Stage 6: Beers and Nortje Seize Back Time to Keep the 2026 Absa Cape Epic Alive

The penultimate day of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic saw Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje overturn the momentum against them and regain the initiative heading into the final day of the 22nd edition. The Toyota Specialized Imbuko combination may have crossed the Stellenbosch finish line second on the day, but more importantly, they beat the race leaders, Wilier Vittoria, home by 1 minute and 37 seconds. So while Buff BH celebrated the stage win, Beers and Nortje looked to the shift in momentum and looked ahead to the final stage, because Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto’s buffer will only be 13 seconds at the start of Stage 7.In the Elite Women’s race, the withdrawal of Greta Seiwald put a dampener on Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller’s stage victory. Having battled the She Sends Foundation combination for six days, the Italian’s illness left Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi without a reason to race at their highest level. Seiwald had developed a fever overnight and only started, before stopping within 15 metres, to allow Kate Courtney to race the stage with the Elite Women, rather than being forced into C-Batch in the main field, like Vera Looser and Kelsey van Schoor, who lost their teammates earlier in the race. Symbtech.net’s Margot Moschetti and Claudia Peretti were the next best team on the day, finishing ahead of Hayley Preen and Haley Smith. The Chemchamp Honeycomb pair inherited second from She Sends Foundation, while Torpado FSA Kenda now holds third. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Giorgia Marchet will start the final stage with a 7-minute and 9-second advantage over Moschetti and Peretti, in fourth.