Overall victory at the mountain bike spectacle Schurter and Colombo take the crown at the Cape Epic

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo secure overall victory at the Cape Epic. After their lead over the chasing duo had shrunk to 32 seconds in the penultimate stage, Schurter and Colombo kept a cool head in the finale.

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7th stage

Schurter/Colombo secure victory

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo win the Cape Epic mountain bike spectacle. In the final stage, the duo manage to maintain and even extend their lead of 32 seconds over their pursuers Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto.

Schutert/Colombo secured overall victory with a 1:32 minute lead over Braidot/Avondetto and a 12:58 minute lead over the third-placed duo Joubert/Nortje.

Schurter wins the Cape Epic for the third time, most recently in 2019. "This victory is something very special. Before the Grand Finale, we realized that we could manage our pace well, and everything fell into place for us on the decisive day. It's a very different type of race to the World Cup, but winning here is always a career highlight. The team dynamic makes it so exciting, and when you have the right partner, it's extremely satisfying."

For Schurtner's partner Colombo, it is his first mountain bike race win. "Honestly, it's just a relief that it's over. We've been through so much this week, so this win is very special," said the 27-year-old.

Stage 6

Schurter/Colombo's lead shrinks

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo take third place on the stage and lose over a minute of their lead in the overall standings. They will tackle the seventh stage with a lead of just 32 seconds over Wilier-Vittoria, which promises an exciting grand finale to the race.

The men's stage 6 was a full-throttle race right from the start. The decisive attack came 12 kilometers from the finish, when Wilier-Vittoria attacked in an attempt to take the overall lead away from Schurter and Colombos. Nortje and Joubert react immediately, but Colombo cannot keep up. Schurter drops back to help his partner.

Stage 5

Schurter/Colombo win the queen stage and extend their overall lead

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo win the queen stage (98km and 2850 vertical meters). With 15 kilometers to go, the Swiss leave the competition behind on the last climb. On the descent to the finish, they extended their lead to 1:10 minutes at the end. Schurter and Colombo thus lead the final two stages by almost two minutes ahead of the Italian team of Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto.

In the women's race, it is once again the team of Annika Langvad (DEN) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) that secures victory on the Queen Stage. Their lead in the overall standings is 22 minutes and 20 seconds.

Stage 4

Schurter/Colombo head for overall victory, but again lose the sprint by a wafer-thin margin

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo put in another strong performance on the fourth stage of the Cape Epic, which is characterized by tactical, intense and hard-fought racing, and assert themselves at the top of the overall standings.

However, the Swiss duo was once again beaten in the final sprint - as in stage 3 - by the Italians Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. This time the gap was only a single second. Schurter and Colombo nevertheless retain the yellow jersey and still have the best chance of overall victory.

In the women's race, the Danish-Argentine duo Langvad/Villafane once again clearly won the stage. They extend their lead in the overall standings to almost 15 minutes.

3rd stage

Schurter/Colombo lose sprint, but retain overall lead

On Wednesday and during the third stage of the Cape Epic, the conditions in South Africa were extremely tough. Due to temperatures of up to 40 degrees, the stage was started a few minutes earlier and shortened slightly. Nevertheless, the teams had to cover 78 kilometers and 2450 meters of altitude.

Schurter and Colombo were also among the front runners on the fourth day of the Cape Epic. Only in the final sprint did the leading duo have to concede defeat to the two Italians Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. However, Schurter and Colombo are defending their lead in the overall standings and are 43 seconds ahead of today's conquerors.

The Danish-Argentinian women's duo of Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane are heading for overall victory without competition. Despite two crashes by Langvad, the duo remain unbeaten and extend their lead in the overall standings to almost 14 minutes.

Stage 2

Schurter praises Colombo: "Filippo is the strongest rider in the field"

After the first three days, Schurter and Colombo are at the top of the overall standings. In the interview after stage 2, Schurter talks about the tough conditions and raves about his team-mate.

2nd stage

Schurter/Colombo defend the overall lead

Schurter/Colombo took victory in the opening stage, on the second day they finish the stage in 2nd place and defend their lead in the overall classification. Belgian Wout Allemann and Czech Martin Stosek secured victory on the day, making up 27 seconds on the Swiss duo.

1st stage

Schurter/Colombo race to victory and take the overall lead

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo timed their attack perfectly on the first stage of the Cape Epic 2025 and took the stage win on Monday - and the overall lead in the men's race. The Swiss duo lead the overall standings after two days with a lead of 11 seconds over Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto.

"That was a tough day," said Schurter after the race. "Some sections were fun, but this was a real race. It was tough from the start and I found the flat sections quite difficult. I don't really like the flat sections. I prefer it when we go into the mountains."

In the women's race, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane took control early on and also clearly won the first stage after the prologue with a lead of more than five minutes. The top favorites already lead by seven minutes after the first two days.

Prologue

Schurter and Colombo in 2nd place in the prologue

Cape Epic 2025 gets off to a good start from a Swiss perspective. Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo from the Scott-SRAM team finish 2nd in the prologue. Around 20 seconds behind, the two Swiss riders were only beaten by the top cross-country riders Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. In the women's race, the top favourites Sofia Gomez Villafane and Annika Langvad came out on top on the first day.

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Probably no other mountain bike stage race is as well-known as the Absa Cape Epic: the eight-day mountain bike spectacle in the Western Cape in South Africa, which took place for the first time in 2004, is known for its challenging route and hot, dry conditions. Some call it the "Tour de France of mountain biking". Year after year, top riders from all over the world compete. But there are also amateurs at the start, with participants drawn by lot.

The starting signal will be given on Sunday, March 16, 2025, with the prologue. After that, there will be a stage every day until Sunday, March 23. At the end of the race, the times of all stages will be added together to determine the winners in each category. blue Sport will keep you up to date and present the highlights of the previous day's stage on blue Zoom every day at 11.30 a.m. from Monday.

This year's eight-day course covers 608 kilometers and 16,500 meters of altitude from the Meerendal Wine Estate northeast of Cape Town to the Lourensford wine region, where the race started two years ago.

Including amateurs, there are over 900 teams of two at the start. The field of participants with professionals from the UCI category comprises 50 men's teams and 18 women's teams - including Swiss participants.

Among the men, Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo form a promising, all-Swiss duo that is one of the favorites to win. Schurter has already secured overall victory twice in 2017 and 2019. With Marc Stutzmann, Casey South, Ursin Spescha and Loïc Blanc, four other Swiss riders will be taking part in the pro race.

Irina Lützelschwab and Alessia Nay are the only Swiss professional duo in the women's race. Janina Wüst will be competing with Rosa van Doorn from the Netherlands.