It’s here! See the 2025 Absa Cape Epic Route
The 2025 race spans 608 kilometres with 16,500 meters of climbing rolling from Durbanville to Paarl, then through Stellenbosch and into Somerset West.
There’s new stages, a new host venue, and over 300 kilometres of trails never before used by the Absa Cape Epic which 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.
The Prologue
Sunday 16 March | Meerendal to Meerendal | 27km & 750m
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
Monday 17 March | Meerendal to Meerendal | 96km & 2 450m
Stage 1 has a reputation as 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
Tuesday 18 March | Meerendal to Fairview | 58km & 800m
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
Wednesday 19 March | Fairview to Fairview | 92km & 2 600m
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
Thursday 20 March | Fairview to Fairview | 74km & 1 750m
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
Friday 21 March | Fairview to Lourensford | 103km & 3 050m
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
Saturday 22 March | Lourensford to Lourensford | 92km & 2 850m
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
Sunday 23 March | Lourensford to Lourensford | 68km & 2 250m
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. //