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History For Beers and Nortje and Firsts for Lill and Keller

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on History For Beers and Nortje and Firsts for Lill and Keller

Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje became the first all-African team to win the Absa Cape Epic on Saturday after a drama-filled final stage. Trailing by 13 seconds behind overnight leaders Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto, the South Africans finished third on the day behind stage winners Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer but, more importantly, finished ahead of the Italians for Beers to secure his fourth title and Nortje his first. In the women’s elite race, South Africa’s Candice Lill finally won her first title with newbie Alessandra Keller after the two won their seventh stage out of eight.

With just 13 seconds separating the first two teams on the men’s overall classification, the final day of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic was set to deliver a dramatic finale as South Africans Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) bid to become the first all-local team to win the race in its 22-year history.

Italians Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) were still the team to beat despite losing 1 minute 37 seconds to the African jersey wearers on Saturday’s penultimate stage, and it was all to play for over the final 58km stage around Stellenbosch on Sunday.

Within the first 10km the local favourites had already put 35 seconds into the Italians on the long climb up to Saaltjie, but in a dramatic second half in which Nortje crashed heavily, the Italians fought back from a two-minute deficit to within 40 seconds in the final 10km.

In the end, an injured Nortje, helped by his senior teammate Beers, managed to hold their lead and finish third behind stage winners Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon).

With the Italians eventually finishing fourth, 1 minute behind, the 32-year-old Beers and an emotional 24-year-old Nortje were finally able to celebrate a historic win, 1:04 ahead of Wilier-Vittoria with Gaze and Schwarzbauer filling the final podium spot 3:33 behind.

In the women’s race, South African champion Candice Lill finally realised her dream of winning the Absa Cape Epic, after finishing second five times, as she and Dutch partner Alessandra Keller cruised to their seventh win in eight stages ahead of Monica Caledron and Tessa Kortekaas (Massi Isb Sport) and Chemchamp Honeycomb’s Hayley Preen and Haley Smith.

After the She Sends Foundation team of Greta Seiwald and Kate Courtney was eliminated from the race after Seiwald fell ill on Saturday, Preen and Smith moved up to second overall, 52 minutes 58 seconds behind. The ever-consistent Torpado FSA Kenda team of Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet were third, over an hour behind.

 

Men’s Race

With big crowds lining and cheering along the route, Beers and Nortje were quick to attack the lead of Wilier-Vittoria on the first climb of the day to the upper contour above Stellenbosch. While Gaze and Schwarzbauer were powering away for the stage win, Beers and Nortje were only focused on the fight for the yellow jersey.

The Toyota Specialized Imbuko pair peeked out a 30-second gap before Beers was forced to stop briefly and fix an issue with his derailleur. The tall South African quickly remounted, charged past the Italians, and caught Nortje as the race headed into the famous local tracks, including the Neverending Trail in Jonkershoek. With Braidot clearly struggling, the expected race looked to be over before it even started as the rampant locals powered clear and had stretched their gap to two minutes by the 32km mark.

But there was drama still to come.

Just after halfway, Nortje clipped his pedal on a tree, went over the bars and fell heavily on his right side, cutting his right elbow and bruising his right leg.

“I knew it was a big crash,” Nortje said. “I hurt my elbow quite badly and my right leg hit a rock. It was just dead and numb after that and I couldn’t really pedal properly anymore.”

But as he has shown throughout the week, Nortje soldiered on, helped by Beers.

“It’s why I have this tattoo on my arm (Nortje has a tattoo on his left inner arm which reads: Never Give up). We had so much bad luck this week, but we kept on believing.”

Beers resorted to pushing his partner whenever he could, while Toyota Specialized Imbuko teammates, Marco Joubert and Travis Stedman, were always in close attendance, encouraging and setting the pace up front when they could.

With Nortje struggling, the Italians seemed to find a second wind and the gap shrank to 40 seconds with 12km left to ride. In the end, Nortje and Beers managed to hold enough of an advantage as the two entered the finish to a huge cheer from a large crowd at Stellenbosch’s Coetzenburg fields. 

