Champions crowned at the Cape Pioneer Grand Finale

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CYCLING NEWS - The 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer came to a sweltering and thrilling conclusion in Oudtshoorn on Saturday, 4 October.

Vera Looser and Samantha Sanders completed a clean sweep of victories across the five stages to win the UCI Women’s title by over 40 minutes.

The UCI Men’s competition was a closer affair, with Tristan Nortje and Travis Stedman winning by 3 minutes and 55 seconds after claiming two stage victories during the week of racing.

The fifteenth edition started in Wilderness on Tuesday, 30 October. Only two teams wore the UCI category leaders' jerseys. Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp took yellow after Stage 1 and remained in the First Ascent leaders’ jerseys throughout.

Likewise, Efficient Infiniti Insure seized the pink First Ascent jerseys and never looked likely to relinquish them. Looser and Sanders were clearly the strongest pairing in the race and could afford to play a team role for Sarah Hill and Steph Wohlters, of Efficient Infiniti Insure 2.

Even with this dual focus, they were able to add time to their general classification advantage every day.

Nortje and Stedman were less fortunate, though their Stage 1 dominance proved the most vital piece of racing. Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp gained 4 minutes and 6 seconds on the opening day, when Marc Pritzen and Wessel Botha were unable to follow on the steepest ramps of Duiwelskop.

Travis Stedman (left) and Tristan Nortje (right) celebrate winning the Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen.

On Stage 2, Stedman lost the wheel at the key moment but fought back to limit his and Nortje’s losses to just 30 seconds. The next day, the former road racer arrested the slide and contested for victory in a sprint alongside the Honeycomb 226ers and PYGA Euro Steel.

The Queen Stage concluded on the Swartberg Pass, which suited the men in the yellow First Ascent leaders’ jerseys. Nortje and Stedman edged away from Pritzen and Botha, in the final 3 kilometres of the climb to 1 583 metres above sea level, to pad their overall advantage back to the 4 minute mark ahead of the final stage.

Stage 5 was the shortest of the 2025 race, but it was far from easy. At 66 kilometres long, with 1 150 metres of climbing, it appeared benign on paper. The trails and dual tracks of the Klein Karoo are always a more significant test in reality.

The punchy climbs of Chandelier Game Reserve rewarded the strongest teams on the last day of the event.

In the UCI Women’s race, the strongest proved to be the leaders, Efficient Infiniti Insure once again. “Those punchy climbs and rocky descents have to be ridden hard,” Sanders revealed.

Riding hard, Sanders and Looser established a gap on the chasers: Safari Essence, Titan Racing, Efficient Infiniti Insure 2, Absolute Motion, and Summer Sky Racing. Bianca Haw and Danielle du Toit were subsequently able to separate themselves from the other women’s teams too, and reiterate their status as the second-best squad in the race.

There was no stopping Sanders and Looser, however. “We had an almost perfect week,” the African Continental Marathon Champion, Looser, smiled. “Apart from a small puncture yesterday, it was a problem-free race. Today we went hard to test ourselves to our own limits, rather than racing the competition.”

This tactic saw Efficient Infiniti Insure establish a 5 minute lead by the halfway point of the stage and the victory on the day by 7 minutes and 24 seconds. Haw and Du Toit crossed the line second, and secured second on the general classification standings.

Frances Janse van Rensburg and Rachel Seaman finished third, for the second time in the race, but could not break into the top five overall, with Hill and Wohlters claiming the bronze medal. Ila Stow and Chloe Bishop were fourth on the general classification, ahead of Lilian Barber and Karlise Scheepers of Summer Sky Racing.

Michael Foster (leading) and Jaedon Terlouw raced to their second stage win of the 2025 event, but left wondering what could have been if it were not for their punctures.

In the UCI Men’s race, the result was almost predictable. “I said to the team last night that PYGA Euro Steel will go for it today,” Nortje stated. Go for it, Jaedon Terlouw and Michael Foster did. Foster had punctured badly on Stage 1, which cost the team an hour on the day, and again on Stage 4, when they lost two hours. Starting the final stage 3 hours down on the general classification, they were given the leeway to attack.

“Our plan was for Jadeon [Terlouw] to go up the road on the flats and then for me to bridge across to him on a climb,” Foster stated.

