In a display of smart pacing, strong climbing and skilful descending, Swiss ace, Filipo Colombo (SCOTT SRAM Racing) and South African star, Candice Lill, held off strong competition to win the men and women’s titles respectively at 2025 edition of the Big 5 MTB Challenge by Imbuko and Canetsfontein.
Saturday 15th of February was characterised by high temps, towering peaks and the most competitive international field seen at a one-day marathon in South Africa. All eyes were on the action in the Limietberg Mountains to see who would arise victorious at The Big 5 by Imbuko and Canetsfontein.
Leaving the Imbuko Wines Private Cellar, the intensity was on from the first climb. Even the veterans of the race were taken aback by the pace. Marco Joubert was off the lead bunch at 14km with Nino Schurter starting to lose touch on the steeper slopes as well, while Luke Moir and Matt Beers drove the pace.
Hitting the slopes of Seven Peaks at 20km, Tristan Nortje led Colombo, Beers, and Moir into the singletrack climb with Wout Alleman and Marc Pritzen hanging onto the back of the freight train. Andri Frischknecht, Joubert and Schurter were out of sight off the back. Much to the relief of the chasing riders, the pace eased up and the nine riders came back together after the Canetsfontein Waterpoint at 30km.
Joubert moved to the front up the switchback-ridden Aap du Huez trail, dropping Alleman and Pritzen in the process. Frischknecht would soon also fade from the group as the leading six neared the summit of the Canetsfontein Cliffhanger trail, a riding experience that draws riders from around the world for its indescribable views and expertly crafted switchback descent. Nortje ascended at a rate of knots opening up a 30 second gap over the rest of the field by the summit, pocketing R20 000 in the process as King of the Mountain!
The chase was on as they plunged towards the valley floor, Schurter and Colombo employing their World Cup XCO skills to close down the gap to Nortje. Moir was 20 seconds back over the summit followed by Joubert leading Beers in pursuit of the leaders. The break was looking strong until, in what would prove to be a consequential moment, Nortje took a wrong turn and lead the Scott SRAM duo astray while Beers, Moir, and Joubert charged on past them unaware.
Beers twisted the throttle leaving the Canetsfontein Waterpoint for Groenberg with Joubert and Moir in tow, looking to close down what he thought was a 30-second gap to the leaders when they had in fact overtaken them. This wild chase seemed to take its toll when they reached the base of the final sting, Patatskloof, a chainring bending gravel ascent that cuts below the Seven Peaks trail. As Beers charged on up the increasing gradient, Moir started losing the wheel and Joubert was closing in after losing touch on the previous climb.
This was to be the ultimate deciding moment of the race but not in the way we expected! From the shadows of 4th position, Colombo launched his attack, surging past Joubert, then Moir, and finally Beers. Out of the saddle he squeezed every last watt he could from his legs to make the move stick. Joubert accelerated in chase, moving past Moir.
All Colombo needed to do was hold onto the gap he’d opened up on the climb as the course traversed rocky jeep tracks and a couple more brief climbs to secure the win and that he did! Back to back victories for the Swiss XCO specialist at The Big 5 with 39 seconds between himself and Imbuko ChemChamp’s Joubert.
“We had to push quite hard in the last 20km as we weren’t exactly sure where we were [after taking a wrong turn]. It was hard but super nice. I knew I had to close the gap, especially on Matt, more on the climbs than on the flats. I knew I had to make the move on the last climb and I pushed as hard as I could and thankfully got the gap,” said Colombo.
“I just rode my own pace today. I think it paid off as I felt pretty good towards the end. The race was on with six of us in the group, strong riders, World Champions, Epic Winners, and I think we showed our strength today. Epic is about four weeks out, we’re feeling good. Big thanks to Imbuko for hosting this event, it’s the perfect timing and perfect prep for whatever the season holds for you,” said Joubert.
Charging into 3rd was Moir (2:39 back from the leader), showing impressive endurance and tactical mastery from a young XCO Racer! He certainly showed what he was capable of in a field of world class athletes. The big question at the finish line, where was Matt Beers? Tragically he had suffered a catastrophic wheel failure on a brief rocky descent shortly after the Patatskloof Climb that ended his race when he was still in sight of a podium finish. Rounding out the top five was Schurter and Nortje, 5:11 and 5:40 off the leader respectively.
