The nine editions of this unique race have allowed its participants to go around Menorca in three stages on foot or by mountain bike, either in teams of two members or alone. We review its entire history, from the beginning in 2015 to the conclusion of 2023.
In December 2023, we have announced the end of the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º. Weeks after a successful ninth edition, the organization has decided to put an end to an almost ten years project full of efforts and hopes, unforgettable friends and acquaintances, with some setbacks and, above all, with a unique spirit. The team’s personal circumstances have forced it to prioritize and take a step back, before assuming the risk of not reaching the self-imposed level of demand in the next editions. Camí de Cavalls 360º goes on, as always, with its Open format, organizing the self-guided tours around Menorca in stages, at the pace of each participant.
What has the Epic been?
It has never been a race like the others. It has always been an original event, with unique characteristics, difficult to classify and with an unquestionable appeal for all who have been part of it. “One island, three stages, an epic adventure” has been the slogan of a challenge that year after year has led the participants to “start as strangers, continue as friends and end up as family”, as one of them said after crossing the finish line in 2017.
The Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º was born in 2015, from the initiative of the Camí de Cavalls 360º team. In fact, the race was part of the initial CdC 360º project, as a competitive option among the offer of self-guided routes at the participant’s pace that 40 Nord Outdoor has developed since its foundation in 2011.
The fact of being a race split in three stages has been the first of the differential features that made the Epic CdC 360º a unique event. In addition, from the first day it has allowed participation both on foot and by bike. Likewise, it has encouraged values such as companionship, integration and teamwork, by favoring participation in pairs, whether male, female or mixed.
Another capital value for the project has been sustainability and environmental respect. The organization has always made every effort to adopt environmental measures, which are summarized in a list of do’s and dont’s ensuring that the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º was as respectful as possible for the environment in which it takes place.
The dates of the event have always been an important point when defining the Epic CdC 360º too. Late winter, spring or autumn are the times when the island looks at its best and the weather is more favorable for the practice of outdoor sports such as trail running or mountain biking.
In summary, the Epic has gone through the following phases throughout its history:
September and end of stage camp
That initial year 2015 and the following 2016, the first two editions of the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º were held at the end of September. The competition modalities, in addition to the Trail Run Epic 360º and Experience 360º, included the DualTrail Epic 360º. Thus, it was possible to do the entire route on foot or to carry out the second stage by bike, alternating both disciplines.
In addition, the first year Epic had an overnight stay in a traveling camp located at the end of each stage. All the participants shared the hours after each day. They rested, recovered and prepared for the next day all together. In the camp the images of the day were also showed, the briefing of the next stage was held and dinner was served for everyone. The Epic family strengthened links in those moments of coexistence and shared experience.
Those moments have never been lost –despite the changes– since then. In 2016, the camps were replaced by apartments, but the philosophy was perpetuated.
March, MTB and Es Mercadal
In the period 2017-2020, the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º changed dates from autumn to the end of winter. Another important change was that the participants began to share a concentration hotel in Es Mercadal. Now staying every night at the same place and with greater comfort, not a single bit of the founding philosophy of sharing and relating to one another was lost.
The town of Es Mercadal became the true epicenter of the race. Consequently, the inland routes gained prominence, complementing the coastal sections. Those who repeated participation appreciated the fact of discovering new beautiful settings and corners of the island, not usually seen.
From the sport perspective, the MountainBike 360º modality replaced the DualTrail Epic 360º. Since 2017, therefore, two parallel races have been held: one on foot and the other by bike. Both share the essence of the routes, although with some specific variations depending on the modality.
Cancellation and new push
The 2020 edition came with the highest expectation and a new record of registrations. All the limited places were sold out months in advance. The race was scheduled for March 13, 14 and 15, which coincided exactly with the first lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and had to be canceled at the last minute.
The coronavirus year was complicated, both for the Epic and for the rest of the Camí de Cavalls 360º modalities, but the organization took the opportunity to take a little run and give a renewed push to the event.
This is how we came to 2021, the seventh chapter and the beginning of a new stage full of news. The race returned to autumn and recovered its coastal personality, with the most coastal route until then. On the other hand, for the first time in history there were solo participants. It should have been a sports challenge and an unforgettable experience at the same time, but it was cut short due to inclement weather. After the first stage, the alert from the General Directorate of Emergencies of Illes Balears forced the suspension of the other two stages due to storm Blas. In any case, the event ended as a party, with the winners of that first stage as general winners.
ARTIEM and the full loop
The two setbacks in a row in 2020 and 2021 could have ended any race, but that was not the case with the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º. On the contrary, the event got a new dimension, thanks to the Menorcan hotel chain ARTIEM Hotels as the main sponsor and its ARTIEM Audax in Cala Galdana as the official hotel and the heart of the race.
In addition, the organization designed a new route, which recovered the essence of the Camí de Cavalls, with a full loop of the island for the TrailRun Epic 360º and MountainBike Epic 360º categories. The date remained untouched, but the first weekend of November 2022 offered much better weather and gave the spotlight to sport and the Menorcan landscapes. A sports dispute and a scene that, by the way, could be seen broadcast by streaming.
This was the prelude to the last chapter of the Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º, in November 2023. Without changing the track, the race took a leap forward in the competitive dimension, with the participation of some top-level athletes. In addition, it added one last new feature: the 1Day version. Whoever wanted it could be part of the Epic adventure for a single day, competing only in stage 2, only by teams.
The goodbye
After these nine editions, we have managed to place the Epic at the highest point in its history. The Epic has become bigger than ever and the event management has grown at all levels. To make all this possible, an unconditional dedication is required on our part, which, at this moment, is not compatible with the management of the Camí de Cavalls 360º project and our personal lives. At the very least, it is not possible if we want to reach the organizational level that we have always tried to maintain.
