Coffeeberry Cansa Warriors conquer Absa Cape Epic

The overall leaders in both the men’s and women’s races of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic proved why they are at the top of the results page after a wet and muddy Stage 5 “Queen Stage” from Greyton to Stellenbosch last Friday. In the men’s race Italians Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) finally got their first stage win despite having led the race overall for the last three days. The two finished the brutally hard 134km, with 2 750m of climbing, in 5hr:9min:51sec, with David Valero and Marc Stutzmann (Klimatiza Orbea) eight seconds back.

The all-South African pairing of Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) hung on for third to retain their second place in the overall classification. In the shorter elite women’s race — over 90km with 2 150m of climbing — South African champion Candice Lill and World Short Course Champion, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi), were unstoppable as they finished just over nine minutes ahead of Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald (She Sends Foundation) and now lead the overall classification by 14 minutes 18 seconds. Meanwhile, Coffeeberry Cansa Warriors Con Malherbe and Jared Hinde have successfully tamed “The Untamed”, as the Absa Cape Epic — one of the world’s toughest mountain bike races — is known as.

The pair, who took on the gruelling eight-day challenge to raise funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), crossed the finish line in Stellenbosch on Sunday afternoon. Malherbe, who previously underwent stem cell treatment for multiple myeloma, has since been diagnosed with a recurrence of the disease, in its very low stages. Despite this, he pushed through the demanding race alongside team-mate Hinde, who also conquered the race with Type 1 diabetes.

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Malherbe (63) said that he felt ecstatic following their finish and he was so thankful for the camaraderie of his riding partner Hinde who never left him behind. “It was so important to have good partner, and Jared never rode ahead of me or anything, he was really fantastic. “There were some days where the heat was brutal and some days that were cooler it rained and that made the terrain more difficult because of the mud that was clogging our bikes.

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