2025 Absa Cape Epic – Schurter-Colombo and Langvad-Gómez Take Victories in South Africa

The Absa Cape Epic 2025 has left us with excitement until the final kilometers of the last stage, where everything was decided. An unexpected event that added more excitement to a race finish that would decide the podium of the men’s and women’s races.
The night before the Grand Final of the Absa Cape Epic 2025 was marked by heavy rains along much of the route, forcing the organization to delay the start and shorten the course from 64 to 40 km with 1050 m of positive elevation gain.

The men’s race started at a very high pace. The reduction of the route favored an explosive start, where there was no time for speculations. The Imbuko ChemChamp (Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje), winners of the previous day, were the first to move, launching an attack that broke the group and left a gap of 40 seconds with the main peloton.

In the overall standings, attention was focused on the battle for the title. SCOTT-SRAM started with only a 32-second lead over Wilier-Vittoria, who had in this final stage their last chance to take the lead.

At 19 kilometers from the finish, Wilier-Vittoria launched their offensive. Nino Schurter responded immediately, although Filippo Colombo showed signs of fatigue. Even so, they managed to close the gap. To the surprise of many, the SCOTT SRAM team not only recovered quickly, but counterattacked strongly, staying alone at the head of the race.

With a clear strategy of attacking as a defense, SCOTT-SRAM maintained their pace at the front. But less than 10 km from the finish, the ORBEA Leatt Speed Company pair with Lukas Baum and Georg Egger jumped from the chasing group and connected with the leaders, intending to contest the stage victory.

Schurter and Colombo took advantage of the push from Orbea and continued to extend their lead over Wilier. In the final kilometers, ORBEA Leatt Speed Company launched their final attack and took the victory in the Grand Final.

However, the big prize of the day went to Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo, who crossed the finish line seconds later and were crowned overall winners of the Absa Cape Epic 2025. The Italian pair from Wilier Vittoria would finish fifth in the stage and second in the overall standings, a result they can be proud of for history

Women’s Race

The women’s category also suffered the delay and kilometer reduction on the last day, an adjustment that directly impacted the tactical options of several teams, especially the Cannondale ISB Sport, which had marked this stage as a key opportunity to try to reach the podium.

The stage began with Annika Langvad and Sofía Gómez Villafañe, from Toyota Specialized, as solid leaders of the general classification, with over 23 minutes of advantage over Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda from Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM. These, in turn, also maintained a secure lead of over 16 minutes over the third-placed team. However, the third step of the podium was wide open: the TitanRacing SE Honeycomb of Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen only had a 5-minute advantage over the Cannondale ISB Sport of Monica Calderón and Tessa Kortekaas.

It was no surprise that Calderón and Kortekaas launched an early attack, determined to cut as much time as possible in the just 40 kilometers of the final stage. However, it soon became clear that the distance was too demanding to achieve the goal.

Meanwhile, Langvad and Gómez Villafañe managed their lead perfectly, riding solidly and without taking unnecessary risks. They crossed the finish line with the satisfaction of being crowned champions of the Absa Cape Epic 2025 after a practically perfect edition.

The final podium was completed by Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda in second place, while Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen resisted the final push from Cannondale and secured the third place on their own merit. A final stage without major surprises for the leaders, but full of excitement in the battle for the top positions.

---

2025 Absa Cape Epic Overall Results

---

About the Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Race

The Absa Cape Epic mountain bike race is the most televised mountain bike stage race in the world and the only eight-day mountain bike stage race classed as hors catégorie by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI); this official UCI status makes it a highlight on the professional racer’s calendar. The Absa Cape Epic also attracts aspiring amateur riders wanting to test themselves against the best. It is a full-service race, meaning that everything is taken care of from the start – all riders need to think about is riding.

The race must be completed by both members of a two-person team with only 680 teams allowed to ride the race each year. Every edition follows a different route, leading aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through roughly 700 untamed kilometres of unspoiled scenery and up 16 000m of climbing.

Race the World Absa Cape Epic Video

Featuring some of the sport’s biggest names, including Nino Schurter, Kate Courtney, Benno Willeit, Wout Alleman, Georg Egger, Candice Lill, Hans Becking, Annika Langvad, Matthew Beers, Lukas Baum, and Marco Joubert, this episode reveals what it truly takes to race, suffer, and conquer the pinnacle of mountain biking.

From the harsh African trails to the global stage, Race the World takes you behind the scenes of the Epic Series – the premiere stage races that define the sport. This first-of-its-kind documentary series uncovers the passion, sacrifice, and ambition that drive riders to push beyond their limits in pursuit of victory. The next episode will air after this year’s Absa Cape Epic, before we kick off 4Islands Epic.