Schurter/Colombo and Langvad/Gomez Villafane are the 2025 Cape Epic winners

The Cape Epic 2025 is history, and Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane, as well as Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo, are adding their chapters. While the Danish-Argentine duo clearly secured victory, the race between the winners and runners-up Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto remained exciting until the final stage.

Tight finish in the women's prologue

In the prologue on the Meerendal Wine Estate, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane from Team Toyota-Specialized show their ambitions for overall victory and take the win on the 26-kilometre lap - but by a narrow margin. Just three seconds separated the Danish-Argentine duo from the "e-Fort x ChemChamp" team with Margot Moschetti and Samara Sheppard. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda are already over a minute behind. Villafane emphasizes the importance of a controlled race: "It was really important to stay calm today. We never wanted to go full throttle to avoid wasting energy unnecessarily for the coming days."

In the men's race, Italian debutants Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto from Team Wilier-Vittoria beat the Swiss Scott-Sram duo of Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo into second place - with a lead of 20 seconds. "We're super happy about the win and it's nice to come here and surprise everyone," says Avondetto. Third place was secured by South Africans Marc Pritzen and Wessel Botha from Team Honeycomb 226ers.

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Change of leaders in the men's race

The first stage starts with the finish at the Meerendal Wine Estate. Langvad and Gomez Villafane once again dominate the 92-kilometer route, but this time by a clear margin. They extend their lead in the overall standings to almost seven minutes. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda from Team Efficient Infiniti SCB Sram came in second, followed by Rosa van Doorn (NED) and Swiss rider Janina Wüst from Team Buff Megamo.

On the same section, Schurter and Colombo showed what they had come to South Africa for, taking the overall lead ahead of Braidot and Avondetto thanks to their victory. Schurter said after the race: "That was a tough day. Some sections were fun, but it was a race at the limit. I found the flat sections quite difficult. I don't really like them and prefer the mountainous terrain." The German duo Georg Egger and Lukas Baum from Team Orbea Leatt Speed Company took third place.

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Surprise in the individual time trial

In the 66-kilometre individual time trial from Meerendal Wine Estate to Fairview, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane are once again at the top of the podium. They beat Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda into second place by two minutes. Annika Langvad explains the challenges of the stage: "We got too excited when we caught up with other teams and rode too fast. Then the heat hit us and we had to manage the race better." Monica Yuliana Calderon (COL) and Tessa Kortekaas (NED) from Team Cannondale ISB Sport finished third.

In the men's race, Belgian Wout Alleman and his teammate Martin Stosek (CZE) from Team Buff Megamo 1 surprised everyone by winning the stage. Wout Alleman describes the stage as "hard, with no breaks and very hot." He explains the team's strategy: "Our plan was to keep up a high pace and then step it up again at the end. It worked." Schurter and Colombo finish in second place, but extend their overall lead by around half a minute.

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Hot sprint on the oven stage

The extreme heat forces the organizers to shorten the stage and start earlier. Nevertheless, temperatures of over 40 degrees demand everything from the participants. At the top of the women's race, however, everything remains the same. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane celebrate their fourth stage win in a row and are now almost 14 minutes ahead of the Namibian-American duo Looser/Skarda and 26 minutes ahead of the South Africans Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen in the overall standings. "The conditions made the race particularly challenging today, but we worked well together as a team and are happy with our stage win," said Gomez Villafane.

The sprint for victory in the men's race was even hotter than the temperatures. Schurter and Colombo lost out to the Italians Braidot and Avondetto. "It was a tough day in extreme temperatures, but we were able to defend our lead in the overall standings," recaps Nino Schurter. Third place went to South Africans Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje.

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Victory despite crashes

On the fourth stage, an 80-kilometre circuit around Fairview, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane dominated once again, despite two crashes. Gomez Villafane explains: "After the crashes, our plan was to be careful. We controlled the pace well and extended our lead in the overall standings." Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda are only 50 seconds behind, while the duo Haw/Preen are 1:29 minutes back.

In the men's race, there is another sprint, this time four teams will decide the victory among themselves. Once again, it was the Italians who snatched victory from under the noses of the Swiss duo Schurter/Colombo. "It was a tactical ride right to the end. We are happy with the result and remain in the race for overall victory," said a delighted Luca Braidot.

