South Africa’s most infamous mountain biking climb, the Merino Monster, was the deciding factor on the Queen Stage of the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen. Saturday’s, Stage 3 will likely prove decisive in the UCI Men’s race as Imbuko ChemChamp added 6 minutes to their general classification lead with a commanding stage victory. Candice Lill and Kate Courtney were even more dominant, in the UCI Women’s race, as they won the day and extended their advantage to over half an hour.
The She Sends team benefited from some misfortune for their closest rivals again, but were also clearly the strongest combination across the 98-kilometre route. Given that the Theronsberg Pass climb, which leads into the Merino Monster, only started 64 kilometres into the day, there was ample opportunity for fast group riding. “Greta [Seiwald] punctured like four times yesterday, and again once today,” Martina Berta, of M&G Spaghetti sighed. “Unfortunately, it was early in the stage again, so we missed out on the opportunity to sit in the group and save some energy on the flatter part of the stage.”
The Italian pairing had a big chase back through the UCI Women’s field, but were unable to regain contact with Lill and Courtney. They did however reel in and pass the Safari Essence Titan Racing, Kolisi Songo Foundation, Efficient Infiniti, and Ghost-LIV Racing teams between Water Points 1 and 2. By the time M&G Spaghetti reached the foot of the Theronsberg they were in second place on the trails.
“I think we were faster overall today, but maybe a bit slower up Merino Monster, because we didn’t have that racing element up there,” Lill noted. “It’s a pity that Greta [Seiwald] and Martina [Berta] have had punctures yesterday and today, it would have been good for the event if the racing was closer.”
Lill and Courtney did not struggle for motivation however and kept up a consistently high pace throughout the stage. “It’s been great racing with Candice [Lill],” Courtney smiled. “The last time I did a stage race was in 2018, and I was very much the junior partner. Now, with Candice, we are so well matched. So, it’s been a lot of fun.”
This has proved fast for the She Sends team too. They were first over the summit of the Merino Monster, claiming the Queen of the Mountain hotspot prize – courtesy of Anderson Transport – and crossing the finish line first. After three days of racing they lead Spaghetti M&G by 34 minutes and 31 seconds. Ghost-LIV Racing’s Tyler Jacobs and Sara Cortinovis slipped to third after finishing behind Seiwald and Berta on the Queen Stage. Efficient Infiniti also lost a place to the Italians. Sarah Hill and Vera Looser are fourth going into the final stage. Ila Stow and Cherise Willeit, of Kolisi Songo Foundation, are fifth.
In the UCI Men’s race Lukas Baum and Philip Buys were early aggressors, which ensured a fast start to the day. “I’m super grateful to Lukas [Baum] and Phil [Buys] actually,” Marc Pritzen acknowledged. “They made it hard this morning which really suited us, and saved us from having to make the racing.”
Michael Foster, who had won the opening stage with Jaedon Terlouw, endured a difficult day after coming down with a stomach bug on Friday night. The PYGA Euro Steel 2 team dug deep to stay with the leaders for as long as possible, but once the elastic snapped the gap ballooned out quickly. By the end of the stage the former yellow jersey wearers were well out of the general classification shake-up.
At the sharp end, Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje took up the initiative once Baum and Buys slowed up. On the Theronsberg Pass only the Honeycomb 226ers team and Singer KTM Racing could follow the men in yellow. Imbuko ChemChamp upped the pace again at the foot of the Merino Monster and distanced their rivals. “We managed to hold the gap to Marco [Joubert] and Tristan [Nortje] after their first acceleration, but then Wessel [Botha] cracked his rim on the descent and 5 minutes after fixing that I punctured too,” Pritzen explained.
En route to the summit Nortje claimed the Strava King of the Mountain title with a time of 35 minutes and 36 seconds, which was 50 seconds faster than Matt Beers’ previous best time. The speed of Nortje and Joubert’s ascent also secured them the race’s official King of the Mountain hotspot prize.
Imbuko ChemChamp had summited with a 90 second lead on the Honeycomb 226ers and because of that advantage they were able to ride the descent slightly more cautiously. “It’s a fun descent,” Joubert laughed. “It’s pedally in places and very steep in others. The problem is that the steep sections can be quite sketchy, so you can easily hit a rock at over 40 kilometres per hour. Because we had an advantage, we were able to back off slightly, then when we went all-in on the flat road home.”
This tactic paid off handsomely as Joubert and Nortje won the stage by just over 6 minutes. Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn were the main benefactors from Pritzen and Botha’s puncture, as Singer KTM Racing crossed the line in second. Computer Mania Cannondale Pro MTB’s Daniel van der Walt and Ursin Spescha completed the podium places on the day.
Despite finishing fourth, the Honeycomb 226ers maintained their second place overall. Imbuko ChemChamp take an 8 minute and 43 second lead into the final stage, which highlights their supremacy throughout the first three days. Further back Singer KTM Racing are 2 minutes behind Pritzen and Botha, in third. Van der Walt and Spescha are fourth on the general classification, ahead of Insect Science’s Arno du Toit and Keagan Bontekoning in fifth.
The final stage is a shorter 57 kilometre day, with just 940 metres of climbing. There will still be rocky trails to conquer though and with the risk of punctures remaining high the race is far from over. To follow the action when it gets underway, at 06:30 on Sunday morning, mountain biking fans can view the @tankwatrek Instagram and Tankwa TrekFacebook stories. Longer-form highlights and photos from the race can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. For more information on the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, visit www.tankwatrek.co.za.
Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, Results
UCI Men | Stage 3:
- Imbuko ChemChamp A: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (3:52:45)
- Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (3:58:52 | +6:07)
- Computer Mania Cannondale Pro MTB: Daniel van der Walt & Ursin Spescha (04:00:20 | +8:35)
- Honeycomb 226ers A: Marc Pritzen & Wessel Botha (04:00:26 | +8:41)
- Toyota Specialized: Matt Beers & Johan van Zyl (04:03:15 | +11:30)
UCI Women | Stage 3:
- She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (4:45:55)
- Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (4:58:26 | +12:31)
- Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (05:09:38 | +23:43)
- Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (05:14:56 | +28:01)
- Kolisi/Songo Foundation: Ila Stow & Cherise Willeit (05:22:05 | +36:10)
UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 3:
- Imbuko ChemChamp A: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (08:26:18)
- Honeycomb 226ers A: Marc Pritzen & Wessel Botha (08:35:01 | +8:43)
- Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (08:37:00 | +10:41)
- Computer Mania Cannondale Pro MTB: Daniel van der Walt & Ursin Spescha (08:40:45 | +14:27)
- Insect Science Cycling: Arno du Toit & Keagan Bontekoning (08:46:17 | +19:59)
UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 3:
- She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (10:06:56)
- Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (10:41:28 | +34:31)
- Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (10:49:12 | +42:16)
- Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (10:57:01 | +50:04)
- Kolisi/Songo Foundation: Ila Stow & Cherise Willeit (11:26:58 | +1:20:02)
For the full results from the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, click here.
Source: Seamus Allardice Media
