Annika Langvad (DEN)
Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG)

An Undefeated Star Returns
While Karl Platt and Christoph Sauser have also both won 5 Absa Cape Epic titles, neither managed to achieve the dominance which Langvad has exhibited. The Dane won 7 stages en route to 4 of her 5 titles and even in 2016, when she only notched up 3 stage wins, her margin of victory was still nearly 15 minutes. In 2025 the three-time XCM World Champion will be partnered by 2022 Absa Cape Epic winner, Sofia Gomez Villafane. The Argentinian is a dominant force in gravel and marathon racing in North America. Having finished 3rd in 2023 and 2024 the Specialized Off-Road star will be rearing to go alongside a racer who will likely push her beyond her limits for 8 days. 

Rosa van Doorn (Netherlands & European XCM Champion)
Janina Wüst (SUI)

5-Star Favourites 
Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst make their long-awaited Absa Cape Epic debuts in 2025. The Buff Megamo women may be newcomers to the race but they are no strangers to winning in the Epic Series, plus they will have the vast experience of their team’s support crew behind them. As Ghost Factory Racing showed in 2024, being novices is not necessarily a barrier to winning the world’s biggest mountain bike stage race. 

 Vera Looser (Namibian XCM Champion) 
 Alexis Skarda (USA XCM Champion) 

2023 champion, Vera Looser teams up with, American XCM Champion, Alexis Skarda once again for 2025. The Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM were 5th in 2024, having endured a difficult end to the race when they slipped down the rankings from just off the podium places. Looser’s consistency and Skarda’s strength should ensure they remain in the battle for major honours deep into the race this time around, and as Looser’s victory showed – exerting pressure daily can pay off spectacularly at the Aba Cape Epic. 

Monica Calderon (COL)
Tessa Kortekaas (Spanish XCM Champion) 

Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas have proven themselves to be ferocious competitors at the European Epic Series races and will look to exert that same tenacity on the South African trails. Calderon has 2 Absa Cape Epic finishes and a stage victory to her name already. In Kortekaas she has the formidable time trialling ability of a world class triathlete turned mountain biker, who has already proved herself technically adept by winning the SPAR Swiss Epic. Though she was born in the Netherlands, Kortekaas now competes on a Spanish racing licence and is the reigning Spanish XCM Champion. 

Katazina Sosna (LTU)
Claudia Peretti (Italian XCM Champion) 

Like the Buff Megamo women, TORPADO KENDA FSA’s Katazina Sosna and Claudia Peretti will be making their Absa Cape Epic debuts in 2025. Peretti is the reigning Italian XCM Champion while Lithuanian, Katazina Sosna is a 13-time national champion too. Both in Andalucía, at the end of February, where Sosna missed out on a podium place alongside Irina Lützelschwab, while Peretti claimed in 2nd, with Meritxell Figueras.

Bianca Haw (RSA)
Hayley Preen (RSA) 

Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen will almost certainly turn themselves inside out to achieve the best possible result at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Haw’s usual Safari Essence Titan Racing teammate, Danielle du Toit (née Strydom) is sadly missing the race due to an early season illness, but fortunately Preen’s Honeycomb 226ers squad did not have a woman to partner he with. The pair are favourites for the Absa African jerseys, but will be aiming for a podium place too. 

Haley Smith is the third North American campaigner in the UCI Women’s field and will undoubtedly be looking to bring her rivalry with Sofia Gomez Villafane and Alexis Skarda across the Atlantic. The Canadian star teams up with Australian gravel and mountain bike racer Ella Bloor in what will be an entertaining combination. Smith has stood atop an Epic Series podium, at the SPAR Swiss Epic in 2018, though the 2025 Absa Cape Epic will be a sterner test for the MAAP squad.  Haley Smith is the third North American campaigner in the UCI Women’s field and will undoubtedly be looking to bring her rivalry with Sofia Gomez Villafane and Alexis Skarda across the Atlantic. The Canadian star teams up with Australian gravel and mountain bike racer Ella Bloor in what will be an entertaining combination. Smith has stood atop an Epic Series podium, at the SPAR Swiss Epic in 2018, though the 2025 Absa Cape Epic will be a sterner test for the MAAP squad.  

In two starts in South Africa Irina Lützelschwab has only shown glimpses of the form which powered her to multiple Swiss XCM titles. Staying healthy throughout the race and finishing as strong as she starts should help her and Alessia Nay hunt down a top 5 placing in 2025. The Bulls Swiss team have the might and experience of Team Bulls behind them, which should help ease through the off-the-bike logistical challenges as well as ensure that they are prepared mechanically and psychologically for whatever the Absa Cape Epic may bring. 

Cannondale ISB Sport 2 will not only be helping Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas in their bid to claim the UCI Women’s title, but will be competing fiercely for their own aspiration too. Costanza Fasolis was 8th in her only previous start, in 2024, while Stefanie Walter (née Dohrn) is among the most qualified riders in the entire field, boasting a PhD in Chemical Engineering.

e-Fort’s Margot Moschetti and Samara Sheppard are undoubtedly deserving of a spot higher up this list, though the UCI ranking dictate the race numbers and thus the order in which they are listed here. Moschetti was a stage winner, alongside Raiza Goulao, in 2018; but will feel that the 2024 Absa Cape Epic did not quite go the way she would have liked. Despite finishing 3rd last year, Sheppard will also be eager to achieve more in 2025. A stage win would be a great return for the pair, even if that comes at the cost of general classification consistency. 

To view the full 2025 Absa Cape Epic start list click here. For fans who believe a dark horse team has been overlooked do not be shy to express an educated opinion in the comments of the Cape Epic Facebook page, or the @capeepicInstagram handle, or @CapeEpic on X.