Cronje Beukes and Chloé Hopf won the 2026 Lions Karoo to Coast in muddy and cold conditions on Sunday, 27 September. Beukes, who hails from George, had twice finished in the top five before claiming the victory and following in the footsteps of his father Gerrie and uncle Matthys. Hopf’s victory, on the Knysna Sports Fields, came aboard a mountain bike, which she described as a wise decision given the road surfaces and the lack of traction on the route from Uniondale in the Karoo to the Indian Ocean coast.
Due to flooding in May and damage to the Ou Wapad route out of Uniondale toward Avontuur, the twenty-fifth edition of one of South Africa’s most iconic bike races followed a slightly shorter course. Rather than the standard 96-kilometre route, the detour via the R399 Poortjies Road removed a significant climb and reduced the total distance to 89 kilometres. This meant that no course records could be broken, and exceptionally fast times were anticipated.
Drizzle on race day, on saturated soil, led to water pooling in potholes on Prince Alfred’s Pass and the smoother stretches of gravel developing a muddy film. This made the going slower than it would be in the dry, particularly on the long descents. “On the road, in the early kilometres I thought I’d made a mistake riding my mountain bike. But as soon as we hit the gravel, I was very happy with my choice!” Hopf noted.
“It was so slippery in places; the descents were washed out and rough in places too,” the women’s winner explained. Hopf managed to follow Claire Malik through the fast rolling first 10 kilometres, on the asphalt to Avontuur. Then the Hollard Racing rider descended under the R62 bridge, on a 200-metre grassy singletrack segment and established a 20-second advantage over Malik by the time they joined the Price Alfred’s Pass gravel road.
Rather than wait and regroup with her primary rival, Hopf pushed on, creating a 40-second advantage by the summit of Zondaghsberg, the highest point of the race at the 15-kilometre mark. On the long and relatively smooth descent to De Vlugt, Hopf added another 70 seconds to her lead before climbing to the Queen of the Mountain Hotspot Prize 36 kilometres into the race.
By that point Malik was riding to finish, rather than in pursuit of Hopf. “When I saw so many mountain bikes on the start line this morning, I knew I might have made a mistake,” she confessed. “My arms feel like orangutan arms now. They’re all shaken out and wobbly. By halfway, my biggest issue was getting nutrition out of my jersey pockets; I couldn’t reach back properly.”
Malik is nonetheless the first woman to podium on a gravel bike, showcasing that in better conditions the drop bar machines will prove faster over the Lions Karoo to Coast course. Hopf’s victory was secured in a time of 4 hours, 43 minutes, and 53 seconds. Malik finished 25 minutes and 24 seconds down, with Zanlie van Zyl in third. Larissa Meintjes and Amorine Olivier were fourth and fifth.
In the men’s race, the top five were all on gravel bikes. Having finished fourth in 2025 and third in 2024 on a mountain bike, Beukes was confident that a gravel bike would be faster. The Ou Wapad segment is traditionally the section where gravel bikes lose the most time, but since it was replaced by 10 kilometres of tar road, higher average speeds were predicted.
“I didn’t expect it to be so muddy though,” Beukes stated. The mud made it slower, yet both Beukes and the runner-up, Johan van Zyl, managed to break the 3-hour mark. The groundwork for the fast time was laid by collaboration between Beukes and Van Zyl in the first 50 kilometres.
“There was a bit of a headwind, and the roads were slow, with the water and mud,” Beukes explained. “Johan [van Zyl] and I worked together well, until the big climb from De Vlugt. There I tried to drop him, but couldn’t get away. I tried again somewhere between 40 and 50 kilometres [between Assegaibos and Buffelsnek] and managed to get away.”
From there the George local soloed to victory. Riding into Knysna with a 2-minute and 45-second buffer. Van Zyl was quick to praise his rival, having finished second. “Cronje was next level strong today,” he granted. “I really enjoyed the race. We had a bit of everything out there; it even felt like a cyclocross race at one point. We also had all four seasons in one day. It was really fun.”
Another George cycling legend, Vickus Boshoff, completed the podium places. The 2026 Lions Karoo to Coast was Boshoff’s twenty-third, and he held off Dean Hopf and the fast-finishing Josua Wagner to claim a hard-fought third.
The race is well supported by local riders. Due to its status as a foundation of the Garden Route cycling landscape, the Lions Karoo to Coast has given young Knysna- and George-based riders a platform to showcase their talent and test themselves on a national level. Beukes was once one such rider. For this reason, and because it showcases the beauty of Prince Alfred Pass, George Municipality, as well as George, Wilderness, and Uniondale Tourism, supports the race. The finish in Knysna also brings not only riders, but their friends and families too, to Knysna Municipality and provides a valuable low-season boost for the Visit Knysna tourism initiative.
One man who will be heading home from his visit to Knysna very happy indeed is Pieter Gers. He won the lucky draw at the Lions Karoo to Coast prize-giving for a Titan Racing Cypher Carbon Limited, worth R75 000. To watch Gers receive his prize, as well as the highlights from the twenty-fifth edition, cycling fans alike can follow @karoo2coast on Instagram and like the Karoo to Coast Facebook page.
2026 Lions Karoo to Coast Leading Results:
Elite Men:
- Cronje Buekes: Specialized George Coimbra (2:52:17)
- Johan van Zyl: Insect Science (2:55:02 | +2:45)
- Vickus Boshoff: Coimbra Cycles (3:20:38 | +28:21)
- Dean Hopf: Hollard Racing (3:23:14 | +30:57)
- Josua Wagner: FiTsportslab (3:24:13 | +31:56)
Elite Women:
- Chloé Hopf: Hollard Racing (3:43:53)
- Claire Malik: Privateer (4:09:17 | +25:24)
- Zanlie van Zyl: Privateer (4:28:02 | +44:09)
- Larissa Meintjes: Privateer (4:35:25 | +51:32)
- Amorine Olivier: Privateer (4:40:49 | +56:56)
For the full results from the 2026 Lions Karoo to Coast, please click here. For more information, visit www.karootocoast.com.
Source: Seamus Allardice
