{"id":34642,"date":"2026-03-18T19:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/34642\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:12:08","slug":"south-africas-pritzen-and-switzerlands-stehli-power-to-win-in-longest-stage-of-the-cape-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/34642\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s Pritzen and Switzerland’s Stehli Power to Win in Longest Stage of the Cape Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"

(News release from the Absa Cape Epic)<\/p>\n

South African Marc Pritzen and Swiss partner Felix Stehli (Honeycomb 226ers) attacked with 40km to go and held on to win the third stage of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic. Behind them Stage 1 winners, Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) brought home the chasers while the third-placed team of Wilier-Vittoria\u2019s Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto pulled on the overall yellow jersey. In the women\u2019s race, overall leaders Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller (Th\u00f6mus Maxon Sabi Sabi) took their fourth win in a row despite concerted attacks by nearest challengers Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald (She Sends Foundation).<\/p>\n

\"\"Mark Pritzen leads during stage 3 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic stage race from Montagu to Greyton on the
18th of March 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic<\/p>\n

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The two pulled clear of the leading bunch of contenders on a rainy and muddy day to win in 4 hours, 19 minutes, 52 seconds \u2013 an average speed of 32.33km\/h \u2013 over a course dotted with tar sections, single track and long gravel roads but with relatively little climbing of 1750m.<\/p>\n

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The Buff-BH team of Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) led home the chase group that included Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria), 1:10 behind the ecstatic winners. Overnight leaders Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) fought back from an early puncture to finish 2:26 behind the winners but relinquished their zebra-striped, yellow jersey to Braidot and Avondetto. The two are now 1 minute 14 seconds ahead of the South Africans.<\/p>\n

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In the women\u2019s race, world marathon champion Kate Courtney of the US and her Italian teammate Greta Seiwald (She Sends Foundation) fought hard to try and open a gap over GC leaders Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller (Th\u00f6mus Maxon Sabi Sabi). But the South African Dutch team managed to bring back all their accelerations before eventually pulling clear to win their fourth stage in a row. As they have all week, the plucky She Sends outfit finished second and now trails by 4:53 in the overall.<\/p>\n

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In other notable results, current World XC champion Jenny Rissveds of Sweden and husband, Denmark\u2019s Simon Andreassen, continued their domination of the Mixed category having won every stage of the race. They lead the GC by 23:27 ahead of Scott Brasil team, Gabriela Ferolla and Huge Neto.<\/p>\n

\"\"Action during stage 3 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic stage race from Montagu to Greyton on the 18th of March 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s Race
Over one of the longest stages in Absa Cape Epic history, the combination of tar roads, single track and gravel tracks made for a fast pace at the front of the men\u2019s elite race. By halfway, the group included almost all the elite teams, and, with few climbs to break it up, the stage looked as if it would be decided by a sprint.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Matt Beers (in yellow) leads the pack during stage 3 of the 2026 Absa Cape Epic stage race from Montagu to Greyton on the
18th of March 2026. Photo by Nick Muzik\/Cape Epic<\/p>\n

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But Pritzen and Stehli were eager to upset the party.<\/p>\n

With 40km to go the plucky Honeycomb 226ers team saw a lull in the pace and decided to attack the lead group that included almost all the favourites. The only notable exceptions were Beers and Nortje who were forced to chase for the second time in the week after a puncture to Nortje\u2019s wheel at the 70km mark.<\/p>\n

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Pritzen and Stehli quickly opened up a lead of over a minute, which yo-yo\u2019d as the chasing pack \u2013 which included the second-placed overall team of Braidot & Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) \u2013 tried to work together to bring the escapees back. But with a strong tail wind pushing the riders towards the finish near Greyton, the gap never closed sufficiently, and they held on to win by an impressive 1:10. It was a first Epic stage win for both of them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible feeling to get a result here. It\u2019s all we could have asked for,\u201d said the 26-year-old. Pritzen. \u201cWe didn\u2019t plan anything and were just racing instinctively. When we noticed hesitation in the group, with a split behind, we thought it would give us a chance to open up a quick 10 seconds. And it did.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd then we had to time trail which and I knew that with the wattage I was putting out, the group behind was going to struggle to close it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stehli, 25, made history by winning the stage on a bigger 32-inch wheeled bike. Standard mountain bikes have a 29-inch wheel, but Stehli believed that his bigger wheel size contributed to their victory.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s ideal for these types of conditions. It just rolls well and helped me a lot today,\u201d said the Swiss.<\/p>\n

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For the new yellow jersey holders, caution was key, despite the fast pace, and it reaped them the biggest reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t really have a plan, but we are happy the way it turned out,\u201d said Avondetto. \u201cWe always want to just stay with the front group and not have any mechanicals. It feels good to be in yellow now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Race
The women\u2019s elite race, over 108km with 1450m of climbing, was tightly bunched for most of the first half before Courtney and Seiwald took the fight to the leaders and, at one stage, managed to open up a gap. But the overall leaders were able to pull back the accelerations every time, and like they did on Tuesday, finally pulled away with 10km to go.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was a pretty crazy day out there today,\u201d said Lill. \u201cIt started off as a nice dry track but then it turned into a complete mud fest. Kate and Greta threw in some nice attacks, and we had to chase a few times. But we had the legs to pull it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The She Sends Foundation team are now 4:53 behind the lead but was still upbeat about their performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cConditions were formidable, but this is the Cape Epic,\u201d said Courtney, pointing to her muddied legs. \u201cBut we were sending it out there and giving it everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Thursday, riders take on Stage 4 over 87km with 1750m of climbing. The women\u2019s elite race is over 61km with 1450m of climbing.<\/p>\n

