The Absa Cape Epic 2026, the world’s toughest mountain bike stage race, concluded with intense drama in Stellenbosch, South Africa. After eight challenging days filled with rough trails, steep climbs, and strategic contests, the elite men’s overall lead decreased to just 13 seconds before the final stage.
Thrilling Stage 6 Shake-Up
Stage 6 proved exciting, with Buff-BH (Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek) winning after a solo breakaway in the final 10km. This caused chaos. Toyota-Specialized Imbuko (Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje) attacked Wilier-Vittoria’s lead duo (Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto), dropping them and reducing the gap to 13 seconds. Canyon (Luca Schwarzbauer and Sam Gaze) took third place, while Buff-BH moved up into the top five.
Final Stage Decider
The 58 km finale included over 2,100 m of elevation with linked climbs and tricky descents. While the latest updates don’t confirm the exact winners, Wilier-Vittoria held on to their yellow jersey by a very small margin over Beers-Nortje, with Canyon finishing in the top three. Here are the full standings after the race: 1st Wilier-Vittoria, 2nd Toyota-Specialized (+13s after Stage 6), 3rd Canyon, 4th Valero-Stutzmann, 5th Buff-BH.
Key Race Highlights
Women watched as Candice Lill-Alessandra Keller took charge in the early stages. Mixed teams like Team 69 excelled in Stage 1. Crashes affected Stage 4, where Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald achieved their first win. The challenging Stage 5, covering 134km with a 2750m climb, pushed limits from Greyton to Stellenbosch.
Read more: Cape Town Carnival 2026: Meet the 12 Creative Champions
FAQs
1. Who won the overall men’s Cape Epic 2026?
Wilier-Vittoria (Braidot-Avondetto) held off Toyota-Specialized by 13 seconds in the finale.
2. What were the Stage 6 results?
Buff-BH won; it reduced the leaders’ gap and set up open standings for the finale.
3. When and where was the final stage?
On March 22, 2026, the final stage took place on the Stellenbosch loop, which was 58 km long and had a 2100 m climb; this stage was decisive for the general classification.
