It has always taken grit and determination to win the Absa Cape Epic. In recent years, that has proved truer than ever as teams came from behind in 2022, 2023 and to a lesser extent in 2024 to claim the crown. The 2025 route will undoubtedly produce moments of high drama – in the form of punctures and crashes – while the searing heat expected for both Durbanville and Paarl will test the teams to the extreme. When the racing gets underway – on Meerendal Wine Estate, on Sunday, 16 March – there will be 50 UCI Men’s teams ready to do battle for the Niël Jonker designed trophy which will be awarded along with the final yellow jerseys at Lourensford Wine Estate; on Sunday, 23 March. The favourites include four past winners, national champions and a number of other contenders.

Outride | Toyota | Songo: Matt Beers (RSA) & Keegan Swenson (USA)

As the defending champion Matt Beers has the honour of starting with number 1 on his bike board. His 2025 teammate is a surprise selection given Beers’ status as a long-term Specialized athlete. American gravel guru, Keegan Swenson, is backed by Santa Cruz which presented a problem which was readily solved by the pair teaming up for charity. Backed by the race’s official route partners, Toyota, Beers and Swenson will race for Outride – non-profit focused on improving the mental health of children through cycling – and songo.info – a Kayamandi based education and sporting charity founded to enable Christoph Sauser and Burry Standers’ partnership in 2008.

Beers has three Absa Cape Epic titles on his palmarès, alongside Jordan Sarrou, Christopher Blevins, and Howard Grotts. Swenson has finished two editions of the race in 11th position, in 2022 and 2023, but has never truly had a teammate capable of allowing him to stretch his legs. Given both athletes’ North American gravel aspirations for 2025 the team will likely be closely watched by a growing US fan base.

Scott SRAM: Nino Schurter (SUI) & Filipo Colombo (SUI)

Since Filipo Colombo’s signing for Scott SRAM in 2023 this has been the pairing Swiss fans have been waiting for. Nino Schurter has come within a day of winning a third Absa Cape Epic title since his dominant victory alongside Lars Forster in 2019. Colombo missed the 2023 race in order to race the Spring Classics on the road, but a horror crash in Paris Roubaix derailed his season. In 2024 he opted to focus on cross-country, which left Schurter looking outside of Scott SRAM for an Absa Cape Epic teammate. This year has started well for Colombo as he beat a stacked field at a one-day race with a decided Untamed curtain raiser feel.

Schurter’s form was not quite as razor sharp in February as his 2025 teammate, but the ten-time World Champion and 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist will almost certainly be at his peak come 16 March. In the past Schurter’s aggressive style of racing has slowly emptied his partner’s reserves. In Colombo, he has a teammate who is unlikely to finish the week struggling to maintain form.

ORBEA Leatt Speed Company: Georg Egger (GER) & Lukas Baum (GER | European XCM Champion)

The only big teams to retain their partnership from 2024 Georg Egger and Lukas Baum are five-star favourites for several reasons. None more so than for their astonishing popularity. Forged in their unlikely race to the title in 2022 the German pair are crowd pleasers. Their aggressive approach to Absa Cape Epic racing has seen them go all-in at virtually every opportunity. Mountain biking fans will be hopeful that experience has not tampered ORBEA Leatt Speed Company’s enthusiasm.

Coming into the race Egger’s form is slightly uncertain as he struggled with illness during his season debut at a stage race in early February. Baum looks to be fighting fit and will be resplendent in the European Marathon Champion’s jersey during the 2025 race. Both he and Egger, as well as their legion of fans, will be disappointed if he does not switch white, blue and gold stars for yellow on the final Lourensford podium.

Singer KTM: Andreas Seewald (German XCM Champion) & Jakob Hartmann (GER)

The closed season shake-up in the teams specialising in marathon and stage racing has lead to some interesting new combinations for the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. The most highly ranked of these is the Singer KTM pairing of Andreas Seewald and Jakob Hartmann. Seewald is a former XCM World Champion, the current German XCM Champion, and a two-time Absa Cape Epic stage winner. His best result in the Untamed was 2nd in 2022. Hartmann was 6th on his debut last year and will be looking for a significant improvement alongside one of marathon racing’s most celebrated riders.

Klimatiza Orbea: Samuele Porro (ITA) & Marc Stutzmann (Swiss XCM Champion)

Samuele Porro and Marc Stutzmann are both new signings for the Klimatiza Orbea squad. Porro is no stranger to the Absa Cape Epic, having notched up 6 finishes and 2 podium finishes. Stutzmann made his debut in 2024, alongside Andreas Seewald, and finished 4th winning a single stage. Both men are powerful climbers, illustrated by their SPAR Swiss Epic success, and this makes Klimatiza Orbea a danger to the favourites above.

