Beers and Nortje of Team Toyota Specialized Imbuko won the 20-kilometer opening stage, featuring 650 meters of climbing, in Meerendal near Durbanville on Sunday, securing the first yellow leader’s jersey. Their lead over Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto of Team Wilier Vittoria was six seconds. Another six seconds behind them were David Valero and Marc Stutzmann of Team Klimatiza Orbea. For Beers and Nortje, the race is also special because they aim to become the first all-South African duo to win the Cape Epic. However, their partnership was formed just ten days before the start, after Beers’ original partner, Keegan Swenson, had to withdraw due to injury.In the women’s race, Candice Lill from Cape Town and Alessandra Keller of Team Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi celebrated a commanding opening-stage victory. The duo finished 56 seconds ahead of Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald of Team She Sends Foundation, as well as Rosa Van Doorn and Vera Looser of Team Buff BH Efficient Infiniti. Lill, who had already finished second five times in six previous appearances, thus got off to an ideal start in the race alongside Keller. The conditions on the course were extremely challenging for elite riders and the approximately 1,400 amateurs. Temperatures rose to as high as forty degrees on parts of the course. Beers and Nortje had led the race from the first split times and defended their narrow lead all the way to the finish. For Beers, the 2026 edition is the next opportunity to further expand his palmares, which already includes three Cape Epic victories. Nortje, who won the jersey for the best African team last year alongside Marco Joubert, donned the yellow jersey of the overall leader for the first time.In the women’s race, the winning duo also led the field from the first checkpoint. Lill and Keller were already considered co-favorites before the start, as both compete at the highest international level in cross-country and regularly race in the World Cup. Their success in the prologue gives them a very strong starting position for the coming days, even though the overall victory is still to be decided.The first official stage of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic will take place on Monday, March 16, in Montagu. The stage covers 90 kilometers and 2,150 meters of elevation gain. ResultsElite MenTOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (44:37.4)​ WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (44:43.7 | +6.3) KLIMATIZA ORBEA: David VALERO SERRANO & Marc STUTZMANN (44:50.2 | +12.8) ORIGINE-WILIER: Mathis AZZARO & Juri ZANOTTI (45:03.0 | +25.6) CANYON: Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (45:35.6 | +58.2) Elite Women THÖMUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (51:24.6) SHE SENDS FOUNDATION: Kate COURTNEY & Greta SEIWALD (52:21.4 | +56.8) BUFF-BH | EFFICIENT INFINITI​: Rosa VAN DOORN & Vera LOOSER (53:33.9| +2:09.3) SYMBTECH.NET: Margot MOSCHETTI & Claudia PERETTI (54:11.8 | +2:47.2) CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB: Hayley PREEN & Haley SMITH (54:30.6 | +3:06.0) Toyota Mixed TEAM 69: Jenny RISSVEDS & Simon ANDREASSEN (52:20.6) SCOTT BRASIL: Gabriela FEROLLA & Hugo PRADO NETO (56:19.5 | +3:58.9) KXNGS / PUMP FOR PEACE: Nicholas ROCHE & Marta TORÀ MILÀ (56:23.3 | +4:02.7) epic-series.com