Matt Beers and Candice Lill claimed victories at the first round of the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series in the Banhoek Valley on Saturday, 31 January. Stacked men’s and women’s elite fields saw the top South African mountain bikers bolstered by international talent, which ensured fiercely competitive racing. Beers held off Marc Pritzen and Luke Moir to win the men’s race, in the 63.5 kilometre marathon distance, after having spent the last 20 kilometres racing them and Michael Foster for primacy on the trails. Lill claimed the women’s crown after a puncture for Alessandra Keller put the Swiss champion out of contention for victory. Tyler Jacobs recovered from a crash to finish second, while Keller rode her way back into the podium places and finished third.

An early start, at 06:30, and a lightning-fast race – which saw the women’s podium places wrapped up before 09:30 – ensured that the elite racers did not feel the heat of the day. The African sun beat down on the more social riders, making for a tough day in the saddle. For professional and amateur racers alike, the opening round of the Ford Trailseeker Series is a gauge of how well December and January training have gone.

“It was a chilled start, I’d say, but once the climbs came it got really, really, fast out there!” Vera Looser noted. “I could feel that it was my first race of the year.”

As Looser had explained, the elite women’s field raced relatively conservatively through the first 10 kilometres until the climbing began. Then Lill and Keller worked to split the field. Only Jacobs, Looser, and Hayley Preen could match the climbing speed of the women on the Thömas bikes. Leading into Water Point 2, at the 26-kilometre mark, when the trails steepened even more, Lill’s pressure told, and the leading group splintered further.

“I could feel today that I’m in a really good place, and this is a great way to go into the season.”

“I could feel today that I’m in a really good place, and this is a great way to go into the season,” Lill reflected. “Unfortunately, Alessandra [Keller] had a puncture; it would have been really nice to race with her for longer. There were a couple of open sections of the route where we could have worked well together. But she put in a really strong ride and came in third.”

Keller’s puncture dropped her out of the top five on the trails, but the Cross-Country Short Course World Champion used the climbs in the final 15 kilometres to work her way back into third. The Thömus Maxon rider reeled in and passed both Preen and Looser on the trails but ran out of road to catch Jacobs. “It was so much fun, the trails were awesome, and the competition was amazing, so it was a really good test,” Jacobs stated after holding off the hard-charging Keller. “It’s always cool to have overseas riders here, at the start of the year, and to see how strong the South Africans are.”

After Keller punctured and Lill had attacked, Jacobs time trialled her way to the finish. The Liv Factory Racing star finished 3 minutes and 18 seconds behind Lill, and just 12 ahead of Keller. Looser was fourth, a further 2 minutes and 47 seconds down. Preen rounded out the top five places, ahead of Sara Cortinovis, Bianca Haw, Sarah Maré, Flora Duffy, and Frances Janse van Rensburg.

In the men’s race, Foster was the early aggressor. Racing in the Ford Prime Bunch colours for the first time, he ensured that the group split before the climbing began. Sandy corners and hidden rocks made the first 20 kilometres particularly treacherous, as Tristan Nortje explained. “The first 20 kilometres of this Ford Trailseeker Banhoek are always hard!”

“I think harder even than a cross-country,” the Toyota Specialized Imbuko rider grimaced. “Position is so important with the speed and the sand in the corners.” Elaborating on how the race unfolded, he continued: “It split up on the first climb, and I lost the group there, because they were going too hard, but then after Banhoek, a group of us managed to catch back up when the leaders sat up. Then, when the attacking started, again, in the Boschendal and Plaisir trails, it was just about survival until the finish line.”

Nortje had managed to ride his way back to the Foster group, which included Beers, Pritzen, Moir, and Sarrou. In the lull near the 40-kilometre mark, the group swelled to include Sascha Weber, Andreas Seewald, Marco Joubert, Ernest Roets, and Johan van Zyl. Then Foster put the hammer down once again.

“I actually thought the second last climb was the last climb,” Foster laughed. “I thought it was my time to go, and I got a little gap on Matt [Beers] and Luke [Moir], but they came back on the descent and then on the last climb, that was me done. They left me, and Marc [Pritzen] caught me. But, for the first race of the year… I’m happy with where my legs are.”

“There was never really a spot of difficulty for me today. It was hard, but a good pace.”

Beers used the final climb to edge away from Moir, while Pritzen dug deep to claw his way back to the pre-race favourite. “There was never really a spot of difficulty for me today,” Beers confessed. “It was hard, but a good pace. Michael [Foster] was a beast, just hammering it, and he caused quite a few of the splits today. And I managed to get away with him, Luke [Moir], and Marc [Pritzen] towards the end.”

“Going down the last singletrack, Marc was leading, and I was on his wheel. I think Luke was dealing with some cramps by then. I had ridden the last kay and a half this morning, so I knew where to attack. And I managed to execute it to perfection,” the Specialized Off-Road man grinned.

Beers led into the final corner with Pritzen a few bike lengths back. “It gave me visions of last year, when I crashed on the final corner,” Pritzen recalled. “I backed off to avoid a repeat of that. But Matt [Beers] rode a really good race, so congratulations to him.”

With victory going to Beers, Pritzen settled for second, and Moir crossed the line 25 seconds down to finish third. Foster recovered on the last descent and hung on to fourth ahead of the French former Cross-Country World Champion, Sarrou. Webber was sixth, with his fellow German Seewald seventh. Nortje led home the Toyota Specialized Imbuko team, in eighth, a minute faster than Jaedon Terlouw and Joubert, in ninth and tenth.

The Ford Trailseeker Series pauses now, until the Autumn when the racing resumes in Gauteng. Round 2 is hosted by the Cradle Moon Lakeside Game Lodge on Saturday, 2 May, and will see the resumption of hostilities in the battle for the R100 000 series winner prizes.

Ford Trailseeker Banhoek Results

Elite Men:

1. Matt Beers: Specialized Off-Road (2:24:30)
2. Marc Pritzen: Honeycomb 226ers (2:24:31 | +1)
3. Luke Moir: Mondraker Factory Racing XC (2:24:55 | +25)
4. Michael Foster: Ford Prime Bunch (2:25:41 | +1:11)
5. Jordan Sarrou: BMC MTB Team (2:26:02 | +1:32)
6. Sascha Weber: RH77 Factory Racing (2:26:07 | +1:37)
7. Andreas Seewald: Singer KTM (2:26:31 | +2:01)
8. Tristan Nortje: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:26:56 | +2:26)
9. Jaedon Terlouw: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:28:00 | +3:30)
10. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:28:01 | +3:31)

Elite Women:

1. Candice Lill: Seattle Coffee Co e-Fort Sabi Sabi (2:49:46)
2. Tyler Jacobs: LIV Factory Racing (2:53:04 | +3:18)
3. Alessandra Keller: Thömus Maxon (2:53:16 | +3:30)
4. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (2:56:03 | +6:17)
5. Hayley Preen: ChemChamp Honeycomb (2:58:43 | +8:57)
6. Sara Cortinovis: UNNO Polimedical (3:01:00 | +11:14)
7. Bianca Haw: LEATT (3:02:13 | +12:27)
8. Sarah Maré: Efficient Infiniti Insure (3:05:30 | +15:44)
9. Flora Duffy: Specialized (3:06:11 | +16:25)
10. Frances Janse van Rensburg (3:08:17 | +18:31)

For the full results from the Ford Trailseeker Banhoek, click here.

READ MORE ON: MTB race Trailseeker Series