The Epic ends after nine very intense years in which we have experienced many things. It is goodbye and it is sad, because it has given us many valuable experiences and because of the feeling of having helped so many people we did not know to have unique experiences. But we keep enjoying this sport all year round with Camí de Cavalls 360º, which is what our team has always done and what we know how to do best. We invite you to come and live this experience, which is also very special.
We want to end by thanking all the people, entities, companies and participants who have been part of the Epic family over the years and who have made this event possible. It’s something we will take with us forever.
List of winners
2015
TrailRun Epic 360º
Pati Bañuls and Raül Riudavets (male team)
Francisca Martínez and Ian Pérez (mixed team)
DualTrail Epic 360º
David Brugué and Albert Rossell (male team)
Experience 360º
Moisès Garcia and Miquel Capó (male team)
Vicente Medall and Soraya Julián (mixed team)
M. Cristina Pons and Maria Carrasco (female team)
Dual Experience 360º
Jordi Baldrich and Joan Salvador Escala (male team)
Sílvia Rauch and Jaume Bagur (mixed team)
Teresa Pons and Leslie Rekow (female team)
2016
TrailRun Epic 360º
Julia Böttger and Tomm Claude Zechmeister (mixed team)
Joan Galmés and Jaume Pons (male team)
Maria Carrasco and M. Cristina Pons (female team)
DualTrail Epic 360º
Lluís Borras and Marc Coll (male team)
Laia Cuevas and Marçal Juan (mixed team)
Experience 360º
Kiko Sintes and Jordi Riutort (male team)
Margarita Adrover and Santos Santos (mixed team)
Anna Capdevila and Carlota Celma (female team)
Dual Experience 360º
Eneko Hernández and Iván San Miguel (male team)
Nuria Juan and Tatiana Román (female team)
2017
TrailRun Epic 360º
Roberto Garay and Isusko Barrenetxea (male team)
Francesc Garrido and Dolors Morcillo (mixed team)
Olatz Pérez and Amaranta Ripoll (female team)
MountainBike 360º
Francesc Freixer and Oriol Colomé (male team)
Maria Casanova and Anna Ramírez (female team)
Ruta Brakovska and Janis Bazevics (mixed team)
Experience 360º
Joan Salvador Escala and Jordi Baldrich (male team)
M. Elena Ferreres and Joan Baptiste Ferreres (mixed team)
Mònica Jiménez and Sara Codina (female team)
2018
TrailRun Epic 360º
Alex Urbiña and Javier Pons (male team)
Miguel Avellaneda and Sara Jarillo (mixed team)
Isabel López and Marta Pérez (female team)
MountainBike 360º
Ismael Ventura and Oliver Avilés (male team)
Mònica Aguilera and Jordi Jiménez (mixed team)
M. Lourdes Yllanes and Àgata Pons (female team)
Experience 360º
Thomas Janichon and Benjamin Moleins (male team)
Vero Keim and Karin Hauser (female team)
Pau Betriu and Cristina Planell (mixed team)
2019
TrailRun Epic 360º
Roberto Sancho and Diego Arroyo (male team)
Claire Bannwarth and Quentin Lefevre (mixed team)
Esther Encina and Cristina Hernández (female team)
MountainBike 360º
Ricard Calmet and Adrià Noguera (male team)
Núria Picas and Pau Bartoló (mixed team)
Catriona H. Sutherland and Erin L. Beveridge (female team)
Experience 360º
Antonio Saavedra and Javier Sintes (male team)
Elia Durá and Salva Llin (mixed team)
Pilar Serrano and Silvia Alós (female team)
2020
Canceled due to Covid-19
2021
Suspension after stage 1
TrailRun Epic 360º
Rafa García (male solo)
Antonia Winkler (female solo)
Pau Galí and Oriol Barbany (male team)
Neil Sheward and Louise Andrews (mixed team)
Esther Encina and Cristina Hernández (female team)
MountainBike 360º
Ismael Ventura (male solo)
Hana Kolarova (female solo)
Wolfgang Krenn and Jasper Ockeloen (male team)
Santi Val and Ada Xinxó (mixed team)
Sandra Jordà and Clàudia Galícia (female team)
Experience 360º
Enric Pons (male solo)
Anna Comet (female solo)
Antonio Saavedra and Javier Sintes (male team)
Louis Ugo Montanari and Ellen Montanari (mixed team)
Laura Simón and Sasha Roig (female team)
2022
TrailRun Epic 360º
Miquel Ensenyat (male solo)
Silvia Serafini (female solo)
Ivan Canet and Rubén Bobillo (male team)
MountainBike 360º
Gerard Minoves (male solo)
Marta Torà (female solo)
Ferran Escura and Lázaro Cardell (male team)
Gerard Blanch and Alba Lara (mixed team)
Experience 360º
Àlex Urbina (male solo)
Mari Allés (female solo)
César Torner and Juanjo Torner (male team)
Eva Orives and Pedro Linares (mixed team)
Elena Pérez and Mirian Alfonso (female team)
2023
TrailRun Epic 360º
Miguel Heras (male solo)
Alfonsina Peppa (female solo)
Albert Mora and Roger Franch (male team)
Noelia Gutiérrez and Montserrat Fernández (female team)
MountainBike 360º
Gerard Minoves (male solo)
Guillem Cassú and Ismael Ventura (male team)
David López and Clàudia Bosch (mixed team)
Amparo Chapa and Irene Caminos (female team)
Experience 360º
Aritz Egea (male solo)
Oihana Kortazar (female solo)
Pau Benejam and Rubén Benejam (male team)
Lucía Martínez and Albert Ayats (equip mitx)
Cristina Jiménez and Shania López (female team)