Absa Cape Epic 2025 – Swiss duo Schurter & Colombo triumph on Stage 1 and take the yellow jersey
Stage 1 of the Cape Epic marks the first long marathon stage and leads over the mountain peaks of the Western Cape. The riders went out on a 92km loop with 2.750 meters of climbing around the beautiful landscapes of Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville.
Stage 1 has always a reputation of being brutal with a lot of climbs and setting the tone for the rest of the week. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing’s Nino Schurter (SUI) and Filippo Colombo (SUI) take the Stage 1 win in the men’s race, while Toyota|Specialized’s Annika Langvad (DEN) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) deliver another strong performance, securing their second consecutive day win in the women’s race.
The men’s race sees a strong and very tactical competition, with the best outcome for SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing’s Nino Schurter (SUI) and Filippo Colombo (SUI).The Swiss duo takes their first stage win of the race and grabs the yellow leader jersey with an overall lead of 11 seconds ahead of Luca Braidot (ITA) and Simone Avondetto (ITA) from WILIER-VITTORIA. The women’s race sees another strong performance from Toyota|Specialized’s Annika Langvad (DEN) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG). The Danish-Argentinian pair secures their second day win and extends their overall lead to 6 minutes 58 seconds.
| STAGE 1 – MEN | STAGE 1 – WOMEN |
| 1. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing – 2-1 Nino SCHURTER (SUI) & 2-2 Filippo COLOMBO (SUI) 3:51:03 | 1. Toyota | Specialized – 51-1 Annika LANGVAD (DEN) & 51-2 Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE (ARG) 4:43:35 |
| 2. WILIER-VITTORIA – 9-1 Luca BRAIDOT (ITA) & 9-2 Simone AVONDETTO (ITA) 3:51:34 // +31 | 2. Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM – 53-1 Vera LOOSER (NAM) & 53-2 Alexis SKARDA (USA) 4:49:17 // +5:42 |
| 3. ORBEA Leatt Speed Company – 15-1 Lukas BAUM (GER) & 15-2 Georg EGGER (GER) 3:53:07 // +2:04 | 3. BUFF MEGAMO – 52-1 Rosa VAN DOORN (NED) & 52-2 Janina WÜST (SUI) 4:51:37 // +8:02 |
Broadcast times on DreamSports.tv:
| Date
| Stage | Live Broadcast Window (local time (GMT+2)) | Finish Location | ||
| 16-Mar-25 | Prologue | 07:00 – 15:00 | Meerendal Wine Estate | ||
| 17-Mar-25 | Stage 1 | 07:00 – 12:30 | Meerendal Wine Estate | ||
| 18-Mar-25 | Stage 2 | 07:00 – 13:00 | Fairview, Paarl | ||
| 19-Mar-25 | Stage 3 | 07:00 – 12:30 | Fairview, Paarl | ||
| 20-Mar-25 | Stage 4 | 07:00 – 11:30 | Fairview, Paarl | ||
| 21-Mar-25 | Stage 5 | 07:00 – 13:00 | Lourensford Wine Estate | ||
| 22-Mar-25 | Stage 6 | 07:00 – 12:00 | Lourensford Wine Estate | ||
| 23-Mar-25 | Grand Finale | 07:30 – 12:30 | Lourensford Wine Estate |