Buff Megamo: Wout Alleman (Belgian XCM Champion) & Martin Stošek (CZE)

Buff Megamo, a team famed for consistency, have had a chance forced upon them by Hans Becking’s withdrawal from the race. This change has resulted in the highly accomplished Martin Stošek stepping in for the popular Dutchman, alongside Wout Alleman. Fans of Becking will not appreciate the sentiment but there is an argument to be made that this has strengthened the squad, on paper at least. How the Czech and Belgian riders combine as a partnership could define how well they fair, but a podium place is a realistic target.

Singer KTM 2: Simon Stiebjahn (GER) & Martin Frey (GER)

Nominally the second team, Singer KTM 2, are not to be underestimated. Combined Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey have 14 Absa Cape Epic finishes, two as a team, and a best result of 2nd in 2021. The climbing-heavy course will suit their strengths and they know the South African trails better than virtually every other European squad. Not only should they be able to help Andreas Seewald and Jakob Hartmann to a stellar result, but Stiebjahn and Frey will be targeting a top 5 finish themselves too.

Imbuko ChemChamp: Marco Joubert (RSA) & Tristan Nortje (RSA)

South Africa’s best hope of an all-local podium the best part of a decade, Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje have been flying in the early season. They have notched up a stage race victory together, Nortje was the best climber at a major one-day race and Joubert has won both events in the national marathon series, putting him in line for a significant cash bonus later this year. Imbuko ChemChamp have also refined their support set-up, which seems to have created a more relaxed but professional atmosphere around the riders. The Absa African Jersey is the minimum they will be expecting from the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, a podium place is a very real possibility.

Torpado Kenda FSA: Fabian Rabensteiner (Italian XCM Champion) & Casey South (SUI)

Fabian Rabensteiner and Casey South line up as Torpado Kenda FSA. Rabensteiner is a three-time stage winner, but has never finished higher than 4th in the Absa Cape Epic. South made his debut in 2024, but was unable to show his true level due to his teammate’s withdrawal after Stage 2. A solid top 10 placing is on the cards for the new pairing.

Bulls Mavericks: Simon Schneller (GER) & Axel Roudil-Cortinat (FRA)

Bulls Bikes are Absa Cape Epic royalty, having participated in every edition since Karl Platt joined the German manufacturer in 2007. Over an 18-year time frame the squad notched up 4 overall victories and numerous stage wins. Simon Schneller and Axel Roudil-Cortinat thus cannot arrive in South Africa without significant racing aspirations. A stage win and a top 10 finish are realistic for the Bulls Mavericks in 2025.

BH Coloma: David Valero Serrano (ESP) & Tiago Ferreira (Portuguese XCM Champion)

The BH Coloma team’s chances are difficult to predict ahead of the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. David Valero Serrano has a single race finish to his name, from 2019, while Tiago Ferreira last registered a result in 2016. Despite both being 36 years old now, they remain classy riders and are discounted at one’s peril. Ferreira is after all an Olympian, a double European XCM Champion and a former World Champion in the marathon discipline.

PYGA Euro Steel: Philip Buys (RSA) & Jaedon Terlouw (RSA)

Nobody knows how to win an Absa African Jersey competition quite like Philip Buys. The PYGA Euro Steel team principal has won the competition on 6 occasions now, including in 2023 and 2024. With Jaedon Terlouw alongside him and with PYGA Euro Steel 2’s Michael Foster and Pieter du Toit in support Buys will once again be hard to beat.

Computer Mania Cannondale: Daniel van der Walt (RSA) & Ursin Spescha (SUI)

Breaking up the list of established Absa Cape Epic contenders there must be a team of upstarts. Computer Mania Cannondale’s Daniel van der Walt and Ursin Spescha could well be the surprise package of the 2025 edition. Both the South African and his Swiss teammate are strong climbers, with a point to prove. Van der Walt was 12th in his only Absa Cape Epic to date, in 2021, while Spescha makes his debut in 2025.

GVA Gold: Greg van Avermaet (BEL) & Julian Siemons (BEL)

Greg van Avermaet needs no introduction to cycling fans, nor does he need any instructions on how to peak for racing in March. The 2017 Paris – Roubaix winner and 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist has been gravel racing since his road retirement at the end of 2023, but the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race is a new challenge. In Julian Siemons he has a fellow road professional turned gravel racer and while the GVA Gold team are unlikely to challenge the top 10 their progress will be closely followed, particularly in their native Belgium.

Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen (RSA) & Wessel Botha (South African XCM Champion)

If there was a prize for beating one’s ranking, the Honeycomb 226ers would be the pre-race favourites. Starting with number 39 on their bike boards Marc Pritzen and Wessel Botha will be looking to better that by 30 places or more. Emerging as the top South African team would be a major result for the relatively new set-up at a race which has proved tough to crack in the first four years of the squad’s existence.

To view the full 2025 Absa Cape Epic start list click here.

Photo by Dom Barnardt / Cape Epic

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