Results & Recap: Ford Trailseeker Series – Wellington
Pritzen and Maré secure the overall titles
Marc Pritzen won the final round of the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series to secure the overall title. Sarah Maré had a nervier ride to the elite women’s crown, but did more than enough by finishing second behind teammate Samantha Sanders in Wellington. Pritzen’s nearest rival on the day was Luke Moir, whom the South African marathon champion out-sprinted to take the victory, while series runner-up Jadeon Terlouw finished round six in sixth place.
The Wellington round of the Ford Trailseeker Series featured a 63.7-kilometre-long marathon course. Light rain but warm weather made for good racing conditions, as Sanders explained: “The surfaces here in Wellington can be tricky, with loose rocks on a hard base. The rain settled the ground and made it more grippy, which is great.”
There was also a gusty north-westerly wind to deal with. “The wind kept things together a bit, but Sarah [Maré], Danielle [du Toit], Lilian [Baber], Tania [Bugarin Ortiz], and I managed to get a gap on the rest of the women’s field. Then we whittled it down to Sarah, Danielle, and me,” Sanders recounted.
“I was pretty nervous all week and hardly slept last night,” Maré confessed. “For the first 10-15 kilometres I kept questioning my legs, wondering if I was actually feeling good. Then, once it was just the three of us [Maré, Sanders, and Du Toit], my confidence started to return.”
Sanders then attacked her breakaway companions on the longest climb of the day, edging away after 20 kilometres of racing. “I hadn’t intended to attack; the climb was just steep, and when I looked back, I had a gap. So, I decided to push on,” Sanders revealed.
Over the remaining 43 kilometres, Sanders extended her advantage to a commanding 7 minutes and 5 seconds. Behind her, Maré and Du Toit were inseparable in the battle for second. Further back, Lilian Baber, Ila Stow, Cherise Willeit, and Frankie du Toit were battling for the remaining podium places.
Maré outsprinted Du Toit to claim second, wrapping up the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series title. “It hasn’t been easy,” Maré noted. “Round one was tough, with all the internationals. I finished eighth there. Then at Cradle I was a bit sick, but managed to finish fourth. From there I gained confidence, race by race, winning in Sondela, taking the lead, and now winning the overall. I’d like to thank Efficient Infiniti Insure for all their support, and of course Ford too. The Ford Trailseeker Series is world-class,” Maré praised.
Maré’s second place in Wellington earned her 30 points. Sanders was second overall, 16 points back. Du Toit’s third on the day leapfrogged her up the standings to fourth. Baber and Stow were fourth and fifth in the final round. While Roxanne Kemp finished ninth, securing third on the general classification standings for Safari Essence Titan Racing. Bugarin Ortiz, had been in the running for an overall podium place, but was forced to withdraw from the race after crashing heavily, and thus slipped down the standings.
In the men’s race, Pritzen had deliberately downplayed the importance of the day. “I approached it like any other race,” he stated. “Still, it was a bit stressful this morning when my dropper seatpost wasn’t communicating with the controller.”
That did not deter Pritzen from making the race. “It was a bit negative early on, with the wind, but once we got into the trails it was fast!” he explained. “I didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so I burnt a few more matches than necessary, trying to stay in front.”
Pritzen dictated the pace and led through the Welvanpas Trails. His speed through the trails was such that it put Jaedon Terlouw, his nearest rival for the title, under pressure. Despite the presence of Marco Joubert and Travis Stedman, in a group with Terlouw, the Toyota Specialized Imbuko riders were unable to regain an advantage over Pritzen.
On the final climb, out of the Welvanpas, Pritzen and Luke Moir distanced Wessel Botha, Joubert, Terlouw, and Stedman. Despite Moir’s trail speed, the cross-country specialist was unable to drop Pritzen on the run into the Bosman Family Vineyards’ finish line. Pritzen rounded the penultimate corner in prime position and held off Moir in the surge to the line.
By winning the final round of the Ford Trailseeker Series, the Honeycomb 226ers rider cantered to victory in the overall standings, too. Botha, Joubert, and Stedman crossed the line next, before Terlouw ended the day in sixth. The result earned Terlouw second in the series. Jan Withaar claimed third in the final general classification standings with ninth in Wellington.
Results
Elite Men
- Marc Pritzen: Honeycomb 226ers (2:34:15)
- Luke Moir: Mondraker Factory Racing (2:34:16 | +1)
- Wessel Botha: Insect Science (2:34:50 | +35)
- Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:35:01 | +46)
- Travis Stedman: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:35:54 | +1:39)
Elite Women
- Samantha Sanders: Efficient Infiniti Insure (3:15:17)
- Sarah Maré: Efficient Infiniti Insure (3:22:22 | +7:05)
- Danielle du Toit: Safari Essence Titan Racing (3:22:23 | +7:06)
- Lilian Baber: Summerplace Racing (3:28:12 | +12:55)
- Ila Stow: Fortress Real Estate (3:29:34 | +14:17)
Full results here //