All Three Maltese Teams Conquer Andorra Epic

The gruelling Andorra Epic drew to a close yesterday, with all three Maltese teams successfully completing the event. The final stage ended in spectacular fashion, with over 1,000 metres of continuous descent on the Commençal trail.

Team Gebel u Blat, made up of Andrew Caruana and Brandon Sultana, completed the four stages in 13:45:04.8 to finish 21st in the Masters' Men category and 61st overall.

The pair went into the final stage with the clear objective of seeing Sultana across the finish line and securing his Epic Legend status, a recognition awarded to riders who complete three different Epic races.

Sultana becomes only the second Maltese rider to earn the Epic Legend title, joining Stephen Grima of Team Gaudos, who received the honour in 2025 at the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa.

Reflecting on his achievement, Sultana remarked that "crossing that final finish line meant a lot. The aim today was simply to complete the race and earn the Epic Legend medal, but we still wanted to do it in a good time. Andrew and I worked hard for this over the four days, so it was satisfying to finish it together,” highlighting pride for reaping the rewards of their hard work.

The Maltese Riders, Jeffrey Borg and Antoine Sultana, finished 25th in the Men's Open category and 29th overall in a time of 16:37:36.6. The pair rode a steady, consistent race, climbing progressively up the leaderboard before emptying every last reserve of energy on the closing stage: a 45km route from La Massana with 1,600m of climbing, opening with an 18km ascent along scenic singletrack, dropping into a valley for a further 12km climb to the UCI Cross-Country Bike Park, and finishing with a fast descent back into the village.

Borg remarked that "there's great satisfaction in completing a race of this level," while sharing that "for now it's time to rest and recover — then we'll see what comes next."

Team Gaudos (Stephen Grima and Diana Muscat) completed the race in 16:45:09.2, finishing fifth in the final stage and sixth in the general classification of their category. The pair endured a difficult penultimate day, with a crash leaving Muscat injured and Grima's bike damaged, but recovered to close out the race strongly. Their approach to the last stage was straightforward: reach the finish safely and secure the result they had come for.

Muscat was strong on the climbs but rode through pain on the descents, which the duo managed carefully, with the greatest satisfaction coming from finishing the stage when things did not go according to plan.

Muscat shared that "this was my first multi-stage race, and whilst the crash on the penultimate day was a setback, the support shown and the experience shared with Stephen were immeasurable," adding that "it certainly made it easier for me to complete the race, particularly at a point when finishing was in doubt."

The Epic story does not end in Andorra for Grima, who lines up alongside Patrick Scicluna at the Swiss Epic from 19 to 23 July.

#MaltaDaily