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Looking Back on the Best FNB Wines2Whales Yet and Looking Ahead to An Even Better 2026 Edition

Candice Lill Queen of the Chardonnay

And there was ample gees to go around. It began on a high with the Chardonnay race, which got underway from Benguela Cove on Friday, 31 October. The double defending champions, Candice Lill and Tyler Jacobs, were the favourites to add a third FNB Wines2Whales title to their list of accolades and for Lill to move ahead of Robyn de Groot to become the most successful individual rider in the event’s 16-year history. The racing was fiercest on the opening day, adding to the excitement.

Though the Liv Sabi-Sabi Seattle Coffee e-Fort pair’s wrong turn was the catalyst for the excitement. Having missed the singletrack which links the Van der Stell Pass with the Katpas, Lill and Jacobs were forced to chase back from third. They managed to reel in the new leaders on the stage, Margot Moschetti and Claudia Peretti, by the final water point and kick on to establish a 53-second advantage going into Stage 2.

On Play Day, a few drops of overnight rain helped dampen the dust and provided the best riding conditions of the entire race. The trails of Oak Valley and Paul Clüver suited the punchy power of Lill and Jacobs to perfection, and they added 5 and a half minutes to their general classification advantage. With a healthy buffer going into the final stage, the women in the Orange CIOVITA jerseys were not quite done winning yet. Again, they raced into an early lead on the trails towards the Gantouw Pass portage and then extended that advantage through the Idiom, Vergelegen, and Lourensford Wine Estates. Crossing the line first, Lill became the first rider to win five FNB Wines2Whales titles and completed a remarkable perfect hat-trick alongside Jacobs. Not only have the pair won three editions in a row, but they have won every stage in that period too.

Behind the Liv Sabi-Sabi Seattle Coffee e-Fort team, Moschetti and Peretti were second for the third time in the Chardonnay race, while Sarah Hill and Robyn de Groot took their foot off the gas, finishing the stage in fourth behind Bianca Haw and Danielle Strydom. The Efficient Infiniti Insure combination had bronze sewn up by then, though.

The age category women’s race was competitive and fun during the Chardonnay race, too. “We’re a big group of friends in four teams in the GIC Grand Masters’ category,” Marleen Lourens explained. “It doesn’t really matter who wins, we’re having a great time and enjoying the gees at the event. The trails here in Elgin really are incredible,” she said after Stage 2. “Living in Stellenbosch, they’re just around the corner, but I never make the time to come ride out here. So, riding them during FNB Wines2Whales is a treat, and getting looked after so well throughout the race really makes it so special. I don’t even know how many editions I’ve ridden, but I’ll be riding many, many more…”

Elite Women’s General Classification after Stage 3:

1. Liv Sabi-Sabi Seattle Coffee e-Fort: Candice Lill & Tyler Jacobs (8:33:34)
2. e-Fort MB Race: Margot Moschetti & Claudia Peretti (8:45:44 | +12:10)
3. Efficient Infiniti Insure: Sarah Hill & Robyn de Groot (9:03:53 | +30:19)
4. Safari Essence Titan Racing: Bianca Haw & Danielle du Toit (9:15:00 | +41:26)
5. Fortress Real Estate Efficient Infiniti: Ila Stow & Steph Wohlters (9:27:27 | +53:53)

E-Electric Pinotage

The introduction of an E-Bike race to the Pinotage, in 2021, transformed the mid-week event from a largely social affair into three days with a distinct racing focus. For 2025, the rules were refined, ensuring that only teams that do not make use of the battery transportation service are eligible for category prizes. This brought tactics into the battle for top honours and levelled the playing field between the Men’s, Mixed, and Women’s teams. One squad who had clearly done their homework was the Hellsend Uncles.

Frankie du Toit’s lighter weight and superior fitness to her teammate, Dewald Oosthuizen, meant that she used less battery power. Towards the end of each stage, the pair thus swapped batteries to ensure Oosthuizen could finish strong, rather than manage his energy output to reach the finish line without exhausting his battery. Their Unbound Uncles stablemates, Jason Boulle and Matt Lombardi, won the first day at a canter, but when the top Mixed and Women’s teams were added to the Men’s start group, the leaders knew they’d be under pressure.

“I think Joris [Ryf] and Sofia [Wiedenroth] could be faster than us,” Lombardi speculated ahead of Stage 2. An insight which came within 6 kilometres of proving prophetic. “Those Specialized bikes can do 40 kilometres per hour on gravel roads, while our Treks are governed to 32 on all terrain,” Lombardi explained. “They managed to get a 2-minute advantage on us in the first 15 kilometres to the first singletrack, and I didn’t think we’d be able to ever reel them in.”

Reel them in the Unbound Uncles did, with Lombardi and Boulle catching Ryf and Wiedenroth with 12 kilometres to race in the stage. The amount of time the 2024 E-MTB World Champion spent in boost mode meant that she was depleting her battery, and with 6 kilometres to go, Ryf had to sacrifice his battery to empower Wiedenroth. This allowed the Men’s team to add 2 minutes to their buffer over the leading Mixed combination.

Quietly, the Haibike/Thömus team was also moving up the overall general classification standings. 2025 E-MTB World Champion Anna Spielmann and the silver medallist from the same race, Kathrin Stirnemann, had posted the sixth fastest time on the opening day, then moved up to fourth on the combined general classification after Stage 2. The Austrian/Swiss combination started the final stage just 8 seconds off the overall podium places.

