{"id":76038,"date":"2026-05-07T18:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/?p=76038"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:52:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:52:37","slug":"kap-sani2c-delivers-thrilling-sprint-finishes-on-stage-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/kap-sani2c-delivers-thrilling-sprint-finishes-on-stage-1\/","title":{"rendered":"KAP sani2c delivers thrilling sprint finishes on Stage 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a characteristic KAP sani2c sprint finish at Mackenzie Club, four teams battled all the way to the line in the men\u2019s race, but it was Felix Stehli and Marc Pritzen (Team Honeycomb 226ers) who took the win in 02:43:27. Stage 1 of sani2c tests rider endurance across 89 kilometres and 1,027 metres of climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KAP sani2c Stage 1 started at Glencairn Farm in Himeville, and riders tackled 89km to Mackenzie Club near Ixopo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stehli crossed the line first with Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) on his wheel, and a final push from Marc Pritzen saw the decision go in Team Honeycomb 226ers\u2019 favour against Stedman\u2019s teammate Jaedon Terlouw. Arno du Toit (Insect Science Safari Essence) and Marco Joubert (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1) crossed the line next, ahead of their respective teammates, and it was Wessel Botha who finished just ahead of Tristan Nortje to give Insect Science Safari Essence third place for the stage (02:43:29). Keagan Bontekoning and Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) followed just under two minutes later (02:45:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco Joubert had crashed and dropped a chain a few kilometres from the finish, which meant he and Tristan Nortje had to work hard to rejoin the lead group for the final sprint. The Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1 retains their GC lead, but with less than a minute between the top four teams in the General Classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nortje says the racing was incredibly fast, in part due to changes on the first 25 kms of the route route that excluded some of the usual singletrack sections: \u201cWe got away a few times, but it was just a little bit too fast to make it stick. The climbs are too short and there were quite a few sections taken out, so getting away was really difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re still in the lead, so that\u2019s the only thing that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are two PG Bison floating bridges across the Mossbank Dam near Pevensey: Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje nearly cross paths as Jaedon Terlouw takes a different line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Felix Stehli was pleased with his team performance after a disappointing Prologue result: \u201cI already felt better today than yesterday. The altitude hit me quite hard, so we just managed our effort. There are still two days to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc Pritzen says: \u201cI\u2019ve got the experience here, I know this route, so I just needed to guide Felix to make sure he\u2019s in position and ready for what\u2019s to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stehli laughs: \u201cIt\u2019s like having Google Maps with me, I had the best guidance from Marc. I knew if it was going to be a sprint, I had a good chance, because if it comes down to the end of the stage, I knew I could get one or two percent more out of myself. I also had to suffer during the stage, so I\u2019m very happy to finish it off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaedon Terlouw said of the last dice: \u201cUp on the district road near the top, Marc and Felix came through from the back with quite a lot of speed. Luckily I noticed they were coming from far back, so we were able to get up to speed and minimise that move. Then we came into the last 180-degree corner and it was super chaotic. Travis and I both took the wider line and it paid off quite well. The only issue was that we ended up sprinting on the grass. There was one singletrack line to the finish and unfortunately we weren\u2019t on it, so we just got pipped by Marc on the finish line. Well done to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says it was not easy to split the group, and the top five teams regrouped after any attempts to break away on the hard climbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWinning is what we come here for. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow,\u201d says Terlouw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arno du Toit echoed Terlouw\u2019s sentiments about the challenge of trying to split the group. He says the trails were perfect and the racing was nice and fast: \u201cIt was muddy here and there, but nothing too bad. Mostly compact and grippy. Where it was wet, it was just a little bit of sliding, which keeps it fun and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tristan Nortje (front) and Marco Joubert seen in the lead ahead of Joubert\u2019s crash that nearly lost them a chance at the final sprint.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Women\u2019s Race<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Sanders and Vera Looser (Efficient Infiniti Insure) delivered a controlled effort to secure the stage win in 03:16:36, nearly ten minutes ahead of second and third place, which was decided by a sprint between Safari Essence Titan Racing and Fortress Toyota. Danielle du Toit and Roxanne Kemp of team Safari Essence Titan Racing took second place (03:25:06). Cherise Willeit crossed the line first but Ila Stow could not push past the  Safari Essence Titan Racing team and Fortress Toyota\u2019s time for the stage was 03:25:09.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looser says: \u201cWe knew they would just sit on our wheel, so making it hard and trying to get away would at least make them work a little. But we decided to work the whole day. We kept it safe, but also pushed hard on the climbs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before they hit the first major climb of the day (View Climb at around the 30km mark), the Efficient Infiniti Insure pair took a small gap, and as Sanders says: \u201cI think we just opened it up from there.\u201d