The women’s field was deep but one name stood out amongst the heavy hitters and it was Candice Lill. Fast becoming known as the Queen of The Big 5,Lill doesn’t hide the fact that she loves this race and has an uncanny knack for winning it!
With Vera Looser out of the race due to illness, the task of pursing Lill through the Limietberg mountains was left in the hands of Emilly Johnston, Bianca Haw, Sam Sanders and Malene Degn.
With the gates opened on the first climb, Lill took hold of the reigns and set an unruly pace for her competitors to follow. It would be Johnston, the Under-23 World Cup XCO racer for SCOTT SRAM), who would have the closest thing to an answer for Lill’s blistering pace. The Canadian settled into a fast tempo to stay clear of the raging battle for third behind her throughout the day, lapping up the endless singletrack descents that this course is renowned for.
“It was very painful but fun. The trails were so good but that last hour I really suffered. Really I just wanted to go out and explore some new trails. I rode as best I could to try and make it through, it was a brutal day out there!” said Johnstone.
The Scandinavian XCO racer, Malene Degn was the third woman into the Seven Peaks climb at the 20km mark with Sanders (Efficient Infiniti) hot on her heels. Not far back in fifth, Haw was taking a moment to warm up but wasn’t going to give up the fight after just one climb!
Sanders and Degn traded blows over Seven Peaks, through the Canetsfontein water point and up the Obiekwa mountain towards the Cliffhanger trail. As the gradients ramped up, Sanders would slip back into the clutches of Haw while Degn danced her way up to the towering heights of the Cliffhanger.
Lill comfortably secured the Queen of the Mountain title and R20 000 prize, with Johnstone five minutes behind her over the crest of the climb with Degn third, Haw fourth, and Sanders fifth.
After 20 minutes of eye-watering descent, the top five women were on their way home via the Greenberg and Patatskloof climbs. Sanders regained her position over Degn and thus were the final standings. Lill first, Johnston second, Haw third, Sanders fourth and Degn fifth.
“The pace was really fast at the beginning as everyone tried to stay in the front as long as possible. I probably went a bit over the limit but it was a cool day to test how I was feeling, where my form is, and what I can handle. After breaking away on the first climb I managed to pace myself okay to the finish. The last two climbs were definitely tough, but the trails were amazing!” said Lill.
The race winners walked away with R25 000 each but it was the last man across the finish line, William Neff, who would land one of the best prizes of the day; a bike touring trip to Europe (for a trip such as to tour around the Mont Blanc mountain) to the value of R60 000 from MTB Adventure ( www.mtb-adventure.com ) symbolising the achievement of any rider who managed to complete the monumental 3000m of climbing in 77km.
Top 10 Men:
1 Filipo Colombo SUI (SCOTT SRAM) 03:41:48
2 Marco Joubert RSA (Imbuko ChemChamp) 03:42:27
3 Luke Moir RSA 03:45:06
4 Nino Schurter SUI (SCOTT SRAM) 03:45:59
5 Tristan Nortje RSA (Imbuko ChemChamp) 03:46:28
6 Wout Alleman BEL (Buff Megamo) 03:48:19
7 Marc Pritzen RSA (Honeycomb 226ers) 03:49:05
8 Andri Frischknecht SUI (SCOTT SRAM) 03:50:39
9 Urs Huber SUI (Bulls Bikes) 03:52:23
10 Simon Stiebjahn GER (Singer KTM Racing) 03:52:33
Top 5 Women:
1 Candice Lill RSA ( Seattle Coffee Co / Sabi Sabi ) 04:33:09
2 Emilly Johnston CAN (SCOTT SRAM) 04:43:13
3 Bianca Haw RSA (Safari Essence Titan Racing) 04:49:05
4 Sam Sanders RSA (Efficient Infiniti) 04:50:31
5 Malene Degn DEN (SCOTT / GripGrab / Topeak / Good Habits) 04:55:42
To see the action from the day, head over to @big5mtbchallenge on Instagram where all the latest content and biggest moments can be found as well as the replays of the men’s race here and women’s race here.
Find the full results here.
Source: Jason Boulle
