Where’s Lachlan Morton going now? A 1,000km race across South Africa

He’s traced the Tour de France, set the fastest known time on the Kokopelli Trail, and raced the Cape Epic.

So what’s next for Lachlan Morton?

Something even more challenging, of course.

The EF Education-Nippo adventurer is slated to race The Munga, a 1,000km mountain bike race across the South African desert in the height of summer.

With a 100-hour time limit and about 6,500 meters of elevation gain, the race features 10 water stations along the course as well as five supported race villages, where the competitors can rest, refuel, and get mechanical help.

Other than that, Morton and the other riders will receive no outside help.

“To be honest, I don’t know a huge amount about the specifics of the race apart from the fact that it’s really long and very remote but I’m looking forward to discovering it as it goes,” Morton said in a team release. “There are five different checkpoints and then the rest of it is unsupported where you’re looking after yourself. I like races that have that element where you’re left to your own devices.”

Also read:

• Meet Morton’s Cape Epic teammate: Kenneth Karaya
• Morton’s toughest challenge yet: Staying off the bike
• Morton sets new fastest known time on Kokopelli Trail

The endurance race starts December 1 and pushes across some of the most desolate and rugged stretches of South Africa.

So what’s not to like?

Getting on the wild side of the bike

Morton’s been exploring his alternative side in a string of high-profile, two-wheeled adventures.

His last road race with the team was in June, and since then, he traced the entire route of the 2021 Tour de France – stages and transfers alike dubbed the “Alt Tour” — in a self-supported trip that sometimes garnered more headlines around the world than the actual race.

They say good things come in threes. The Alt Tour. Cape Epic. And now…

The Munga. Less than six weeks after wrapping up Cape Epic, Morton will once again find himself in South Africa. More here: https://t.co/Bvymv9fhpl

— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) November 24, 2021

After racing the Cape Epic, the legendary mountain bike race in South Africa, everyone was telling him about The Munga.

The extreme demands are right up his alley.

“I love just applying myself fully to something that requires all of you and just adapting to whatever situation you’re in,” he said on the team’s website. “I like being on the start line and not knowing what’s coming. At these races, you’re relying on yourself and you don’t really know what kind of a challenge you’re going to come up against. That’s a cool feeling to have. That’s what attracts me to these kinds of adventures.”