Behind The Ultra: Praise the Light

Written by Epic Cycles staff member and brand ambassador Molly Weaver.

UPDATE: Molly went on to win the women’s race – her first victory of 2024.

My first road ultra of the year is only a few days away, so it’s time to prep the bags and bike for the adventure ahead. Historically I would say I’ve packed fairly ‘heavy’ when compared to others’ streamlined setups, but this time I’m stripping things back a bit. I still wouldn’t say I’m taking any big risks when it comes to the essentials and important backups, as I’m definitely not a rider who will ever be happy with a single point of failure when this would mean a DNF, but the comfort items will be at a minimum.

This is largely down to experience; the more you do these things the more confident you get with what is worth carrying thousands of kilometres through the mountains and what isn’t. Only time will tell if I’ve got the balance right here, and it will be a good test run for a potential packing list for the Trans Continental Race later this summer, but we’ll save that analysis for post-race. For now, here’s what I’ll be carrying with me during Kromvojoj.

The Bike:

Frameset: 2024 Orbea Orca OMX carbon frame and OMX full carbon fork
Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
Wheelset: OQUO Road Performance RP35 LTD Carbon on the rear, hand-built SON28 dynamo wheel on the front
Other: Profile TT Bars // XTR pedals // Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo Women’s Saddle