Diverge

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 classifi...

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...

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...

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...

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 Cap...

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 Do...

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 Alessandr...

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.

The 2026 Absa Cape Epic gets underway on Sunday, 15 March, at Meerendal Wine Estate. Diverge will be there, and with support from Squirt Cycling Products, will be bringing you insights from within the race. Follow @diverge.info on Instagram for real time updates.

In 2026’s third episode of the Diverge Podcast, we look back at victories on their season debuts by Matt Beers and Candice Lill at the Banhoek leg of the Ford Trailseeker Series. Lill dominated the women’s race, capitalising on herCape Epic partner, Alessandra Keller, suffering a puncture to go solo and win by over 3 minutes. Beers was more patient, biding his time until the final kilometre before...

In episode 2 of 2026, we look back at a mild and fast edition of the Attakwas Extreme, speculate on how the change to time parity with the men’s race will affect the women’s category at the Cape Epic, and discuss the announcement of the Burn Camps for the second edition of the Gravel Burn. To read the new articles about those events, and more, visit www.diverge.info . To click through here: Hather...

In the first episode of the new year, we look ahead at what’s to come on the bike in 2026. From the Attakwas Extreme, which kicks off the South African racing season through the Tankwa Trek, Cape Epic, Garden Route Giro, and on into the World Series calendar, which gets underway in South Korea in May. Then it’s home again for the off-road SA Champs, be it XCM, Gravel, or XCO, before stage racing g...

In a special episode from Ride Joburg, the Diverge Podcast recaps on a thrilling and at times chaotic 28th edition of the world’s second-largest timed bicycle race. While thousands of fun riders enjoyed a beautiful day out on the roads of Johannesburg, the elite men and women raced for R200 000 winners' cheques. Kim le Court returned from European racing to dominate the women’s battle, beating...

In a busy week for endurance sport, the Diverge Podcast dives into the build-up to the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn and reflects on the cancellation of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. In happier, positive news, the first edition of what has been marketed as the world’s premier gravel stage race gets underway on Sunday, 26 October. The elite line-ups have been announced, and the route will certainl...

This week, on the Diverge Podcast, we look at the 2026Absa Cape Epic route, which was launched on the 9th of October, and the 2025 Prince George Monumental 100-Miler. The 692-kilometre-long course is the longest since 2015, when the route last topped the 700-kilometre mark. 15 900metres of climbing across that distance equates to 22.98 metres of climbing per kilometre, which is the least since 201...

Last week, the Diverge Podcast was at the Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen. We tried to do daily podcasts, but fell off the wagon after Stage 2. So here are the final 3 days all in one long pod. The headline, of course, is that Tristan Nortje and Travis Stedman won the men’s race overall, after winning atop Swartberg Pass on Friday’s Queen Stage. Vera Looser and Samantha S...

This week, the Diverge Podcast is at the Momentum MedicalScheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen. Tune in for daily reports and interviews from the race. After losing time with a catastrophic rear wheel puncture on Stage 1, the PYGA Euro Steel Team of Jaedon Terlouw and Michael Foster earned a redemption of sorts by winning Stage 2. In the general classification battle, the Honeycomb 226ers, Marc...

This week, the Diverge Podcast is at the Momentum MedicalScheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen. Tune in for daily reports and interviews from the race. In the opening show, we recap a thrilling and challenging Stage 1, which was won by Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp and Efficient Infiniti Insure. Tristan Nortje and Travis Stedman were thrown together by circumstance, but with three wins an...

In Episode 14 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast recaps a thrilling fifth edition of the King Price Race to the Sea, discusses the reasons to ride the Glacier Storms River Traverse in 2026, and looks at the Pedal Project’s 2025 Dream Bike raffle prize. At the Race to the Sea, the men’s race was a closely contested affair with Tavis Stedman launching his sprint 200 metres from the line to outbox Tris...

In Episode 13 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast reflects on a busy news week. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon announced the athletes who will be headlining the 2025 edition in October, Imbuko ChemChamp launched a junior team, while Squirt Cycling Products and Titan Racing launched new products, entries to the 2026 36ONE MTB Challenge opened, and we look ahead to the King Price Race to the Sea this Sa...

In Episode 12 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast is back after an extended winter break. The mountain biking action has continued through the depths of winter, with the Ford Trailseeker series. On the 1st of August, the racing truly resumed in earnest, though with the Glacier Storms River Traverse, followed by the Trans Baviaans, and the SPAR Swiss Epic over the subsequent 17 days. In this episode,...

In this week’s episode of the Diverge Podcast we look back at the 4Islands Epic on the Kvarner Islands, in the Adriatic off Croatia. The race was won by the Buff Megamo and Cannondale ISB Sport teams, both of whom notched up a perfect five-from-five stage victories. Then, we look ahead at the Tankwa Trail, a three-day trail run hosted by Dryland Event Management in the Koue Bokkeveld near Op-Die-B...

In Episode 10 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks back at Luke Moir’s breakthrough performance at the UCI MTB World Series. During the second race in Araxá, Brazil, the 22-year-old notched up his first top 5 placing and heralded his arrival as a force to be reckoned with on the biggest stage. Candice Lill had a rare off day, finishing 17th, while Tyler Jacobs showed remarkable consistency with...

In Episode 9 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks backon the stellar performances of Candice Lill, Tyler Jacobs, and Luke Moir inRound 1 of the UCI MTB World Series. The trio collected 5th, 6th,and 19th, respectively, in Araxá, Brazil. And will go again thisweekend at the same venue. Back home, Marco Joubert and Hayley Preen werecrowned the King and Queen of South African gravel racing in 2025 w...

In Episode 8 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks aheadto the UCI MTB World Series, which gets underway in Brazil on the 5th of April. South Africans Candice Lill, Tyler Jacobs, and Luke Moir will be in action. Then on the gravel front, Nedbank Gravel Burn continues to release information on new partners, which augurs well for the first edition in October this year.   The first event of the 2025...