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RESULTS<\/p>\n

Elite Men Stage<\/p>\n

1. HONEYCOMB 226ERS: Marc PRITZEN & Felix STEHLI (4:19.53)<\/p>\n

2. BUFF-BH Wout ALLEMAN Martin STOSEK (4:21.03 | 1:10)<\/p>\n

3. WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (4:21.03 | +1:10)
4. CANYON Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (4:21.21 | +1:29)
5. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matt BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (4:22.19 | 2:26)<\/p>\n

Elite Men GC
1.\u00a0 WILIER-VITTORIA: Luca BRAIDOT & Simone AVONDETTO (12:39.28)
2. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (12:40.41 | +1:14)<\/p>\n

3. KLIMATIZA ORBEA: David VALERO SERRANO & Marc STUTZMANN (12:41.57 | +2:29)<\/p>\n

4.. BUFF-BH Wout ALLEMAN & Martin STOSEK (12:44.21 | +4:53)<\/p>\n

5. CANYON: Luca SCHWARZBAUER & Sam GAZE (12:44.38 | +5:10)<\/p>\n

Elite Women Stage<\/p>\n

1. TH\u00d6MUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (3:58.56)<\/p>\n

2. SHE SENDS FOUNDATION: Kate COURTNEY & Greta SEIWALD (4:00.18 | +1:22)
3. BUFF-BH | EFFICIENT INFINITI Rosa VAN DOORN & Vera LOOSER (4:03.05 | +4:08)<\/p>\n

4. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB Hayley PREEN & Hayley SMITH (4:03.06 | +4:10)
5. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (4:03.07 | +4:10)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elite Women GC<\/p>\n

1. TH\u00d6MUS MAXON SABI SABI: Candice LILL & Alessandra KELLER (11:22.13)<\/p>\n

2. SHE SENDS FOUNDATION: Kate COURTNEY & Greta SEIWALD (11:27.06 | +4:53)<\/p>\n

3. CHEMCHAMP HONEYCOMB: Hayley PREEN & Haley SMITH (11:52.24 | +30:11)<\/p>\n

4. BUFF-BH | EFFICIENT INFINITI Rosa VAN DOORN & Vera LOOSER (11:53.16 | +31:02)
5. TORPADO FSA KENDA Katazina SOSNA-PINELE & Giorgia MARCHET (11:53.46 | +31:32)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

SPECIAL JERSEYS GC<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toyota Mixed<\/p>\n

1. TEAM 69: Jenny RISSVEDS & Simon ANDREASSEN (14:42.36)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Absa African Men<\/p>\n

1. TOYOTA SPECIALIZED IMBUKO: Matthew BEERS & Tristan NORTJE (12:40.41)<\/p>\n

Absa African Women<\/p>\n

1. SANI2C EFFICIENT INFINITI: Samantha SANDERS & Bianca HAW<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Open Women:<\/p>\n

1. JOY RIDE: Jennifer BURTNER & Callah ROBINSON (20:44.38)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Open Men:<\/p>\n

1. COLIBRI CYCLING: Eimantas GUDISKIS & Vladas JURKEVICIUS (14:08.24)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Great Grand Masters Men<\/p>\n

1. OTB: Pieter MULLER & Corrie MULLER (17:59.18)<\/p>\n

GIC Grand Masters Women<\/p>\n

1. UAG EPIC: Martha KOEKEMOER & Jenny R\u00d6NNGREN (19:02.09)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

GIC Grand Masters Men<\/p>\n

1. ORBEA FOX FACTORY: Ibon ZUGASTI & Ernesto MENDOZA (14:37.25)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NTT Data Masters Women<\/p>\n

1. IGLU THERAPY CHEMCHAMP RACING Juanita Rose MACKENZIE Rouxda GROBLER (18:24.39)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NTT Data Masters Men<\/p>\n

1. SONGO-GIC-NINETY ONE Christoph SAUSER Craig URIA (14:01.43)<\/p>\n

Exxaro Women\u2019s Jersey<\/p>\n

1. EXXARO MANGANESE LADIES 1: Tsholofelo NKOSI & Bontle PHEPISO (22:54.35)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Exxaro Men\u2019s Jersey<\/p>\n

1. FAIRTREE DP WORLD CANNONDALE 2: Ethan MICHAELS & Damon TERBLANCHE (15:17.34)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(News release from the Absa Cape Epic) South African Marc Pritzen and Swiss partner Felix Stehli (Honeycomb 226ers)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1431,20490,20491,20492,41,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-34642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-1431","9":"tag-32-inch-wheels","10":"tag-absa","11":"tag-cape-epic","12":"tag-swiss","13":"tag-switzerland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116251770737807586","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}