Brand new stages, a new host venue, and over 300 kilometres of trails never before used by the Absa Cape Epic should be music to the ears of mountain bikers and fans as they prepare for the 2025 Untamed African Mountain Bike Race. That is not where the excitement or new features end in the twenty first edition either. An innovative new time trial and challenging stages deep in the race all contribute to a course designed to produce exciting racing for all.


Legend awaits in the next chapter of the Absa Cape Epic saga. From the Prologue on Meerendal Wine Estate to the Grand Finale’s finish line at Lourensford Wine Estate, the 2025 route provides the terrain for each participant to add to the lore of the world’s premier mountain bike stage race. For over 1200 amateur riders, it’s a life-affirming, bucket-list goal. For the professionals, it defines seasons and careers. Each edition of the Absa Cape Epic is meticulously designed months in advance, offering a route that challenges, rewards, and creates unforgettable moments, while setting the stage for drama and captivating viewing from around the globe.

Cape Epic

The singletrack filled Winelands region will host the entirety of the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic.

The 2025 race spans 608 kilometres with 16,500 meters of climbing—a tale waiting to be written across Durbanville, Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Somerset West. It begins with a familiar Prologue at Meerendal Wine Estate, setting the scene with sharp climbs and flowing singletracks before delving into the core chapters of this epic race.

Stage 1 deviates from tradition by starting and finishing at Meerendal, after a Prologue at the famous mountain biking venue. The 96-kilometer marathon through Durbanville’s wine farms features the best of the Tygerberg trail network and offers fans ample opportunity to see their heroes in the flesh. It is the first big test and one which should reveal who the week’s main protagonists will be.

The narrative then takes a twist with an early time trial, a point-to-point test from Meerendal to Fairview in Paarl, setting the scene for significant gains but also potential losses.

Singletrack

The technical nature of the trails used by the 21st edition will add to the epic difficulty of the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race. Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic.

Two new stages in Paarl around the famous granite outcrops, showcasing fresh territory and previously untapped trails. “The Drakenstein Municipality has always been welcoming, and for next year we devised a course that will not simply touch on the riding there, but truly showcase it,” Route Director, Hendrico Burger revealed.

The Queen Stage on Friday takes the teams from Fairview to Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West. It not only challenges riders with just over 103 kilometres of racing, but also features 3,050 metres of climbing and numerous opportunities for trail-side views to watch the teams fly by.

The stage is set to be a thrilling crescendo over the final weekend at Lourensford Wine Estate, where the celebrated trails and exquisite scenery of the neighbouring farms provide a fitting backdrop for the climax of the event.

Mountain Biking

Only one old-fashioned transition stage means that the opportunities for group riding will be limited in the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic

Stage 6 mixes some of the legendary Lourensford sections with vast natural beauty, offering no relief after the previous day’s efforts. Singletracks through eucalyptus forests, dual tracks alongside orchards and vineyards, and mountainous ascents are all woven together in this penultimate stage.

Stage 7, the Grand Finale, will bring the 2025 chapter to its emotional close. As riders circle the Helderberg Dome, the terrain is poised for a final act of triumph for those who wish to write their name in the book of legends.

2025 Absa Cape Epic

16-23 March 2025

608 kilometres

16 500 meters of climbing

From the first ascent of the race to the Grand Finale, Table Mountain will remain within sight every time riders reach a high point throughout the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Such is the compactness of the twenty first route. Yet wilderness and untamed experiences still beckon on a route punctuated by punchy climbs, technical singletrack descents and few easy metres. Each rider will need to earn their finisher medal and the general classification victors will be challenged tactically as much as they are physically. It is a course constituted of the Winelands’ greatest hits, but also one of new trails, and an epic discography.

Delve into the details…

Prologue

A fast paced Prologue will once again get the race underway. Photo by Max Sullivan/Cape Epic

Prologue

The Beginning

Sunday, 16 March 2025

Meerendal Wine Estate to Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville

Distance: 27km

Elevation Gain: 750m

Difficulty: ★★½

Prologue

And so it begins. The 21st Absa Cape Epic, out of the hinterland and into the Cape Winelands. On the urban edge, but yet still wild and untamed. The iconic trails of Meerendal, Fair Cape Dairies and Hoogekraal host the opening Prologue time trial, providing a taste and a test of what is to come. Sharp climbs, sweeping singletrack descents and spectacular spectator points combine to produce a first day which will indicate to teams how well they have prepared for the 2025 race.

Stage 1

Noon Gun

Monday, 17 March 2025

Meerendal to Meerendal, Durbanville

Distance: 96km

Elevation Gain: 2 450m

Difficulty: ★★★★

Stage 1

Stage 1

The mountain peaks of the Western Cape are dotted with signal guns dating back to Dutch colonial times. These would fire to alert farmers in the interior that a ship was docking in Table Bay and required restocking of supplies for the journey east. Stage 1 has a reputation for being a shot across the bows, a day which sees hopes dashed and protagonists for the week ahead stake their claims. 2025 will be no different, steep gradients are the order of the day which begins benignly enough before devolving into a brutal series of back-to-back climbs. There will be no strength in numbers or hiding in a group. It will be team vs team, mano a mano, across the cols of the Cape.

Stage 2

Time

Tuesday, 18 March 2025

Meerendal, Durbanville to Fairview, Paarl

Distance: 58km

Elevation Gain: 800m

Difficulty: ★★★½

Stage 2

Stage 2

A spicy new feature for the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. A point-to-point time trial. A true test of teamwork, tactics, and tenacity. No time to “fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way.” With climbing in the opening and closing kilometres linked by rolling roads, dual tracks and trails across the vlakte of the Malmesbury Farms. It should be a day which suits the powerhouses of mountain biking, though the weather could have a pivotal say in who succeeds on Stage 2. If the South Easter howls or the African sun bakes down, even the strongest could wilt en route to Fairview.

Stage 3

Champagne Supernova

Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Fairview to Fairview, Paarl

Distance: 92km

Elevation Gain: 2 600m

Difficulty: ★★★★½

Stage 3

Stage 3

Another big day of trails and tribulations awaits, packed with rewarding singletracks, but equally testing with precipitous ascents – Stage 3 could mark the turning point in 2025 fortunes. A good showing on the Paarl Mountain will set teams up for a storming race through the second half of the week, while a loss of momentum could result in a floundering for fitness and form. Gritting one’s teeth and holding on to the dream – from dawn to dusk – is the only way to endure, overcome, and excel.

Stage 4

Like a Rolling Stone

Thursday, 20 March 2025

Fairview to Fairview, Paarl

Distance: 74km

Elevation Gain: 1 750m

Difficulty: ★★★½

Stage 4

Stage 4

The granite domes of Paarl Mountain soak up heat, producing a microclimate of scorching summers. This will undoubtedly come into play during the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, as the sun could drain teams more than the route or the racing’s tests. Dropping a chainring size and redoubling one’s determination will be required to conquer a second day in the pearl of the Winelands. Its fynbos and vineyard beauty belies the difficulty of racing across the rocky outcrops and between the intimidating 500-million-year-old granite intrusions.

Stage 5

Killer Queen

Friday, 21 March 2025

Fairview, Paarl to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West

Distance: 103km

Elevation Gain: 3 050m

Difficulty: ★★★★★

Stage 5

Stage 5

It is a “killer, Queen, gunpowder, gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam, guaranteed to blow your mind…” it is the Queen Stage. The epic Stage 5 of the 2025 race is the only day to reach triple digits and is fitting of its brutal crown. A long, point-to-point route, it will challenge with a series of arduous ascents. Depending on how one looks at the profile there are either four or eight climbs to conquer. Mixing dual track with trails it is a day designed for aggressive racing, attacks and counters. Though it is also a course which will play into the hands of those who have recovered best, avoided drama, and conserved their energy for the final weekend.

Stage 6

Stay (Faraway, So Close!)

Saturday, 22 March 2025

Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West

Distance: 92km

Elevation Gain: 2 850m

Difficulty: ★★★★½

Stage 6

Stage 6

Stay… the final finish line is far away, but so close. The penultimate stage treats Lourensford and its neighbouring farms like a mountain biking playground in a day of discovery. The slopes of the Helderberg Mountain and its foothills – which stretch through neighbouring farms – provide ample opportunities to for tired legs to be tested. While spectacular trails through vineyards, fynbos and orchards cut through soils over 21 types, from deep red clay to shallow alluvial gravel. It is a day when the Grand Finale looms, but one where so much remains to be ridden.

Stage 7

Grand Finale

Sunday, 23 March 2025

Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West

Distance: 68km

Elevation Gain: 2 250m

Difficulty: ★★★½

Stage 7

Stage 7

“You’re either the last one standing, or the last one to fall…” The Grand Finale is the last chance to fly. And fly each team must as they ascend towards glory and swoop through the singletracks for the final time during the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. A circumnavigation of the Helderberg Dome ensures it will be a difficult day, complete with a return from a different direction to the highest point in the race. There will be reasons to celebrate aplenty too, however, with the singletracks of Ernie Els, Dornier and the famed Helderberg Trails all providing parting gifts. The last descent, through exquisite fynbos in reserve on the urban edge, brings the 21st Absa Cape Epic full circle. Closing with cheers, nerves replaced by elation, and a slot in the Book of Legend.

Recap on the 2024 Absa Cape Epic here.

Ghost Factory Racing

Photo by Sam Clark/CAPE EPIC