BEUKES, TROUWBORST CLAIM INAUGURAL GARDEN ROUTE GIRO WITH FINAL-STAGE WINS

The final stage of the inaugural Garden Route Giro saw the overnight leaders stretch their legs and exert their dominance on the event one last time on Saturday, 18 April. Mariëlle Trouwborst and Cronje Beukes both used their climbing prowess to ascend into early leads. Both the women’s and men’s champions raced to commanding Stage 6 victories to put exclamation points behind the tales of how their general classification crowns were won.

Leaving Knysna for ANEW Resort Wilderness, the race followed the Seven Passes road. A 75-kilometre route with 1 100 metres of climbing appeared ideal – on paper – for a sprint finish, but Trouwborst and Beukes had other ideas. Both wanted their victories to be emphatic.

A gentle 10-kilometre spin through the neutral zone, along the banks of the Knysna Lagoon, provided little indication of the fireworks to follow. So, when the flag dropped for the racing to begin, it was interesting to see the intent Beukes displayed from the get-go. Racing solo for Specialized George Coimbra, his local Specialized Bicycles store, the race leader was at a disadvantage all week, as the Toyota Specialized Imbuko and Insect Science teams used their numerical advantage against him.

Beukes’ only viable approach was to make the racing too tough for the teams’ support riders to play any meaningful role for their leaders, Marco Joubert and Wessel Botha. On Stage 6, this meant setting a blistering tempo on the approach to the Phantom Pass climb and then attacking off the front of the group as the ascent steepened. Within two kilometres of the climb, only Joubert and Botha remained in contact. One kilometre later, when Beukes claimed the final King of the Mountain points of the race, he was flying solo, never to be caught.

“Honestly, it feels like I’ve been dreaming this week,” said an elated Beukes. “Last year was a tough year for me, breaking my leg and struggling with the recovery afterwards. Thursday was a year to the day after that accident, so winning that stage solo meant a great deal.”

Realising that chasing Beukes was a futile pursuit, Botha and then Joubert sat up after Phantom Pass and waited for the group to catch up. This second group on the road included Keegan Tullis, Keagan Bontekoning, Ignatius du Preez, Herman Fourie, Manuel Pliem, Andre van Rooyen, Jan Withaar, and Dan Loubser, as well as Joubert and Botha. Thereafter, the battle for second was a tactical one; it eventually came down to a sprint finish.

Du Preez outsprinted his teammate, Joubert, for second, before Withaar and Tullis completed the day’s top five. With the group all finishing within 11 seconds, there were no changes in the general classification standings. Beukes’ margin of victory, after six days of racing, was eight minutes and 28 seconds over Joubert. The 2026 champion’s climbing prowess was also rewarded with the Rosa First Ascent Climbers’ jersey, for his haul of 57 points. Joubert and Botha were second and third in that competition, too.  Du Preez took home the Intermediate Sprint prize for notching up 30 points, four more than Fourie in second.

The elite women’s race winner was perhaps more dominant than Beukes. Had punctures not slowed Mariëlle Trouwborst’s progress on Stages 3 and 5, she would have added more time to her general classification lead going into the last day. Yet, despite finishing on a near flat rear tyre twice, Trouwborst still took a 12-minute advantage into Stage 6.

Like Beukes, attacking was her preference on the final day; she climbed away from her rivals on Phantom Pass within the first 13 kilometres of the stage. By the summit, it was clear that she would not be brought back by Lisa Bone, in the group behind, or Vera Looser, Cherise Willeit, and Catherine Kruger in the next group on the road.

“Fortunately, today started with a climb, so I could get away and not have to ride in a group,” Trouwborst said. “Near the top, I saw a man, Kent Main, just ahead and managed to get to his wheel. From there, we raced to the finish together.”

Trouwborst made it sound simple, but her victory on the stage and overall was built on superb climbing performances. Whenever the course went uphill on the final stage, she gained time. Behind, Bone was enjoying a better day than she had endured on Stage 5. Though the First Ascent Velo Purple Jersey competition leader was unable to climb with Trouwborst, she remained ahead of Looser, Willeit, and Kruger, securing her second position on the general classification standings.

The battle for third, on the day, then became the most interesting contest in the women’s race. In the run-in to Wilderness, Willeit managed to get away from Looser and Kruger. Having finished fourth on Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, Willeit’s third place on Stage 5 was backed up by third on Stage 6. Nonetheless, it was Looser who took home bronze overall, while Willeit was fourth and Kruger fifth on the final general classification standings.

Bone secured the Intermediate Sprint title and the First Ascent Velo Jersey, which also carried a R25 000 reward. Ignatius du Preez was similarly recompensed for his sprint successes. Both Trouwborst and Beukes rode away with R100 000 for their victories, and an additional R25 000 for securing the Rosa First Ascent Climbers’ jerseys. This takes their haul for the Garden Route Giro to R125 000 each, which the men’s race winner will likely use to finance his dream of racing in Europe during the South African winter.

2026 Garden Route Giro Results

Men’s Stage 6 Results:

1. Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (2:18:43)
2. Ignatius du Preez: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:46| +4:03)
3. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:47 | +4:04)
4. Jan Withaar: Insect Science (2:22:47 | +4:04)
5. Keegan Tullis: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (2:22:48 | +4:05)

Women’s Stage 6 Results:

1. Mariëlle Trouwborst: KMC (2:34:09)
2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (2:38:29 | +4:20)
3. Cherise Willeit: Toyota Specialized (2:40:04 | +5:55)
4. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (2:41:42 | +7:33)
5. Catherine Kruger: Hollard (2:41:43 | +7:34)

Men’s General Classification after Stage 6:

1. Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (16:49:27)
2. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (16:57:55 | +8:28)
3. Wessel Botha: Insect Science (16:58:13 | +8:46)
4. Keegan Tullis: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (17:15:53 | +26:26)
5. Keagan Bontekoning: Insect Science (17:18:28 | +29:01)

Women’s General Classification after Stage 6:

1. Mariëlle Trouwborst: KMC (19:09:22)
2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (19:24:52 | +16:30)
3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (19:38:04 | +30:42)
4. Cherise Willeit: Toyota Specialized (19:58:11 | +49:49)
5. Catherine Kruger: Hollard (20:16:19 | +1:07:57)

Garden Route Giro Points Competitions

Men’s KOM Points after Stage 6:

1. Cronje Beukes: Specialized George Coimbra (57 points)
2. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (41 points)
3. Wessel Botha: Insect Science (24 points)

Men’s Sprint Points after Stage 6:

1. Ignatius du Preez: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (30 Points)
2. Herman Fourie: Cape Vulture Nature Reserve (26 Points)
3. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (10 points)

Women’s KOM Points after Stage 6:

1. Mariëlle Trouwborst: KMC (57 points)
2. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (37 points)
3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (23 points)

Women’s Sprint Points after Stage 6:

1. Lisa Bone: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (30 Points)
2. Mariëlle Trouwborst: KMC (26 Points)
3. Vera Looser: Efficient Infiniti Insure (24 Points)

For the full results from the Garden Route Giro, click here. To recap on the inaugural Garden Route

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For more information, visit www.gardenroutegiro.co.za.