Route overview

Duration

8 Days —

Distance

650KM —

Climbing

16500M —

Please note that this is the 2025 Route Info!

The 2026 route will be announced at a later date.

The 2025 Route

567km | 15300m Climbing

Brand new stages, a new host venue, and over 300 kilometres of trails never before used by the Absa Cape Epic should be music to the ears of mountain bikers and fans as they prepare for the 2025 Untamed African Mountain Bike Race. That is not where the excitement or new features end in the twenty first edition either. An innovative new time trial and challenging stages deep in the race all contribute to a course designed to produce exciting racing for all.

This is the 2025 Absa Cape Epic route, presented by Toyota. Are you tough enough?

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Prologue

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Prologue

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The Beginning
And so it begins. The 21st Absa Cape Epic, out of the hinterland and into the Cape Winelands. On the urban edge, but yet still wild and untamed. The iconic trails of Meerendal, Fair Cape Dairies and Hoogekraal host the opening Prologue time trial, providing a taste and a test of what is to come. Sharp climbs, sweeping singletrack descents and spectacular spectator points combine to produce a first day which will indicate to teams how well they have prepared for the 2025 race.

Prologue

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Distance: 26km | Climbing 750m

Start Location: Meerendal Wine Estate

Finish Location: Meerendal Wine Estate

Stage 1

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Noon Gun
The mountain peaks of the Western Cape are dotted with signal guns dating back to Dutch colonial times. These would fire to alert farmers in the interior that a ship was docking in Table Bay and required restocking of supplies for the journey east. Stage 1 has a reputation for being a shot across the bows, a day which sees hopes dashed and protagonists for the week ahead stake their claims. 2025 will be no different, steep gradients are the order of the day which begins benignly enough before devolving into a brutal series of back-to-back climbs. There will be no strength in numbers or hiding in a group. It will be team vs team, mano a mano, across the cols of the Cape.

Stage 1

Monday, March 17, 2025

Distance: Distance 92km | Climbing 2750m

Start Location: Meerendal Wine Estate

Finish Location: Meerendal Wine Estate

Stage 2

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Time
A spicy new feature for the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. A point-to-point time trial. A true test of teamwork, tactics, and tenacity. No time to “fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way.” With climbing in the opening and closing kilometres linked by rolling roads, dual tracks and trails across the vlakte of the Malmesbury Farms. It should be a day which suits the powerhouses of mountain biking, though the weather could have a pivotal say in who succeeds on Stage 2. If the South Easter howls or the African sun bakes down, even the strongest could wilt en route to Fairview.

Stage 2

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Distance: 66km | Climbing 950m

Start Location: Meerendal Wine Estate

Finish Location: Fairview, Paarl

Stage 3

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Champagne Supernova
Another big day of trails and tribulations awaits, packed with rewarding singletracks, but equally testing with precipitous ascents - Stage 3 could mark the turning point in 2025 fortunes. A good showing on the Paarl Mountain will set teams up for a storming race through the second half of the week, while a loss of momentum could result in a floundering for fitness and form. Gritting one’s teeth and holding on to the dream – from dawn to dusk – is the only way to endure, overcome, and excel.

Stage 3

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Distance: 78km | Climbing 2450m

Start Location: Fairview, Paarl

Finish Location: Fairview, Paarl

Stage 4

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Like a Rolling Stone
The granite domes of Paarl Mountain soak up heat, producing a microclimate of scorching summers. This will undoubtedly come into play during the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, as the sun could drain teams more than the route or the racing’s tests. Dropping a chainring size and redoubling one’s determination will be required to conquer a second day in the pearl of the Winelands. Its fynbos and vineyard beauty belies the difficulty of racing across the rocky outcrops and between the intimidating 500-million-year-old granite intrusions.

Stage 4

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Distance : 80km | Climbing 1950m

Start Location: Fairview, Paarl

Finish Location: Fairview, Paarl

Stage 5

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Killer Queen
It is a “killer, Queen, gunpowder, gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam, guaranteed to blow your mind…” it is the Queen Stage. The epic Stage 5 of the 2025 race is the only day to reach triple digits and is fitting of its brutal crown. A long, point-to-point route, it will challenge with a series of arduous ascents. Depending on how one looks at the profile there are either four or eight climbs to conquer. Mixing dual track with trails it is a day designed for aggressive racing, attacks and counters. Though it is also a course which will play into the hands of those who have recovered best, avoided drama, and conserved their energy for the final weekend.

Stage 5

Friday, March 21, 2025

Distance: 98km | Climbing 2850m

Start Location: Fairview, Paarl

Finish Location: Lourensford Wine Estate

Stage 6

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Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Stay… the final finish line is far away, but so close. The penultimate stage treats Lourensford and its neighbouring farms like a mountain biking playground in a day of discovery. The slopes of the Helderberg Mountain and its foothills - which stretch through neighbouring farms - provide ample opportunities to for tired legs to be tested. While spectacular trails through vineyards, fynbos and orchards cut through soils over 21 types, from deep red clay to shallow alluvial gravel. It is a day when the Grand Finale looms, but one where so much remains to be ridden.

Stage 6

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Distance: 87km | Climbing 2550m

Start Location: Lourensford Wine Estate

Finish Location: Lourensford Wine Estate

Stage 7

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Grand Finale
“You’re either the last one standing, or the last one to fall…” The Grand Finale is the last chance to fly. And fly each team must as they ascend towards glory and swoop through the singletracks for the final time during the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. A circumnavigation of the Helderberg Dome ensures it will be a difficult day, complete with a return from a different direction to the highest point in the race. There will be reasons to celebrate aplenty too, however, with the singletracks of Ernie Els, Dornier and the famed Helderberg Trails all providing parting gifts. The last descent, through exquisite fynbos in reserve on the urban edge, brings the 21st Absa Cape Epic full circle. Closing with cheers, nerves replaced by elation, and a slot in the Book of Legend.

Stage 7

Sunday, March 23, 2025

FLOWING TRAILS

Distance: 40km | Climbing 1050m

Start Location: Lourensford Wine Estate

Finish Location: Lourensford Wine Estate

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