Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek win stage 1 of the Cape Epic 2026 after an epic day marked by attacks, punctures, and comebacks

The Absa Cape Epic 2026 experienced its first major battle in stage 1, a day of 90 kilometers and 2,150 meters of positive elevation with a start and finish in Montagu, which completely transformed the script left by the prologue the day before. After an initial day dominated by Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje, this first line stage showed early on that the race was going to be long, unpredictable, and extremely close.

Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek win stage 1 of the Cape Epic 2026 after an epic day marked by attacks, punctures, and comebacks

The prologue had left a very tight general classification after the victory of the South African pair from Toyota Specialized Imbuko, who won by just six seconds over Braidot and Avondetto and twelve seconds over Valero and Stutzmann, in a day also marked by temperatures close to 40 °C. With that context, the Montagu stage promised to start making differences… and so it was.

The start was relatively controlled, with a large group of favorites riding compactly during the first part of the stage. The first major shake-up came when Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) launched a strong change of pace that began to fragment the front group.

Just before that move, the Canyon pair formed by Samuel Gaze and Lukas Schwarzbauer suffered a puncture, but they managed to repair it quickly and return to the lead group.

RECOMENDADO

The Prologue Stage of the Cape Epic 2026 begins with victory for Beers–Nortje and dominance by Keller–Lill

Van der Poel explains why he doesn't want narrow handlebars

Del Toro finishes off Jorgenson and Pellizzari in the toughest finale and seals the Tirreno-Adriatico

Snow, cut and final chaos: Godon conquers stage 7 of Paris-Nice

The 32” MTBs debut at the Cape Epic 2026: "the sensations are completely different"

"We're not here for 40 minutes": Gaze and Schwarzbauer do not hide their goals for the 2026 Cape Epic

However, the key moment came after 1 hour and 20 minutes of racing, when the stage faced the most demanding climb of the day. David Valero raised the pace even more, initiated by Buff-BH, causing a new selection among the favorites.

At that same moment, one of the decisive incidents of the day occurred: the overall leaders, Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje, suffered a difficult-to-repair puncture that made them lose almost four minutes and contact with the front group.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Advertising

A post shared by Cape Epic (@capeepic)

Valero leads the offensive at the front

At the passage through kilometer 38, before the climb to Signal Hill, the race was already completely broken. At the front was a small group of seven pairs led by David Valero and Marc Stutzmann (Klimatiza Orbea) along with Luca Braidot / Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria), Mathis Azzaro / Juri Zanotti (Origine-Wilier), Fabian Rabensteiner / Casey South (Torpado Kenda FSA), Wout Alleman / Martin Stosek (Buff-BH), Gioele De Cosmo / Jakob Dorigoni (Torpado Kenda FSA 2), and Wessel Botha / Johan Van Zyl (Insect Science | Safari Essence).

About 20 seconds behind were Lukas Baum and Georg Egger (Orbea x Speed Company), while Gaze and Schwarzbauer were chasing about 40 seconds back.

Behind, Beers and Nortje were beginning a spectacular comeback and were already riding 1:30 behind the front group.

The spotlight in the race continued to be on David Valero, who with a devastating pace once again stretched the group down to just four pairs: the two Wilier teams, Buff-BH, and Klimatiza Orbea.

The stage was shaken up again on the long descent from The Cascades, where the pair of Valero and Stutzmann suffered a small mishap that forced them to stop briefly.

The Wilier-Vittoria pairs took advantage of the moment to increase the pace and try to open a gap, but after resolving the issue, Valero imposed a strong chase pace that allowed them to quickly return to the front group.

Meanwhile, behind, Beers and Nortje were making an impressive comeback. After losing almost four minutes due to the puncture, they began to regain ground at high speed and with less than 20 kilometers to go, they managed to reconnect with the lead group.

After several punctures and attacks, the group of favorites regrouped at kilometer 77, leaving the resolution of the stage for the final kilometers.

With all the favorites together and the forces already very strained after an intense day, the victory was decided at the finish line.

The stage ended with an extremely tight finish in which Wout Alleman and Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) took the victory after 3:38:43.9, winning by just four tenths over Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. The podium was completed by Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje, culminating their incredible comeback after the puncture.

Top 6 – Stage 1 (Montagu – Montagu, 90 km / 2,150 m+)

1. Wout Alleman / Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) – 3:38:43.9
2. Luca Braidot / Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) – +0.4
3. Matthew Beers / Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) – +2.3
4. Mathis Azzaro / Juri Zanotti (Origine-Wilier) – +3.0
5. David Valero / Marc Stutzmann (Klimatiza Orbea) – +9.7
6. Fabian Rabensteiner / Casey South (Torpado Kenda FSA) – +11.4

This is how the general classification stands after the first line stage

Despite the puncture that made them lose several minutes during the stage, Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) managed to maintain the lead thanks to their spectacular comeback and hold the yellow jersey with a 4.4-second advantage over Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria). The third place goes to David Valero and Marc Stutzmann (Klimatiza Orbea) at 20 seconds, after a day in which the Spaniard was one of the main protagonists of the race. The differences remain very small among the main favorites, confirming that the Cape Epic 2026 starts with an extremely open general classification after just two days of competition.

Top 10 – General classification after stage 1 (Cape Epic 2026)

1. Matthew Beers / Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko) – 4:23:23.6
2. Luca Braidot / Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) – +4.4
3. David Valero / Marc Stutzmann (Klimatiza Orbea) – +20.2
4. Mathis Azzaro / Juri Zanotti (Origine-Wilier) – +26.3
5. Fabian Rabensteiner / Casey South (Torpado Kenda FSA) – +1:38.2
6. Wout Alleman / Martin Stosek (Buff-BH) – +2:08.3
7. Andreas Seewald / Jakob Hartmann (Singer KTM Racing) – +2:47.7
8. Samuele Porro / Luis Francisco Pérez (Klimatiza Orbea 2) – +4:26.0
9. Lukas Schwarzbauer / Samuel Gaze (Canyon) – +4:57.8
10. Tim Smeenge / Peat Weinberg (Bergankunft) – +5:32.1