{"id":75797,"date":"2026-04-19T07:39:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T05:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/?p=75797"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:06:36","slug":"cronje-beukes-and-marielle-trouwborst-win-final-stage-and-inaugural-garden-route-giro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/cronje-beukes-and-marielle-trouwborst-win-final-stage-and-inaugural-garden-route-giro\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronje Beukes and Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst Win Final Stage and Inaugural Garden Route Giro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The final stage of the inaugural Garden Route Giro saw the overnight leaders stretch their legs and exert their dominance on the event one last time on Saturday, 18 April. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst and Cronje Beukes both used their climbing prowess to ascend into early leads. Both the women\u2019s and men\u2019s champions raced to commanding Stage 6 victories to put exclamation points behind the tales of how their general classification crowns were won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cronje Beukes\u2019 Stage 6 victory was his fifth of the 2026 Garden Route Giro and underlined his dominance in the men\u2019s race. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leaving Knysna for ANEW Resort Wilderness, the race followed the Seven Passes road. A 75-kilometre route with 1 100 metres of climbing appeared ideal – on paper – for a sprint finish, but Trouwborst and Beukes had other ideas. Both wanted their victories to be emphatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst added an additional 4 minutes and 20 seconds to her final margin of victory with a commanding ride on Stage 6. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A gentle 10-kilometre spin through the neutral zone, along the banks of the Knysna Lagoon, provided little indication of the fireworks to follow. So, when the flag dropped for the racing to begin, it was interesting to see the intent Beukes displayed from the get-go. Racing solo for Specialized George Coimbra, his local Specialized Bicycles store, the race leader was at a disadvantage all week, as the Toyota Specialized Imbuko and Insect Science teams used their numerical advantage against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cronje Beukes (left) attacked on Phantom Pass, just 10 kilometres into the stage, to distance Wessel Botha (centre) and Marco Joubert (right). Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beukes\u2019 only viable approach was to make the racing too tough for the teams\u2019 support riders to play any meaningful role for their leaders, Marco Joubert and Wessel Botha. On Stage 6, this meant setting a blistering tempo on the approach to the Phantom Pass climb and then attacking off the front of the group as the ascent steepened. Within two kilometres of the climb, only Joubert and Botha remained in contact. One kilometre later, when Beukes claimed the final King of the Mountain points of the race, he was flying solo, never to be caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A large group formed behind Beukes, but the pursuit was never more than half-hearted once he had established a 2-minute buffer. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, it feels like I\u2019ve been dreaming this week,\u201d said an elated Beukes. \u201cLast year was a tough year for me, breaking my leg and struggling with the recovery afterwards. Thursday was a year to the day after that accident, so winning that stage solo meant a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realising that chasing Beukes was a futile pursuit, Botha and then Joubert sat up after Phantom Pass and waited for the group to catch up. This second group on the road included Keegan Tullis, Keagan Bontekoning, Ignatius du Preez, Herman Fourie, Manuel Pliem, Andre van Rooyen, Jan Withaar, and Dan Loubser, as well as Joubert and Botha. Thereafter, the battle for second was a tactical one; it eventually came down to a sprint finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Du Preez outsprinted his teammate, Joubert, for second, before Withaar and Tullis completed the day\u2019s top five. With the group all finishing within 11 seconds, there were no changes in the general classification standings. Beukes\u2019 margin of victory, after six days of racing, was eight minutes and 28 seconds over Joubert. The 2026 champion\u2019s climbing prowess was also rewarded with the Rosa First Ascent Climbers\u2019 jersey, for his haul of 57 points. Joubert and Botha were second and third in that competition, too.  Du Preez took home the Intermediate Sprint prize for notching up 30 points, four more than Fourie in second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Superiority on the climbs paved Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst\u2019s path to overall victory. Photo by Oakpics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The elite women\u2019s race winner was perhaps more dominant than Beukes. Had punctures not slowed Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst\u2019s progress on Stages 3 and 5, she would have added more time to her general classification lead going into the last day. Yet, despite finishing on a near flat rear tyre twice, Trouwborst still took a 12-minute advantage into Stage 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lisa Bone enjoyed a strong final stage, cementing second on the general classification standings, with second place on the day. Photo by Oakpics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like Beukes, attacking was her preference on the final day; she climbed away from her rivals on Phantom Pass within the first 13 kilometres of the stage. By the summit, it was clear that she would not be brought back by Lisa Bone, in the group behind, or Vera Looser, Cherise Willeit, and Catherine Kruger in the next group on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cherise Willeit (centre) concluded the week with two third-place finishes on Stage 5 and 6. Photo by Oakpics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFortunately, today started with a climb, so I could get away and not have to ride in a group,\u201d Trouwborst said. \u201cNear the top, I saw a man Kent Main just ahead and managed to get to his wheel. From there, we raced to the finish together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Men\u2019s Stage 6 podium at the 2026 Garden Route Giro (from left to right): Jan Withaar, Ignatius du Preez, Cronje Beukes, Marco Joubert, and Keegan Tullis. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trouwborst made it sound simple, but her victory on the stage and overall was built on superb climbing performances. Whenever the course went uphill on the final stage, she gained time. Behind, Bone was enjoying a better day than she had endured on Stage 5. Though the First Ascent Velo Purple Jersey competition leader was unable to climb with Trouwborst, she remained ahead of Looser, Willeit, and Kruger, securing her second position on the general classification standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Women\u2019s Stage 6 podium at the 2026 Garden Route Giro (from left to right): Vera Looser, Lisa Bone, Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst, Cherise Willeit, and Catherine Kruger. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The battle for third, on the day, then became the most interesting contest in the women\u2019s race. In the run-in to Wilderness, Willeit managed to get away from Looser and Kruger. Having finished fourth on Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, Willeit\u2019s third place on Stage 5 was backed up by third on Stage 6. Nonetheless, it was Looser who took home bronze overall, while Willeit was fourth and Kruger fifth on the final general classification standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ignatius du Preez now won the Intermediate Sprint competition, with a haul of 30 points, to take home the First Ascent Velo Purple Jersey. Photo by Ray Cox.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bone secured the Intermediate Sprint title and the First Ascent Velo Jersey, which also carried a R25 000 reward. Ignatius du Preez was similarly recompensed for his sprint successes. Both Trouwborst and Beukes rode away with R100 000 for their victories, and an additional R25 000 for securing the Rosa First Ascent Climbers\u2019 jerseys. This takes their haul for the Garden Route Giro to R125 000 each, which the men\u2019s race winner will likely use to finance his dream of racing in Europe during the South African winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lisa Bone won the First Ascent Velo Purple Jersey for the Intermediate Sprint competition by 4 points over Vera Looser. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2026 Garden Route Giro Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s Stage 6 Results:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (2:18:43)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ignatius du Preez: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:46| +4:03)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:47 | +4:04)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Jan Withaar: Insect Science (2:22:47 | +4:04)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Keegan Tullis: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (2:22:48 | +4:05)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Women\u2019s Stage 6 Results:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst: KMC (2:34:09)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (2:38:29 | +4:20)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Cherise Willeit: Toyota Specialized (2:40:04 | +5:55)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (2:41:42 | +7:33)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Catherine Kruger: Hollard (2:41:43 | +7:34)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Men\u2019s General Classification after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (16:49:27)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (16:57:55 | +8:28)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Wessel Botha: Insect Science (16:58:13 | +8:46)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Keegan Tullis: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (17:15:53 | +26:26)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. Keagan Bontekoning: Insect Science (17:18:28 | +29:01)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        2026 Garden Route Giro, Men\u2019s General Classification after Stage 6 (from left to right): Keegan Tullis, Marco Joubert, Cronje Beukes, Wessel Botha, and Keagan Bontekoning. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Women\u2019s General Classification after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst: KMC (19:09:22)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (19:24:52 | +16:30)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (19:38:04 | +30:42)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. Cherise Willeit: Toyota Specialized (19:58:11 | +49:49)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        5. Catherine Kruger: Hollard (20:16:19 | +1:07:57)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          2026 Garden Route Giro, Women\u2019s General Classification after Stage 6 (from left to right): Cherise Willeit, Lisa Bone, Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst, Vera Looser, and Catherine Kruger. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Garden Route Giro Points Competitions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Men\u2019s KOM Points after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. \u00a0Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (57 points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. \u00a0Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (41 points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. \u00a0Wessel Botha: Insect Science (24 points)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            Cronje Beukes added the First Ascent Rosa Jersey to his yellow jersey by winning the KOM points competition. Photo by Ray Cox.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            Men\u2019s Sprint Points after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            1. Ignatius du Preez: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (30 Points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            2. Herman Fourie: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (26 Points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            3. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (10 points)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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              Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst\u2019s 57 points in the First Ascent Rosa Jersey, for the QOM points competition, was 20 points more than her nearest rival, Lisa Bone. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              Women\u2019s KOM Points after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst: KMC (57 points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (37 points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (23 points)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Women\u2019s Sprint Points after Stage 6:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                1. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (30 Points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                2. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst: KMC (26 Points)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (24 Points)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  For the full results from the Garden Route Giro, click here<\/a>. To recap on the inaugural Garden Route<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  like the Garden Route Giro<\/a> Facebook page and follow @gardenroutegiro<\/a> on Instagram. Cycling fans can also watch the daily highlights on the Dryland Event Management<\/a> YouTube channel and read the daily news releases on their favourite cycling platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  For more information, visit www.gardenroutegiro.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  The final stage of the inaugural Garden Route Giro saw the overnight leaders stretch their legs and exert their dominance on the event one last time on Saturday, 18 April. Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst and Cronje Beukes both used their climbing prowess to ascend into early leads. Both the women\u2019s and men\u2019s champions raced to commanding Stage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":75801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[918,5362],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-75797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-dryland-events","tag-garden-route-giro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75815,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75797\/revisions\/75815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75797"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=75797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}