TANKWA TREK: JOUBERT, NORTJE TAKE LEAD IN STAGE 2 SHAKE-UP

Stage 2 of the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen produced a dramatic day of racing. There were punctures and broken wheels, as well as a major mechanical, all of which affected the general classification standings. She Sends reigned supreme though as Candice Lill and Kate Courtney enjoyed a problem-free day in the Witzenberg Valley en route to a second stage win. In the UCI Men’s race Honeycomb 226ers were first across the line to claim stage honours, but Imbuko ChemChamp’s Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje were the day’s big winners as they seized the yellow First Ascent leaders’ jerseys after finishing second.

The 88 kilometre stage featured 1 850 metres of climbing, presenting a stern test of man, woman and machine. From Kaleo Guest Farm in the Koue Bokkeveld the teams made their way across rocky and sandy jeep tracks towards the Witzenberg Valley where the Hanekom Brothers’ singletracks awaited. Once in the valley the riding was relentless and the technical nature of the course contributed to the mechanical issues.

Greta Seiwald and Martina Berta were the first to struggle. Having finished the previous day in second place the Spaghetti M&G team were well placed in the front group until they suffered a serious mechanical. Though they recovered well late in the stage the issue put them out of the running for stage victory before the leaders had reached the first water point.

“As we turned onto the tar road, heading towards Water Point 1, I took a look back to see who was with us and it was only Tyler [Jacobs] and Sara [Cortinovis],” Lill said. “Historically teams have started the main climb of the day together and it has been a bit more tactical, but because we were on our own coming out of the second section of singletracks Kate [Courtney] and I had to just push on. We climbed pretty quickly and although it was tough – because it’s always tough riding in the Witzenberg – it was a good stage.”

“It’s the Merino Monster tomorrow,” the race leader smiled. “I took the Strava Queen of the Mountain last year, so maybe we’ll have to see if Kate and I can go up there faster this year…”

Behind the She Sends team Ghost-LIV Racing held second for much of the stage. Then in the final 15 kilometres Sarah Hill and Vera Looser started to reel Jacobs and Cortinovis in. “I was looking back from the summit of the last climb to see if we were being caught from behind, but then we saw that Tyler [Jacobs] and Sara [Cortinovis] were just ahead of us,” Hill noted. “We chased them, with Vera [Looser] pulling the whole time for 5 kilometres and we caught them with about 10 kilometres to go.”

Once the Efficient Infiniti team had moved up into second, they held on to the line, finishing 59 seconds ahead of the Ghost-LIV Racing. That effort helped Looser and Hill move up to third overall too, joining Lill and Courtney, as well as Jacobs and Cortinovis on the UCI Women’s general classification podium. Seiwald and Berta slip to fourth, with Safari Essence Titan Racing’s Bianca Haw and Danielle Strydom rounding out the top five.

Punctures and illness, rather than mechanicals, had a say in the UCI Men’s race. Matt Beers, who had started the day in fifth overall alongside Johan van Zyl, suffered a puncture which took him over ten minutes to plug. The Toyota Specialized man’s woes were less severe than Herman Fourie’s though. The Valley Electrical Titan Racing rider cracked a rim in two places and ended up running his bike nearly 5 kilometres before withdrawing from the race. Georg Egger had come into the race recovering from a stomach bug, and after limiting his losses on Stage 1 the German was unable to do the same on Stage 2. Though he and Lukas Baum finished the stage they are well down on the general classification standings.

At the sharp end Joubert and Nortje had another strong day, controlling the pace for the majority of the stage. Marc Pritzen and Wessel Botha also had a great ride and aided the Imbuko ChemChamp men to keep the tempo high. “Marc [Pritzen] was the MVP today,” Botha praised. “I got caught behind a crash in a singletrack and Marc had to help pace me back to the group. On the main climb Imbuko [ChemChamp] pushed the pace, and distanced PYGA Euro Steel, Singer KTM Racing, and Insect Science but we could stay with them. Once we went over the last climb together, we decided to rather work with them.”

“Tomorrow is a big day and it wouldn’t make sense to try to kill each other and blow ourselves up today,” Nortje added to the explanation. “We worked well with Honeycomb [226ers] in the last 10 kilometres or so and gained time on the rest of the field. Tomorrow it’s the Merino Monster though and as we know that will probably decide the race.”

Honeycomb 226ers and Imbuko ChemChamp went to the line together with the former claiming the stage win while the latter moved into yellow. Pritzen and Botha’s winning margin for the day was just 2 seconds over Joubert and Nortje, Michael Foster and Jaedon Terlouw fought to reduce the damage and crossed the line third. The PYGA Euro Steel team ceded 3 minutes and 34 seconds, dropping from first to third overall.

Heading into the Queen Stage, Imbuko ChemChamp lead Honeycomb 226ers by 60 seconds. PYGA Euro Steel are third, at 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Singer KTM Racing’s Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn are fourth, 4 minutes and 26 seconds, down; ahead of Arno du Tout and Keagan Bontekoning, of Insect Science, in fifth.

Stage 3, is a mammoth 98 kilometre day with 2 200 metres of climbing. The summit of the Merino Monster reaches 1 750 metres into the sky and the climb gains 1 000 metres in elevation from the Ceres Valley to the peak of the mountain. Currently Matt Beers and Candice Lill hold the Strava KOM and QOM titles on the water point to water point segment. Beers’ time is 36 minutes and 26 seconds, while Lill’s time is 44:47. The racing action gets underway at 06:30 and mountain biking fans can follow it live on the @tankwatrek Instagram and Tankwa Trek Facebook 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 2:

1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Wessel Botha (3:28:54)
2. Imbuko ChemChamp: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (3:28:56 | +2)
3. Pyga Euro Steel 2: Michael Foster & Jaedon Terlouw (3:32:28 | +3:34)
4. Insect Science: Arno du Tout & Keagan Bontekoning (3:32:54 | +4:00)
5. Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (3:33:17 | +4:23)

UCI Women | Stage 2:

1. She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (4:08:05)
2. Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (4:21:55 | +13:50)
3. Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (4:22:54 | +14:49)
4. Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (4:28:12 | +20:07)
5. Safari Essence Titan Racing: Bianca Haw & Danielle Strydom (4:40:50 | +32:45)

UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 2:

1. Imbuko ChemChamp: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (4:33:31)
2. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Wessel Botha (3:34:31 | +1:00)
3. Pyga Euro Steel 2: Michael Foster & Jaedon Terlouw (4:36:59 | +3:27)
4. Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (4:37:57 | +4:26)
5. Insect Science: Arno du Tout & Keagan Bontekoning (4:38:46 | +5:15)

UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 2:

1. She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (5:21:00)
2. Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (5:39:33 | +18:33)
3. Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (5:42:02 | +21:02)
4. Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (5:43:00 | +23:00)
5. Safari Essence Titan Racing: Bianca Haw & Danielle Strydom (6:02:42 | +41:42)

For the full results from the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, click here.

Source: Seamus Allardice Media