Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) timed their attack to perfection late on the 2025 Absa Cape Epic’s ‘Queen Stage’ to surge away from the field and win Stage 5, extending their overall race lead to over a minute at the same.
In the Aramex UCI Women’s Category, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Toyota | Specialized) didn’t have it all their own way on Stage 5, but the unflappable pair still managed to reign supreme on the Queen Stage, winning their sixth consecutive stage at this year’s event.
The UCI Men’s and the Aramex UCI Women’s Category races both began with a 3km neutral zone to get the riders safely out of the Fairview race village. Once the racing began, the usual suspects at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic made their way to the front of the UCI Men’s Category.
For a while, BULLS Mavericks (Simon Schneller and Axel Roudil-Cortinat) and Torpado Kenda FSA 2 (Jakob Dorigoni and Gioele de Cosmo), challenged at the front, but both teams fell away as the pace increased, leaving Imbuko ChemChamp A (Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje) to lead SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing and Wilier-Vittoria (Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto) into the day’s decisive race section – the ‘Nek’ climb.
From midway through the race, it became clear that South Africa’s Joubert and Nortje had targeted the day for a stage win. The popular pair raced incisively and with great tactical acumen, thrilling their fans through the Stellenbosch trails as they sped towards Lourensford Wine Estate.
The Nek ascent was always going to be telling on the Queen Stage and that proved to be the case as Joubert failed to match Nortje’s power on the climb. Schurter, Colombo, Braidot and Avondetto were all able to pass the ailing Joubert, leaving the race’s top two teams to pace it out for the stage win.
Schurter and Colombo accelerated on the descent and pulled away from Wilier-Vittoria, ultimately winning the stage by a minute and 10 seconds. It means they go into Saturday’s penultimate Stage 6 with a one-minute and 52-second lead over Wilier-Vittoria.
“We targeted the stage for a win, for sure,” said Joubert. “We rolled the dice for the fans out there but that hill was so steep. I just didn’t have the legs. But we are here racing with our hearts on our sleeves and giving it everything.”
Stage winner Colombo was particularly enthused by his racing efforts, pumping his fists with delight as he crossed the line. “It was a brutal climb – long, steep, it just kept going, so I am really happy with that result. I paced myself well and when it got flatter, I just pushed a bit harder. Towards the end, I could see Simone (Avondetto) was struggling and that’s when Nino and I pushed to win the Queen Stage.”
The Nek climb and a South African surge was also the story of the day in the Aramex UCI Women’s Category. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen (TitanRacing SE Honeycomb), true to their commitment to ‘go until they blow’, went hard and fast from the start. But the effort looked to be too much for the ever-cheerful all-South African team. After crossing the line in third place on the day, Preen simply stated, with a smile, “Well that was awful!”. Haw added, “That was the worst sprint ever” when referring to their tight finish ahead of fourth-placed – on the stage – Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM).
Eventual stage winners Langvad and Gomez Villafane had to look sharp in the closing moments of the race, as Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas (CANNONDALE ISB SPORT) – clearly recovered after suffering in the heat earlier in the week – pushed the tempo. Langvad at one point in the race was happy with the sprint bonus, but as the Lourensford Race Village drew nearer, Gomez Villafane convinced her that the stage win was a reality.
“That was insane,” said Langvad. “That was everything you would expect on a Queen Stage and more! Going up the Nek was terrible. The mud was sticking to the wheels and I could barely turn my pedals over. At one stage I didn’t think I would get to the top.”
Gomez Villafane said she enjoyed racing against CANNONDALE ISB SPORT. “They raced hard, which was great fun. We actually just wanted a calm and steady ride, then after the sprint bonus I said to Annika I think we can still get the stage win. It’s a great feeling.”
Langvad and Gomez Villafane will now start Stage 6 with a 22 minute lead in the overall classification ahead of Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM).
2025 Absa Cape Epic Stage 5 Race Results
UCI Men’s Category
- 1 Nino Schurter and Filippo Viero Colombo – SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing – 4:13:27
- 2 Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto – Wilier-Vittoria – 4:14:37 (+1:10)
- 3 Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje – Imbuko ChemChamp A – 4:16:30 (+3:03)
- 4 Jakob Dorigoni and Gioele de Cosmo – Torpado Kenda FSA 2 – 4:19:38 (+6:11)
- 5 Samuele Porr and Marc Stutzmann – Klimatiza Orbea – 4:20:06 (+6:39)
UCI Men’s Category GC
- 1 Nino Schurter and Filippo Viero Colombo – SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing – 17:47:27
- 2 Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto – Wilier-Vittoria – 17:49:19 (+1:52)
- 3 Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje – Imbuko ChemChamp A – 18:00:22 (+12:55)
- 4 Samuele Porro and Marc Stutzmann – Klimatiza Orbea – 18:07:36 (+20:09)
- 5 Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek – BUFF MEGAMO 1 – 18:09:43 (+22:16)
Aramex UCI Women’s Category
- 1 Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 5:23:38
- 2 Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – CANNONDALE ISB SPORT – 5:23:50 (+12)
- 3 Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 5:31:18 (+7:40)
- 4 Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM – 5:31:19 (+7:41)
- 5 Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 5:34:20 (+10:42)
Aramex UCI Women’s Category GC
- 1 Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 22:08:38
- 2 Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM – 22:31:08 (+22:30)
- 3 Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 22:43:48 (+35:10)
- 4 Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – CANNONDALE ISB SPORT – 23:00:41 (+52:03)
- 5 Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 23:05:58 (+57:20)
Other Categories & Special Jerseys GC
- Open Men’s Category: Marcus Nicolai and Lukas Kroller – Avelo Racing – 20:55:19
- Open Women’s Category: Rouxda Grobler and Mikaela Hagemann – DriveTrain Ladies – 26:19:20
- Toyota Mixed Category: Riaan Weideman and Samantha Sanders – Toyota Gazoo Racing – 22:11:22
- NTT DATA Masters Men’s Category: Craig Uria and Charlie McFall – GIC – 20:11:21
- Masters Women’s Category: Klara Vitaskova and Hana Uhlikova – Van Gillern – 29:02:48
- GIC Grand Masters Men’s Category: Robert Sim and Udo Boelts – PRESIDENTIAL Team 1 – 21:49:53
- GIC Grand Masters Women’s Category: Jenny Ronnengren and Martha Koekemoer – UAG Epic – 29:00:33
- Great Grand Masters Category: Barti Bucher and Peter Vesel – Meerendal Etis – 23:54:05
- Absa African Men’s Special Jersey: Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje – Imbuko ChemChamp A – 18:00:22
- Absa African Women’s Special Jersey: Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 22:43:48
- Exxaro Men’s Special Jersey: Damon Terblanche and Ziandro Jordaan – Fairtree DP World Can1 – 21:59:21
To follow the fierce racing as it unfolds, mountain biking fans can tune in to the live broadcast on the Epic Series’ YouTube channel. The live coverage begins on Saturday, 22 March, at 07:00 (SAST | UTC +2) and a reminder to watch the race can be set by clicking here.
For more behind the scenes stories from the race follow @capeepic on Instagram, download the Epic Series APP or like the Cape Epic Facebook page.
