The 2025 Absa Cape Epic route has been revealed. The eight-day race starts in Durbanville, heads to Paarl and then to Somerset West via Stellenbosch, using mostly popular urban mountain bike trails parks networks – with a few additions. Here’s what we think of the route.
By Sean Badenhorst
The 2025 Cape Epic route will cover a total distance of 608km with 16 500 metres of climbing. It’s the most compact Cape Epic route in the race’s 21-year history with just three race villages – Meerendal, Paarl and Lourensford and two transfers stages, seldom moving far from a major municipality in what we are calling: The Urban Edition.
The race has two time trail stages in three days, the Prologue on Day 1 and a transfer from Durbanville to Paarl on Day 3 (Stage 2). As with the 2024 edition, riders can expect a high volume of singletrack and steep gradients.
There’s only one stage longer than 100km, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier than 2024, which had three stages over 100km. Steep gradients and twisting singletrack requiring maximum focus and a decent level of skill will steadily wear the riders down and there will be an appreciation for the shorter distances no doubt.
The Queen Stage is Stage 5, a transfer stage from Paarl to Somerset West. It covers 103km with 3050 metres of ascent and will take riders from Paarl, via Banhoek and into Jonkershoek before heading to Lourensford via The Neck! It’s a brutal stage by any standards.
And while Stage 5 is the Queen Stage, Stage 6 is likely to be the Bitch Stage. A distance of 92km with 2850m of ascent in the Lourensford basin that deep into the race is going to hurt more than might be anticipated.
If you live in the Boland or Winelands and are a committed mountain biker, you have likely ridden most of the 2025 Cape Epic route. So, you will appreciate that while it’s a convenient route in terms of logistics and spectators, it will be a proper physical, mental and emotional challenge, especially if there’s extreme weather. As we have witnessed, heat, wind and rain are all on the Bingo Card in March in the Western Cape.
According to the organisers, the 2025 edition of the Absa Cape Epic is fully subscribed, which means at least 1400 riders in 700 teams will start the 21st edition of the world’s most prestigious stage race.
In 2024, 488 of the 720 teams completed the race as teams. That’s a 32.2% fall-out rate, the highest in the race’s history. This after a 31.5% and 31.8% team fall-out rates in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
What this shows is that the Absa Cape Epic has changed from largely a stamina test to an allround mountain biking test, which requires strength, stamina and skill in equal measures. And a dropper seatpost with the required confidence to use it…
Below are the stage graphics for the 2025 route, as supplied by the Absa Cape Epic.
2025 Absa Cape Epic | 16-23 March 2025
608 kilometres | 16 500 meters of climbing
Prologue
Sunday, 16 March 2025
Meerendal Wine Estate to Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville
Distance: 27km
Elevation Gain: 750m
Difficulty: ★★
Stage 1
Monday, 17 March 2025
Meerendal to Meerendal, Durbanville
Distance: 96km
Elevation Gain: 2 450m
Difficulty: ★★★★
Stage 2
Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Meerendal, Durbanville to Fairview, Paarl
Distance: 58km
Elevation Gain: 800m
Difficulty: ★★★½
Stage 3
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Fairview to Fairview, Paarl
Distance: 92km
Elevation Gain: 2 600m
Difficulty: ★★★★½
Stage 4
Thursday, 20 March 2025
Fairview to Fairview, Paarl
Distance: 74km
Elevation Gain: 1 750m
Difficulty: ★★★½
Stage 5
Friday, 21 March 2025
Fairview, Paarl to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West
Distance: 103km
Elevation Gain: 3 050m
Difficulty: ★★★★★
Stage 6
Saturday, 22 March 2025
Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West
Distance: 92km
Elevation Gain: 2 850m
Difficulty: ★★★★½
Stage 7
Sunday, 23 March 2025
Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West
Distance: 68km
Elevation Gain: 2 250m
Difficulty: ★★★½