“You can’t get bigger than this,” an emotional Nortje said afterwards. “There are so many emotions right now. I think about all the sacrifices made by family, friends, and the team that have supported me. Today was about doing it for them and for the people of South Africa… It’s very special.”

Beers is now just one win away from equalling the record wins of Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser, who have both won the race five times.

“It’s a special one because we have done what a lot of South Africans have been trying to do for a long time,” said the Capetonian. “Tristan has ridden amazingly all week and although he made it harder for himself by crashing today, he showed true character pushing through.”

 

Women’s Race

After the withdrawal of Seiwald on Friday morning, Lill and Keller were imperious on the final day as they won their seventh stage out of eight. The top three teams were still together at the 23km checkpoint, but the orange jerseys eventually edged clear and extended their lead all the way to the finish.

Calederon and Kortekaas were pushing hard to try on the singletracks, but the orange jersey wearers were not in the mood to gift anyone a stage. The Massi ISB Sport team would eventually finish 2 minutes 27 seconds behind, with Preen and Smith in third, 4:32 adrift.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said the 34-year-old Lill. “But sometimes you have go through those deep, dark situations to get to where I am today. It makes it sweeter, and I’m very grateful to everyone around me who helped me get here.”

For Keller, the current World Short Course champion, taking part in the Absa Cape Epic was always a dream.

“It’s a bit like winning a World Cup series overall because you have to be consistent over eight days. So, this means a lot to me, especially because you are doing it as a team,” Keller said. “It’s a race I’ve always wanted to do… it’s an adventure.”

 

Early Bird Entries

On Friday, organisers also announced that early-bird entries for the 2027 Absa Cape Epic will open on Monday at 4pm for Full Access members and at 5pm for general entries. Check out www-cape-epic.com for all the details.

 

RESULTS

 Elite Men Stage

  1. CANYON Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (2:19.54)
  2. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO 2 Marco Joubert & Travis STEDMAN (2:20.58 | +1:04)
  3. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matt BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (2:21.02 | +1:08)
  4. WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (2:22.20 | +2:26)
  5. KLIMATIZA ORBEA: David VALERO SERRANO & Marc STUTZMANN (2:23.00 | +3:06)

Elite Men GC

  1. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (26:55.51)
  2. WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (26:56.56 | +1:04)
  3. CANYON:Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (26:59.25 | +3:33)
  4. KLIMATIZA ORBEA: David VALERO SERRANO & Marc STUTZMANN (27:07.59 | +12:08)
  5. BUFF-BH Wout ALLEMAN & Martin STOSEK (27:14.51 | +19:00)

Elite Women Stage

  1. THÖMUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (2:48.27)
  2. MASSI ISB SPORT Monica CALEDERON & Tessa KORTEKAAS (2:50.54 | +2:27)
  3. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB Hayley PREEN & Hayley SMITH (2:52.59 | +4:32)
  4. SYMBTECH.NET Margot MOSCHETTI Claudia PERETTI  (2:54.18 | +5:51)
  5. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (2:56.46 | +8:19)

Elite Women GC

  1. THÖMUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (24:32.38)
  2. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB: Hayley PREEN & Haley SMITH (25:25.36 | +52:58)
  3. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (25:41.37 | +1:08.59)
  4. SYMBTECH.NET Margot MOSCHETTI Claudia PERETTI  (25:46.17 | 1:13.39)
  5. MASSI ISB SPORT Monica CALEDERON & Tessa KORTEKAAS (25:55.56 | +1:23.18)

 

SPECIAL JERSEYS GC

 Toyota Mixed

  1. TEAM 69: Jenny RISSVEDS & Simon ANDREASSEN (31:29.38)

Absa African Men

  1. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (26:55.51)

Absa African Women

  1. SANI2C EFFICIENT INFINITI: Samantha SANDERS & Bianca HAW (26:17.26)

Open Women

  1. JOY RIDE: Jennifer BURTNER & Callah ROBINSON (44:48.47)

Open Men

  1. SAFARI ESSENCE Mark van Zyl & William PIAT (30:32.53)

    Great Grand Masters Men

  1. OTB: Pieter MULLER & Corrie MULLER (40:14.19)

GIC Grand Masters Women

  1. UAG EPIC: Martha KOEKEMOER & Jenny RÖNNGREN (41:22.17)

 

 


It’s Down to the Wire for GC Honours

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on It’s Down to the Wire for GC Honours

The final stage of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic is all set to be a nailbiter. On Saturday’s penultimate stage, South Africans Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) powered back into contention on a stage won by the Buff-BH team of Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek in Stellenbosch.

