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Exploring mountain biking, trail running, and other South African adventure sports with Diverge.info the Diverge Podcast is a semi-regular shortcast, with occasional full-length feature interviews and race day features. Stay up-to-date with news from gravel racing, MTB stage racing, and more... Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

MAR 23

Stage 7: Triple Delight for South Africa at the 2026 Absa Cape Epic

Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje became the first all-South African team to win the Elite Men’s race at the Absa Cape Epic on Sunday, 22 March 2026. The Specialized Toyota Imbuko team overturned a 13-second deficit on the final stage to become the third team in the history of the race to seize yellow on Stage 7. Wilier Vittoria’s Luca Braidot & Simone Avondetto, who had held the general classification lead since the conclusion of Stage 3, had to be content with second for the second year in a row. 2026 Elite Women’s champions, Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi, had the title all but sewn up since Friday’s Queen Stage, when they put 9 and a half minutes into their nearest rivals, the She Sends Foundation. Candice Lill’s victory was her first and broke a sequence of second-place finishes for the South African cross-country champion that dates back to the 2019 race. Upon sealing the victory, Lill’s teammate, Alessandra Keller, became the fifth Swiss woman to win the Absa Cape Epic crown. The absence from the final overall standings of Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald [illness], as well as Vera Looser and Rosa van Doorn [injury], suggests that the women’s race was less fiercely contested than it actually was, but does not detract from the class of Lill and Keller’s near flawless performance.

31 min
MAR 21

Stage 6: Beers and Nortje Seize Back Time to Keep the 2026 Absa Cape Epic Alive

The penultimate day of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic saw Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje overturn the momentum against them and regain the initiative heading into the final day of the 22nd edition. The Toyota Specialized Imbuko combination may have crossed the Stellenbosch finish line second on the day, but more importantly, they beat the race leaders, Wilier Vittoria, home by 1 minute and 37 seconds. So while Buff BH celebrated the stage win, Beers and Nortje looked to the shift in momentum and looked ahead to the final stage, because Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto’s buffer will only be 13 seconds at the start of Stage 7. In the Elite Women’s race, the withdrawal of Greta Seiwald put a dampener on Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller’s stage victory. Having battled the She Sends Foundation combination for six days, the Italian’s illness left Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi without a reason to race at their highest level. Seiwald had developed a fever overnight and only started, before stopping within 15 metres, to allow Kate Courtney to race the stage with the Elite Women, rather than being forced into C-Batch in the main field, like Vera Looser and Kelsey van Schoor, who lost their teammates earlier in the race. Symbtech.net’s Margot Moschetti and Claudia Peretti were the next best team on the day, finishing ahead of Hayley Preen and Haley Smith. The Chemchamp Honeycomb pair inherited second from She Sends Foundation, while Torpado FSA Kenda now holds third. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet will start the final stage with a 7-minute and 9-second advantage over Moschetti and Peretti, in fourth.

23 min
MAR 20

Stage 5: Lill and Keller Crowned Queens of the Queen Stage

The Queen Stage of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic saw Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller put the hammer down and exert their dominance over the Elite Women’s race. The Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi team won their 90-kilometre stage by 9 minutes and 29 seconds, from Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald to take their general classification lead to a hearty 14 minutes and 19 seconds. The men’s race, despite racing for 134 kilometres and over 5 hours, came down to the fourth sprint finish of the week. For the first time at the 22nd edition Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto crossed the finish line first, adding another 13 seconds to their general classification buffer over the three-time champion, Matt Beers, and his Toyota Specialized Imbuko teammate, Tristan Nortje. David Valero Serrano and Marc Stutzmann finished between the top two teams on the overall standings, to move their Klimatiza Orbea outfit up from fourth to third, after Canyon lost 70 seconds on Stage 5.

18 min
MAR 20

Stage 4: She Sends Foundation and Canyon Win, Beers and Nortje Lose Vital Seconds

Stage 4 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic produced more dramatic racing. Rosa van Doorn, the Buff BH half of Buff BH Efficient Infiniti, crashed out while fighting for third on the general classification, while She Sends Foundation outfoxed Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi to take their first stage win. Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald played a tactical game, which helped them to a sprint victory ahead of the Elite Women's leaders, Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller. In the Elite Men's race, Canyon's Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze became the first team to win two stages of the 22nd edition by outsprinting the general classification leaders, Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. Toyota Specialized Imbuko's Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje lost 24 seconds to Wilier Vittoria by finishing the day in third.

17 min
MAR 19

Stage 3: Honeycomb 226ers Triumph, Yellow Changes Hands, and Lill Charges On

Stage 3 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic saw unexpected general classification action, the fourth new stage winners in the Elite Men's race, and the continued class of Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller. Marc Pritzen and Felix Stelhi powered across the gravel roads from Riviersonderend to Greyton to establish an advantage, which they held into Middelplaas to take Honeycomb 266ers' first Absa Cape Epic stage win. Behind them, Tristan Nortje endured a front wheel puncture and was forced to chase for the second time in three days, but unlike on Stage 1, he and Matt Beers were unable to make it back to the favourites group. After 140 kilometres of racing Toyota Specialized Imbuko team ceded 1 minute and 16 seconds to Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. This meant that Wilier Vittoria led overall, heading into the second half of the race, by 1 minute and 14 seconds over Beers and Nortje.

16 min
MAR 17

Stage 2: Lill and Keller Win Again, Beers and Nortje Comfortable in Defence

Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller won their third stage of the Absa Cape Epic with a well-timed attack 9 kilometres from the Montagu finish line on Stage 2 of the 2026 race. In so doing, Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi added 38 seconds to their general classification lead over Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald, of the She Sends Foundation. Having started the day in third overall, Vera Looser and Rosa van Doorn endured a day punctuated by punctures and lost 23 minutes, slipping to fifth. In the men's race, Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze galloped to stage victory, coming good after two days of struggling in the heat. The Canyon team outkicked Wilier-Vittoria's Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto in a three-team sprint finish, which also featured the yellow jersey wearers, Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje.

16 min
MAR 16

Stage 1: Beers and Nortje Fight Back while Lill and Keller Extend their Advantage

Stage 1 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic saw Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje, of Toyota Specialized Imbuko, fight back from nearly 4 minutes down, after a puncture in the opening 20 kilometres, to sprint for stage victory and avoid any time losses to the day's protagonists, Buff-BH, Willier Vitoria, and Klimatiza Orbea. In the Elite Women's battle for the orange jerseys, Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller capitalised on a feeding error from Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald to add 1 minute and 56 seconds to their general classification lead. BUFF BH-Efficient Infiniti's Rosa van Doorn and Vera Looser were second on the day, but could not take enough time on the She Sends Foundation team to leapfrog into second overall.

17 min
MAR 15

Prologue: SAFFAS in 3 Leaders' Jerseys

The 2026 Absa Cape Epic couldn't have started much better for South African MTB fans. There are 3 SAFFAs in the 4 elite 'd the 22nd edition with a stage win. Candice Lill and her Swiss teammate, Alessandra Keller, stormed into the lead on the opening day too, but both races remain finely poised heading into the first marathon day, Stage 1, in Montagu.

13 min

Exploring mountain biking, trail running, and other South African adventure sports with Diverge.info the Diverge Podcast is a semi-regular shortcast, with occasional full-length feature interviews and race day features. Stay up-to-date with news from gravel racing, MTB stage racing, and more... Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Creator

Diverge
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

48
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Diverge
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