must complete each stage together.

In the prologue of the Absa Cape Epic on Sunday, decorated Olympian Nino Schurter and his World Bicycle Relief partner Sebastian Fini took first place with a time of 1:02:38.

Morton and Schleck, meanwhile, finished a little over eight minutes back with a time of 1:10:52 in 34th place. GCN spoke to Morton and Team AMANI's founder Mikel Delagrange in advance of the race.

Jordan Schleck prepares for Life Time Grand Prix at Cape Epic

At just 21 years of age, Schleck is one of the most promising riders coming out of East Africa, whose talent is so often championed and spearheaded by Team AMANI, a high-end performance team based in Iten, Kenya.

The Ugandan has impressed in the early stages of the season, picking up a string of victories in the Safari Gravel Race Series, and comes into Cape Epic with the full support of former WorldTour pro, Morton.

"Jordan is an impressive bike rider," the Australian recently told GCN in an exclusive interview. "From the first time I did Migration [Gravel race], I was kind of like ‘who is this kid? He’s pretty tiny but can absolutely go when he needs to.’

"He is also a natural leader and has an infectious attitude to life, so he has impressed me from the start and slowly made those steps he needed to take to compete at the Life Time level."

Twende means let's go in Swahili, and will be front and centre on Schleck's jersey over the next week

Schleck has been chosen as one of the 30 riders to compete in this year's Life Time Grand Prix, the most prestigious gravel racing series of the year and one that only invites the best riders in the world.

"Him making that step starts to prove what is possible and then the next step is to try and compete at the front of those races, because once you make that link and people start to see it, all of a sudden it inspires a generation of riders."

Morton meets weekly with Team AMANI's coach Owen Searle, with the pair discussing the best training plans for AMANI's roster of talent, and it has been decided that a debut in the Absa Cape Epic will be the perfect preparation for Schleck ahead of the beginning of the Life Time Grand Prix calendar in April.

There, the Ugandan will compete against EF Education-EasyPost's Morton, but for the time being, their alliance is strong and will be one of the most intriguing stories of the week in South Africa.

"Jordan has seven fail opportunities in Life Time, where he is one of the best 30 gravel riders in the world. That’s not a lot of margin for error," noted Delagrange in an exclusive chat with GCN. "So I am mindful to say in an interview that we expect him to win, because lots of things outside of his control can happen, and even within his control, these are serious fucking athletes that he is going against.

"I think for us, success resembles being in the conversation internationally this year."

In the conversation and more at the Absa Cape Epic, Morton and Schleck's adventures in the limited-edition Rapha kit will continue on Monday with the second hilliest stage of the race. Over the summits of Buchu, Kliprivier and Fanti's Pass, Ugali will be their fuel and 'twende/let's go' will be their motto. How far up the standings can they climb?

For the latest news, interviews and analysis from the world of professional cycling, be sure to check out the Racing tab on the GCN website.