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Will Fresh Legs or Activated Minds Prevail at the FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz

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The Shiraz race at FNB Wines2Whales is not just the final race of the Epic Series and FNB Wines2Whales calendar; it is also the final major mountain biking event of the South African season. Thus, the battle for the final Yellow CIOVITA jerseys of the season could be decided by who is fresher, physically and mentally, from Friday, 7 November to Sunday, the 10th.

The final roll of the dice for 2025 and the last opportunity for glory or redemption is the Shiraz race at FNB Wines2Whales. For the elite men, the accumulated fatigue of the season is a real concern, especially for those who made the trek out into the Great Karoo in late October. With less than a week’s recovery time, will Matt Beers, Travis Stedman, Marco Joubert, and Tristan Nortje be able to compete with the fresher legs of Marc Pritzen, Felix Stehli, Michael Foster, Jaedon Terlouw, Arno du Toit, Keagan Bontekoning, Wout Alleman, and Hans Becking? The trails from Benguela Cove to Lourensford Wine Estate will tell…

In total, the Switchback route takes in 191 kilometres of racing, with 3 750 metres of accumulated elevation gain. It is by no means the hardest stage race of the year, but it requires formidable speed and the ability to accelerate repeatedly, powering up short climbs or through sections of singletrack. PYGA Euro Steel and the Honeycomb 226ers have, in recent weeks, proven their form, without the racing load the other favourites, Toyota Specialized and Imbuko ChemChamp will carry into the race. Stage 1, on Friday 7 November, features a 61-kilometre course with 1 150 metres of climbing. The new start venue of Benguela Cove ensures an entirely fresh opening 15 kilometres, almost all of it gradually uphill, to the familiar singletrack of Gaf se Bos. After water point 1, at Genivieve MCC, Trails through Wildekrans and Beaumont Wine Estates lead to the base of the Kat Pas pass to the Elgin plateau. From the 36 to 52 kilometre marks, the route trends uphill, passing the Houw Hoek Hotel, the first Toyota Cruise segment of the event, and the Lebanon trails. This section of the course will likely prove crucial in determining who will wear the first Yellow CIOVITA jerseys, as it is these sharp ascents that could provide a launching point for a stage-winning move. The final 9 kilometres undulate through the singletracks of the Paul Clüver and Oak Valley Estates, producing a fast finish to an exciting opening stage.

Beers is a four-time FNB Wines2Whales winner and the defending champion, yet one wonders how fresh he will be feeling after his exploits on his gravel bike. The same goes for his Toyota Specialized teammate, Stedman, and the Imbuko ChemChamp team of Joubert and Nortje. Three of the four Toyota Specialized and Imbuko ChemChamp B team riders have also been burning matches for seven days on the gravel. Johan van Zyl and Rudi Koen, as well as Lood Goosen, are likely to start below fully fresh; only Ignatius du Preez will be rearing to go. ORBEA LEATT Speed Company is in a similar position; Lukas Baum is accustomed to South African conditions, while Sascha Weber arrives from Europe without a meaningful race day since mid-October.

Stedman believes that the fatigue he and his fellow gravel racers accumulated leading into FNB Wines2Whales may not play that big a role, however. “It’ll be a hard one racing with Matt [Beers]!” the young Toyota Specialized man confessed. “It’s been nice to race with him for the last week, so I kind of know what to expect, but at the same time, I haven’t partnered with him on the mountain bike before. So, it will be interesting. I think the form is there, the aim is to try to keep healthy before [FNB] Wines[2Whahles] and not let the body shut down before the race. I saw that Marc [Pritzen] and Felix [Stehli] raced the Chardonnay, so they know what to expect, and they’ll be fresh. But I think Burn was a good training camp for this, just to keep the body firing towards the end of the season. Sometimes it’s easy to get complaisant towards the end of the year, so at least we’ll be ready for FNB Wines2Whales.”

Two men who may be firing or who may be starting with one eye already on a South African holiday are Hans Becking and Wout Alleman. The Buff Megamo duo have been racing recently too, with Becking jetting into South Africa from Brazil and Alleman having won a French marathon two weeks ago; they will thus be fresh but not ring rusty. The question, which Stage 1 will answer, is whether they are motivated to suffer to the same extent as the South Africans will be this late in the year. Historically, Konny Looser showed on three occasions that Europeans can come to FNB Wines2Whales and perform at their best. Will this be the case for Buff Megamo in 2025?

The three teams with the most motivation are arguably the Honeycomb 266ers, PYGA Euro Steel, and Insect Science Azimuth squads. Pritzen and Stehli raced the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay event together on the first weekend of the 2025 series and thus have the additional advantage of being familiar with the new Switchback route. Foster and Terlouw are to be underestimated at any rival’s peril; the former is the South African and African XCO Champion, and the latter returns to mountain biking fresh from a career-defining victory on the road at Ride Joburg, two weeks ago. Du Toit and Bontekoning are perennial favourites and have the added benefit of support from Wessel Botha and Jan Withaar.

Other local teams to watch include Halalisani Ndebele and Johan de Villiers, of Tshenolo Pro Cycling, and the Project Dream SA combination, Jordan Boshoff and Travis Rademan-Ludeke. Damon Terblanche steps up from the Exxaro Jersey competition to the elite men’s race alongside Tumelo Makae. The young man from Knysna is someone fans cannot help but root for, so a good result for his Pump for Peace team will be very well received.

Lawrence Naesen and Daniel Marburger, of StoneX, Lucas Froget and Julien Cornette, of Watt's Up, as well as Arjen van Dijk and Niels Vink, of DPX Power NL, add more international flair to the start list. The trio of teams is likely to be in the fight for the top ten places rather than a surprise victory. The same is true for Herman Fourie and his Austrian teammate, Wolfgang Krenn. Fourie is racing for a cause as well as to secure a stellar season-ending result. The man from a rural community in the Limpopo province is raising funds for Droogtehulp, a South African Farmers’ charity which aids in drought relief efforts in agricultural communities across the country.

Fourie’s first task may well be to assist USN, AQUASKY, and Fair Cape Dairies with providing drought relief to a parched Shiraz field. Temperatures are predicted to soar over the weekend, with the mercury expected to rise into the low 30s on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Sunday, to Lourensford Wine Estate should be cooler, with a fresh southeasterly breeze pushing teams towards the finish line and providing relief from the heat. Riders are reminded to hydrate before the race and to make use of the event’s superbly stocked water points. Along with USN sports nutrition and energy drinks, the aid stations also offer water, Coca-Cola from Peninsula Beverages, sweets, fruit, baby potatoes, as well as the world’s best chocolate brownies and droëwors from Peregrine Farm Stall.

To share in the excitement of the final race of the FNB Wines2Whales week, follow the racing action from the Shiraz event. Follow @wines_2_whales on Instagram or like the Wines2Whales Facebook page to watch stories from the course along with highlights from the racing and beyond. Mountain biking fans can also tune in to the Epic Series YouTube channel for daily highlights and news reports from the race. For more information, please visit www.epic-series.com/races/wines2whales.