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Brutal royal stage

The fifth stage is the royal stage of the Absa Cape Epic 2025. On the 98 kilometers and 2850 vertical meters, from Fairview to Lourensford Wine Estate, the favorites show their strengths. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane continue their impressive winning streak and take their sixth stage win in a row. Despite strong competition from Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas, they were able to pull away in the final kilometers. With a comfortable lead of over 22 minutes in the overall standings, they are well on their way to overall victory. Langvad describes the challenge of the day: "The Nek climb was terrible. I didn't know if I would make it to the top."

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo put in a brilliant tactical performance and secured the stage win. In the early stages of the race, South Africans Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje lead the field. But on the decisive climb to the 'Nek', Schurter and Colombo took the lead together with the Wilier-Vittoria team with Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. They use the subsequent descent to launch their final attack and reach the finish in Lourensford with a lead of one minute and ten seconds. This extended their overall lead to 1:52 minutes. "It was a tough stage, but our strategy worked perfectly," said a satisfied Schurter.

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After the heat comes the mud fight

The two South Africans Tristan Nortje and Marco Joubert put in an impressive performance and secure the stage win. Their tenacity paid off when they successfully fended off the Wilier-Vittoria team's attack in the final twelve kilometers. Nortje is overwhelmed after the race: "Today was a crazy ride, I thought it would never end. It was the hardest stage of my life." Joubert adds: "I never cried when I broke my collarbone, but today I couldn't hold back the tears." Filippo Colombo, on the other hand, had a tough day. When he could no longer keep up the pace, Schurter took himself out to support his partner instead of riding offensively to defend their overall lead. Their time loss of 1:20 minutes compared to Braidot and Avondetto makes the race for overall victory even more exciting.

For the first time, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane are also unable to keep up with the front runners. Victory on the 87-kilometer lap around the Lourensford Wine Estate goes to Monica Calderón and Tessa Kortekaas. The Colombian-Dutch duo dominated the sixth stage right from the start and reached the finish with a lead of over six minutes. Kortekaas expressed her satisfaction: "We had a difficult start to the week, but we knew that we could attack if we felt good." Despite their second place, Langvad and Gomez Villafane were able to extend their lead in the overall standings to over 23 minutes on Looser and Skarda.

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Record for Langvad, number three for Schurter

Due to the thunderstorms during the night, which damaged sections of the course, the seventh stage of the Grand Final was shortened and started late. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas once again pulled away and won this final 41-kilometer stage. "The victories today and yesterday make up for everything that went wrong the days before," says Kortekaas. The Colombian-Dutch duo won 33 seconds ahead of Katazina Sosna-Pinele (Lit) and Claudia Peretti (ITA). Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda finished third on the final stage and in the overall classification.

For Annika Langvad and her teammate Sofia Gomez Villafana, sixth place was enough to ride to overall victory. It is also Langvad's sixth Absa Cape Epic title, making her the sole record holder (previously Christoph Sauser and Karl Platt with five wins each). "This week was just crazy," says the Dane. "The week didn't really go to plan and I was in a lot of pain after a crash at the start of the race. Sofia was just the greatest partner, but I didn't have any fun out there. It's all the more incredible to win here. I gave birth to my child seven months ago and haven't ridden my bike for a while. But now I'm just tired and just want to lie down." Gomez Villafane praised her partner: "Annika has suffered in silence since the crash. I don't think I could have done what she did this week and it was an honor to be her partner and help her win her sixth title. I'm just as happy to take back the title after finishing third two years in a row."

In the men's race, Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto had their hands full on the shortened stage to close the gap of 32 seconds to the overall leading Scott-Sram team. But when Georg Egger and Lukas Baum (Orbea Leatt Speed Company) pushed the pace, only Schurter and Colombo were able to react. The two Germans rode a strong race in the final kilometers and took the stage win. "It's a small bonus to win today and gives us a good feeling to finish the race with a stage win," says Lukas Baum. "We knew that if we rode hard from the start today, we could split the field and possibly take the win. We just gave it our all and were rewarded."

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo took second place, securing the overall Cape Epic victory. Schurter, who last won the Absa Cape Epic in 2019 together with Lars Forster, is delighted with his third title. "It was a tough race all week and that continued until the last day. This is a very nice win. It's a very different kind of race to the World Cup, but winning here is always a career highlight. The team dynamic makes it so interesting, and when you have the right partner, it's very satisfying."

Colombo adds, exhausted: "To be honest, I'm just relieved it's over! We've been through so much this week, so to win now is very special."

Italian challengers Braidot and Avondetto ride to sixth place, but remain well ahead of third-placed South Africans Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje in the final standings.