Is 2025 your year to go nonstop?

"This is proper." 

These are the words of Farmer Glen, 23 hours into the 2024 sani2c nonstop. 

"I mean, just to think where you go. You've dropped into the Umkomaas this morning as the sun was rising. So few people actually get to see that, and for us, to be able to share this, it's a great feeling. You've got to live that stuff. You can't not do this sort of thing. We just had a guy come in, he is 63 years old, this is the furthest he's ever ridden in his life today. After 22 hours, with a smile on his face." 

"Life's too short not to do this." 

This year’s KAP sani2c nonstop is from 20-22 June, and you will have just 24-hours to test your endurance on 257 kms of the KAP sani2c trails. With the same start venue as KAP sani2c, and a finish right on the beach at Scottburgh, the sani2c nonstop is the ultimate mountain biking adventure for those looking for something ‘proper’. 

What makes nonstop different is that each team has a support vehicle (though it is not compulsory), and there are multiple checkpoints where the team must meet up and take a selfie together. Teams are made up of either two riders, three riders or four riders with a supporter. Each of the sani2c race villages provides a welcome refuel with warm food and shelter, and the race finishes on the beach after 257 kms. This can be a tough few hundred metres tackling the sand on tired legs! 

Starting the race at Glencairn Farm at 2am on Saturday morning means that most riders travel the first 100 kms or so in the dark, and many of the riders then experience a mesmerising sunrise while descending into the Umkomaas Valley. 

You don’t have to have a support driver. 

While the event lends itself to a team having a support vehicle, not all riders are able to ensure they have both a driver (who is prepared to forego the ride to support their crew), and a vehicle. These teams will be given two black boxes, just like at the stage race version of sani2c, and the boxes will be waiting for them at Mackenzie Club and at Jolivet. This means riders can have everything available for a proper refuel and change of clothing if needed. There is also a shuttle service for teams who arrive with a vehicle, but don’t have a driver. 

Farmer Glen says: “We love including a support driver. We modelled the nonstop system on our experience as a family doing the Dusi canoe marathon for many years, where that support can make or break your race. It really is a team effort to get through the full sani2c distance in 24 hours, and the regular meet-ups to refuel and touch base with your driver makes for more fun, and it adds a different dimension to the racing. 

Alan, who was a support driver at the 2024 nonstop, says: “What we were required to do was unique, and hard work. If you have a competitive nature, (as most of us cyclists do) then being a supporter does not exclude you from getting involved and getting your team to the finish as efficiently as possible, by getting their nutrition right, sorting out their bikes and motivating them wherever possible. I loved every moment of it. In 2025, I will be back, but as a rider!”

Why nonstop will thrill you while pushing you to the limit

Rhett Barker and his brothers Lloyd and Brad had done almost 50 sani2c events between them when they took on nonstop in 2022: “Every single event brings a new and exciting adventure. With our sani2c history we just had to enter the nonstop event to test ourselves, and once again we were blown away by this event. It exceeded all our expectations. It had an intimate family feel about it. All the team members were made to feel special, especially our drivers and support crew, who were an essential part of each team. The route was incredible and really tough. When you combine all three sani2c stages into one, it really tests your bikes and bodies to the limits.”

Jarryd van Zuydam has done the nonstop every year since it was reintroduced in 2022, featuring in the first- or second-placed team at each event. After his first nonstop he said: “The sani2c nonstop was like no other event I have done before. Waking up at just after midnight to hop on a bike and ride all three stages of one of the best MTB adventures in the world, is a privilege like no other. Stage 1 was in the dark and cold but never once felt like a slog. Slicing through sublime forest trails in the dead of night with three good mates was enough to have us whooping and screaming with joy into the stillness of the night. The floating bridge was easy-peasy, the key is to just keep the pedals turning.

“When the sun finally rose as we hit Stage 2, it revealed the Umkomaas Valley in all her glory with the river itself shrouded in mist hundreds of metres below. We had a free run all the way down and took full advantage to rail the berms and even get some air. The pain of the climb out of the valley was lessened by the fact that our seconds were just behind us blaring "Eye of the Tiger", "The Final Countdown", The Rocky theme and other corny hype songs.” 

Farmer Glen says: “We hope to see many of our sani2c riders pushing themselves in 2025, and trying the nonstop. You just have to do it.” 

Visit nonstop.sani2c.co.za for more information and to enter. 

Follow KAP sani2c nonstop on social media:

• Instagram @sani2cnonstop

Watch the 2024 nonstop highlights: