Over the last decade, we at Diverge have covered around 25 events per year across MTB, Gravel, Road, and Trail Running. With that experience in hand, we’ll be bringing you more insights in 2026. Some of it will be on the ground, on the job for the event, while we will be covering other races independently, delving into the human stories and looking for the threads of continuity that run across the cycling season. Cycling is strange in that it follows an annual calendar, though a season that overlaps years, in the same style as the football season, would make more narrative sense. As it evolved organically, there seems little chance of it changing now. On the road, the Tour de France dominates, with everything building to July every year. Off-road, the Cape Epic is endurance mountain biking’s flagship event, yet the show goes on after March, with XCO racers returning to the Olympic discipline and marathon specialists targeting a mix of one-day and stage races through the rest of the year.
Diverge’s 2026 Cycling Calendar
Focusing on events we love this is the 2026 South African cycling season…
January starts slow, with the Attakwas Extreme and the first of 6 rounds of the Trailseeker Series.
In February the Tankwa Trek is the ideal Cape Epic build-up, as is the Imbuko Big 5 Challenge, while gravel racers can earn UCI points at The Ceder.
The Cape Town Cycle Tour and Cape Epic dominate March with the songo.info Champions Race squeezed between them.
The inaugural Garden Route Giro takes place in April 2026.
May is a busy month, with SA Champs, two stage races, and more.
There are two Trailseekers in June, as well as the Berg & Bush Descent which is a stage race we absolutely love.
July provides a reset of sorts with a lull in the racing action, particularly for the XCM riders.
Trans Baviaans has long been a favourite of the Diverge crew.
Race to the Sea kicks off a busy stretch of Spring racing in September.
Go gravel in October with the Prince George Monumental 100-Miler and Gravel Burn.
The season, for all intents and purposes, ends in November with Wines2Whales and the Double Century.