Beers and Nortje finished second but, more importantly, pulled back 1 minute 37 seconds on the overall leaders, Italians Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto, and now lie just 13 seconds behind with only the Grand Finale stage on Sunday to go.

It was a thrilling end to a stage that climbed more per metre than any other stage of this year’s race with 2450m of ascent over the 76km route. But unlike the rough trails from earlier in the week, it was a day to play for most of the riders as they raced around the manicured trails in near-perfect cool, calm weather.

In the women’s elite race, over 62km with 1850m of climbing, overall leaders Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller won their fifth stage with relative ease after the second-placed She Sends Foundation team was reduced to one when Italian Greta Seiwald withdrew through illness. Seiwald developed a fever overnight and withdrew shortly after the start, leaving World Marathon champion Kate Courtney from the US to continue on alone. The withdrawal meant that the Chemchamp Honeycomb team of Haley Preen and Haley Smith moved into second position after finishing third on the stage. Margot Moschetti and Claudia Peretti (Symbtech.Net) took second place on Saturday to move from fifth to fourth on the overall.

Men’s Race

After winning the Queen stage on Friday, Braidot and Avondetto looked favourites to win their first Absa Cape Epic title on Sunday. But early on it was clear that Braidot was feeling the effects of the long week. With 16km of the stage to go, the Beers and Nortje surged clear of the main bunch up the long climb towards the top of the The Doctor trail.

At time physically pushing Nortje, Beers powered up the steady climb cheered on by big local crowds. They first caught early leaders Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer of Canyon and were even starting to bring down the gap between the Buff-BH team who, with Canyon, had made the earlier break.

But Alleman and Stosek, who had suffered numerous mechanicals earlier in the week, were flying down the final singletrack towards the finish and secured their second win of the week by 18 seconds.

“It was so much fun with the crowds screaming for us along the route,” Allenman said. “We just wanted to show that, after all our bad luck this week, that we were still in shape.”

Beers and Nortje followed just 18 seconds later followed by Canyon and the second Toyota Specialized Imbuko team of Marco Joubert and Travis Stedman. The yellow jersey ended fifth – the first time they had been off the podium all week.

After the stage Braidot quickly left the media interview area and it was left to Avondetto to comment on their dramatic day: “It was a tough day and Luca was on the limit in the last part, but we are still in it to fight for the yellow jersey. Thirteen seconds is nothing but it’s better to be in front than having to chase.”

Beers and Nortje had their own struggles with Nortje struggling to hold the pace early on.

“We could see that Luca was suffering, but Tristan was also hurting,” Beers said. “But he’s a tough kid and doesn’t give up. I knew he would come around at some point, although it took a little longer than I expected.”

“This was my bad day,” Nortje said. “Between Luca and me, it was about who was suffering more. But I kept believing and didn’t want to be the first to give up.”

Beers is a three-time Absa Cape Epic winner, while Nortje won the Absa African jersey in 2025 alongside Marco Joubert.

 

Women’s Race

After the early withdrawal of Seiwald, it was clear that the class of Lill and Keller would be difficult to beat as Chemchamp Honeycomb and Symbtech fought it out for the podium.

By the 40km mark, the two had already cruised to a 1-minute lead and began to stretch it out as the local fans cheered on the pair.

“It was really sad about Greta this morning and we never want to see our competitors have to pull out like that. It’s been great racing them all week,” said Lill. “But we had a really nice day today. I enjoyed following Alessandra on the downhills, and I think I’m definitely improving my skills there thanks to her.”

Preen and Smith proved that consistency is key as they moved into second on the GC.