On the final day, Spielmann and Stirnemann raced their way into second on the trails, passing Ryf and Wiedenroth. Behind them, the Impact Foundation and ACEPAK teams were battling for second and third in the Men’s category, but the Haibike/Thömus pair were moving up. The Unbound Uncles completed a clean sweep of stage victories and won the overall race. Then Boulle and Lombardi were joined on the final all-categories podium by Ryf and Wiedenroth, as well as by Spielmann and Stirnemann.

The Men’s, Mixed, and Women’s category winners were thus the top three overall, too, completing a thrilling race with a remarkably egalitarian result. “E-Bike racing is so exciting,” said Stirnemann, who counts two Cross-Country Eliminator World Titles among her many victories. “But it’s f*cking hard! We raced our hearts out this week, and loved every minute of it.”

Overall E-Bike General Classification after Stage 3:

1. Unbound Uncles: Matthew Lombardi & Jason Boulle (6:31:58 | Men’s Champions)
2. Specialized Factory Racing: Joris Ryf & Sofia Wiedenroth (+9:55 | Mixed Champions)
3. Haibike/Thömus: Kathrin Stirnemann & Anna Spielmann (+20:16 | Women’s Champions)
4. Impact Foundation: Pieter Malan & Matt Venn (+23:34 | Men’s 2nd Place)
5. ACEPAK: Matthew Grobler & Christoff van Heerden (+23:54 | Men’s 3rd Place)

Sensational Shiraz

After two stellar events, the Shiraz promised more exciting racing and more good times in the Oak Valley race village. Having trialled the Switchback route in the Chardonnay the weekend before Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli were at an advantage, though their stage-winning move on the opening day did apparently not rely on course knowledge.

“It was more road racing tactics,” Pritzen laughed when asked if knowing the route had helped him time the attack. “On that tar stretch into a cross/head wind, we just went super hard and knew it would be hard for anyone to close the gap.”

Once the Honeycomb 226ers had established a 20-second advantage, they benefited from a disorganised chase behind and gradually extended their lead to 2 minutes by the Oak Valley finish line. PYGA Euro Steel and the Insect Science teams were second and third best on the day, ahead of Buff Megamo, Imbuko ChemChamp, and Toyota Specialized.

Though Pritzen and Stehli’s advantage was healthy, the gaps behind the men in the Yellow CIOVITA jerseys were small going into Stage 2. Overnight rain dampened the trails, as it had done for Play Day in the Chardonnay, but unlike in the Chardonnay, four teams raced much of the stage together. This set up a sprint finish on a still slick lawn.

Rounding the penultimate bend, Pritzen and Stehli muscled past Tristan Nortje to take prime position into the last corner. The Swiss rider’s back wheel slid out as he started his surge for the line, and his fall held up Nortje and Marco Joubert, who were right behind him. A little further back, Matt Beers and Travis Stedman locked up to avoid the pile-up on the outside of the corner, and both Toyota Specialized men went down. Pritzen had already finished by the time Nortje and Joubert untangled themselves. The Imbuko ChemChamp pair, who had been hampered but remained upright, were the first team across the line, followed by Stehli to complete the Honeycomb 226ers day. Hans Becking and Wout Alleman passed the stricken Beers and Stedman before they could regain their feet, securing third for Buff Megamo.

Sadly, the crash brought a premature end to Beers’ season, with a fractured clavicle and a concussion. The following day, Joubert would also end his 2025 season with a fractured clavicle after crashing in the final 4 kilometres of the race. These injuries will hopefully not disrupt either man’s preparation for the 2026 season unduly, as their competitive natures elevate the South African mountain biking scene.

Going into the final stage, just 7 seconds separated second and third, as well as fifth and sixth, but with Toyota Specialized not starting Stage 3, Insect Science and PYGA Euro Steel were de facto holding fourth and fifth. Pritzen and Stehli galloped down the Gantouw Pass portage faster than anyone else, and eagerly extended their advantage through the final 30 kilometres of the race to claim a second stage win and the overall victory. Behind them, positions changed as Jaedon Terlouw and Michael Foster enjoyed a strong ride.

The pressure PYGA Euro Steel exerted and the strength of the Buff Megamo combination put the Imbuko ChemChamp and Insect Science teams under pressure. Joubert’s crash and Insect Science’s concern for their rival put those teams out of the running for the general classification podium. Becking and Alleman had been just ahead of Joubert at the time of his fall and finished the final day in third place, 70 seconds after Terlouw and Foster. They had done enough on the previous two days to claim second overall, though, stepping up alongside Pritzen and Stehli on the podium. PYGA Euro Steel’s Stage 3 heroics leapfrogged them from sixth to third, holding off the two Insect Science squads who had to be content with fourth and fifth.

Elite Men’s General Classification after Stage 3:

1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (6:55:52)
2. Buff Megamo: Hans Becking & Wout Alleman (7:00:30 | +4:38)
3. PYGA Euro Steel: Michael Foster & Jeadon Terlouw (7:01:31 | +5:39)
4. Insect Science: Wessel Botha & Jan Withaar (7:05:45 | +9:53)
5. Insect Science Azimuth: Keagan Bontekoning & Arno du Toit (7:15:28 | +19:36)