Danielle du Toit had a good day on the bike: \u201cAbout 10 minutes in, the legs started clicking and it felt good. We were third and then fourth at stages, and then we managed to get a bit of a gap on Cycle Nation Enza Construction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vera Looser (front) and Sam Sanders enjoyed a strong day of riding to take Stage 1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Cycle Nation Enza Construction team of Frances Swanepoel and Rachel Seaman were just under a minute behind third place, finishing fourth in 03:26:02, and are feeling very positive. Seaman says the next two days will suit them a lot better: \u201cI don\u2019t want to blame the altitude too much, but I was struggling a little, especially yesterday. Today I already felt better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swanepoel says: \u201cWe dropped off on the district road in the beginning, probably around 25 kilometres in. Then we started catching Danielle and Roxy and eventually caught them between Water Point 1 and Water Point 2, but they got away from us again. We just tried to limit our losses and get to the finish. We made up time again on the dirt roads, which suits our roadie legs quite well, so we are not too far behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ila Stow says she just didn\u2019t quite have the legs to match the tactics today: \u201cI think from the middle section onwards I started struggling a bit. In the beginning we had quite a good rhythm going. Cherise was an absolute powerhouse for me and just kept motivating me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen Danielle and Roxanne caught us on \u2018Confusing Climb\u2019 (at around 58km), and I managed to stick with them. The last part became a bit tactical and we tried to go for the sprint. Cherise has so much road racing experience and it\u2019s such a privilege riding with her because she paces things so well and knows exactly what to do tactically. I could see what was happening, but by the final corner I was completely tapped out. I tried my best, so well done to Danielle and Roxy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She acknowledges the opposing team\u2019s tenacity: \u201cThey also never gave up. They fought all the way to the finish. I\u2019m really interested to see what the GC gap is now between second and third because it must only be a few seconds. It\u2019s really close. That\u2019s the exciting part of racing and exactly what we\u2019ll  see over the next two days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Roxanne Kemp (front) and Danielle Du Toit took second place for Stage 1, after a sprint finish with the Toyota Fortress pair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The General Classification gap between second and third is a mere five seconds, with less than a minute to fourth place, suggesting a very competitive race to come between these three women\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow\u2019s Queen Stage to Jolivet Farm covers 96km, featuring 1 896m of climbing and 2 336m of descending. Riders will take on the Umkomaas Drop, a spectacular descent into the Umkomaas Valley. After criss-crossing the Umkomaas River over a host of bridges, the Unitrans Iconic Climb out of the Valley pushes riders to the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1 Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felix Stehli, Marc Pritzen (Team Honeycomb 226ers) \u2013 02:43:27
Travis Stedman, Jaedon Terlouw (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) \u2013 02:43:27
Arno du Toit, Wessel Botha (InsectScience Safari Essence) \u2013 02:43:29
Marco Joubert, Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1) \u2013 02:43:29
Keagan Bontekoning, Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) \u2013 02:45:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Sanders, Vera Looser (Efficient Infiniti Insure) \u2013 03:16:36
Danielle du Toit, Roxanne Kemp (Safari Essence Titan Racing) \u2013 03:25:06
Cherise Willeit, Ila Stow (Fortress Toyota) \u2013 03:25:09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frances Swanepoel, Rachel Seaman (Cycle Nation Enza Construction) \u2013 03:26:02
Erin Shillaw, Lianke Fourie (Old Mutual Womans Team) \u2013 03:43:05<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Classification Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Men<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marco Joubert, Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1) \u2013 03:25:45
Jaedon Terlouw, Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) \u2013 03:26:04
Wessel Botha, Arno du Toit (InsectScience Safari Essence) \u2013 03:26:16
Marc Pritzen, Felix Stehli (Team Honeycomb 226ers) \u2013 03:26:35
Keagan Bontekoning, Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) \u2013 03:27:47<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Women<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Sanders, Vera Looser (Efficient Infiniti Insure) \u2013 04:09:04
Cherise Willeit, Ila Stow (Fortress Toyota) \u2013 04:20:33
Danielle du Toit, Roxanne Kemp (Safari Essence Titan Racing) \u2013 04:20:38
Frances Swanepoel, Rachel Seaman (Cycle Nation Enza Construction) \u2013 04:23:36
Erin Shillaw, Lianke Fourie (Old Mutual Womans Team) \u2013 04:43:04<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch live updates on the KAP sani2c \u201cOG\u201d racing on Instagram: <\/em>_sani2c<\/em><\/a><\/em> For more information visit www.sani2c.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a characteristic KAP sani2c sprint finish at Mackenzie Club, four teams battled all the way to the line in the men\u2019s race, but it was Felix Stehli and Marc Pritzen (Team Honeycomb 226ers) who took the win in 02:43:27. Stage 1 of sani2c tests rider endurance across 89 kilometres and 1,027 metres of climbing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":76040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[53],"featured_location":[337],"class_list":["post-76038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-sani2c","featured_location-top-row"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76038","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=76038"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76045,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76038\/revisions\/76045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76038"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=76038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}