“This is the way I like to race this race,” said Preen. “I always start further back and work my way up. But we can’t get too excited until the end of tomorrow.”

The final stage of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic takes place over 58km with 2150m of climbing. The course is the same for the women’s elite race.

 

Early Bird Entries

On Friday, organisers also announced that early-bird entries for the 2027 Absa Cape Epic will open on Monday at 4pm for Full Access members and at 5pm for general entries. Check out www-cape-epic.com for all the details.

 

RESULTS

Elite Men Stage

1. BUFF-BH Wout ALLEMAN & Martin STOSEK (3:13.49)

2. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matt BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (3:14.08 | +18)

3. CANYON Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (3:14.20 | +30)

4. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO 2 Marco Joubert & Travis STEDMAN (3:15.36 | +1:46)

5. WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (3:15.44 | +1:55)

 

Elite Men GC

1.  WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (24:34.35)

2. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (24:34.48 | +13)

3. CANYON:Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (24:39.31 | +4:55)

4. KLIMATIZA ORBEA: David VALERO SERRANO & Marc STUTZMANN (24:44.39 | +10:03)

5. BUFF-BH Wout ALLEMAN & Martin STOSEK (24:48.14 | +13:38)

 

Elite Women Stage

1. THÖMUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (2:56.08)

2. SYMBTECH.NET Margot MOSCHETTI Claudia PERETTI (2:58.55 | +2:47)

3. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB Hayley PREEN & Hayley SMITH (3:01.09 | +5:01)

4. MASSI ISB SPORT Monica CALEDERON & Tessa KORTEKAAS (3:01.52 | +5:44)

5. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (3:05.43 | +9:35)

 

Elite Women GC

1. THÖMUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (21:44.11)

2. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB: Hayley PREEN & Haley SMITH (22:32.36 | +48:25)

3. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (22:44.50 | +1:00.39)

4. SYMBTECH.NET Margot MOSCHETTI Claudia PERETTI  (22:51.59 | 1:07.48)

5. MASSI ISB SPORT Monica CALEDERON & Tessa KORTEKAAS (23:05.01 | +1:20.50)

 

SPECIAL JERSEYS GC

Toyota Mixed

1. TEAM 69: Jenny RISSVEDS & Simon ANDREASSEN (28:42.48)

Absa African Men

1. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (23:34.48)

Absa African Women

1. SANI2C EFFICIENT INFINITI: Samantha SANDERS & Bianca HAW (23:12.42)

Open Women:

1. JOY RIDE: Jennifer BURTNER & Callah ROBINSON (40:50.29)

Open Men:

1. SAFARI ESSENCE Mark van Zyl & William PIAT (27:55.54)

Great Grand Masters Men

1. OTB: Pieter MULLER & Corrie MULLER (36:34.29)

GIC Grand Masters Women

1. UAG EPIC: Martha KOEKEMOER & Jenny RÖNNGREN (37:50.41)

GIC Grand Masters Men

1. ORBEA FOX FACTORY: Ibon ZUGASTI & Ernesto MENDOZA (28:47.50)

NTT Data Masters Women

1. IGLU THERAPY CHEMCHAMP RACING Juanita Rose MACKENZIE Rouxda GROBLER (36:39.42)

NTT Data Masters Men

1. CZECHROCKETS&SWISSDIESEL Pavel GONDA Tobias Luthi (27:21.39)

Exxaro Women’s Jersey

1. EXXARO MANGANESE LADIES 1: Tsholofelo NKOSI & Bontle PHEPISO (46:54.26)

Exxaro Men’s Jersey

1. FAIRTREE DP WORLD CANNONDALE 2: Ethan MICHAELS & Damon TERBLANCHE (29:12.20)

 

To follow the Absa Cape Epic action live, mountain biking fans are encouraged to tune into the Absa Cape Epic’s live broadcast on the Epic SeriesYouTube Channel here. Daily highlights from the race can also be viewed on the YouTube Channel, and the excitement from the trails of Western Cape will be shared on the Absa Cape Epic Facebook page and @capeepic on Instagram. To find out more, visit https://www.epic-series.com/races/capeepic .