“I waited for him to get a good gap, then attacked on the first climb. The guys tried to block me a bit, and I had to change sides and wait for a gap to open up, but once I got away, I was able to ride across to Jadeon. After that, it was just a matter of going full gas for 50 kilometres…”

Behind the battle for yellow was short-lived. “On the first steep climb, I went as hard as I could to see if we could put Travis [Stedman] and Tristan [Nortje] under pressure,” Pritzen said. “At the top, Tristan came to the front and then just rode a fast but steady pace on the front for the rest of the day. I must admit they are worthy winners of this race. They were the strongest team over the five days.”

With PYGA Euro Steel winning the stage, the Honeycomb 226ers claimed their fourth second place of the event when Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp sat up nearing the finish line. Nortje and Stedman crossed the line third, just 5 seconds after their rivals, to complete a stellar general classification performance.

“It’s my first stage race victory,” Stedman grinned. “I’ve had some really good one-day race results this year, but it feels good to string multiple days together and secure the title.” Nortje adds the Race with Soul trophy to the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, crown he won in February alongside Marco Joubert.

“This is a race I came to watch, with my dad, as a kid, so winning it is very special,” Nortje confirmed. Having grown up in George, the Southern Cape and Klein Karoo are where he learnt to ride and race. As such, there is one big event Nortje would still love to win. “Now, Atta is the only one of Dryland’s big races that I haven’t won yet…” he mused.

January 2026 and the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen, is still a way off. There are victories, podiums, and finishes to celebrate first. Alongside Nortje and Stedman, the UCI Men’s podium was filled by Honeycomb 226ers’ Pritzen and Botha, and the Insect Science pair of Arno du Toit and Keagan Bontekoning.

Ignatius du Preez and Herman Fourie, of Summerplace Racing, were fourth, ahead of Imbuko ChemChamp’s Rudi Koen and Lood Goosen.

To relive all the highlights of the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen, follow @capepioneer on Instagram or like the Cape Pioneer Facebook page. For more information on the event, please visit www.capepioneer.co.za.

2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen, Results

UCI Men | Stage 5:

PYGA Euro Steel: Michael Foster & Jaedon Terlouw (2:28:55)
?Honeycomb 226ers: Wessel Botha & Marc Pritzen (2:32:03 | +3:08)
?Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp: Travis Stedman & Tristan Nortje (2:32:07 | +3:12)
?Tshenolo Racing: Johan De Villiers & Halalisani Ndebele (2:33:35 | +4:40)
?Insect Science: Arno du Toit & Keagan Bontekoning (2:35:51 | +6:55)

UCI Women | Stage 5:

Efficient Infiniti Insure 1: Vera Looser & Samantha Sanders (3:01:06)
Safari Essence Titan Racing: Bianca Haw & Danielle du Toit (3:08:30 | +7:24)
Absolute Motion: Frances Janse van Rensburg & Rachel Seaman (3:09:47 | +8:41)
Efficient Infiniti Insure 2: Sarah Hill & Steph Wohlters (3:13:18 | +12:12)
Summer Sky Racing: Lilian Barber & Karlise Scheepers (3:15:52 | +14:46)

The UCI Women’s General Classification Podium after Stage 5(from left to right): Bianca Haw, Danielle du Toit, Vera Looser, Samantha Sanders, Sarah Hill, and Step Wohlters.

UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 5:

Toyota Imbuko Specialized ChemChamp: Travis Stedman & Tristan Nortje (16:31:59)
Honeycomb 226ers: Wessel Botha & Marc Pritzen (16:35:54 | +3:55)
Insect Science: Arno du Toit & Keagan Bontekoning (17:02:50 | +30:53)
Summerplace Racing: Ignatius du Preez & Herman Fourie (17:10:27 | +38:30)
Imbuko ChemChamp: Rudi Koen & Lood Goosen (17:28:43 | +56:43)

UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 5:

Efficient Infiniti Insure 1: Vera Looser & Samantha Sanders (20:36:31)
?Safari Essence Titan Racing: Bianca Haw & Danielle du Toit (21:18:57 | +42:26)
?Efficient Infiniti Insure 2: Sarah Hill & Steph Wohlters (21:39:03 | +1:02:32)
?Fortress Real Estate Investments: Ila Stow & Chloe Bishop (22:21:37 | +1:45:06)
Summer Sky Racing: Lilian Baber & Karlise Scheepers (22:41:59 | +2:05:28)

The UCI Men’s General Classification Podium after Stage 5 (from left to right): Marc Pritzen, Wessel Botha, Travis Stedman, Tristan Nortje, Arno du Toit, and Keagan Bontekoning. Photos by Oakpics.com.