For the fourth stage in a row, Samantha Sanders and Sarah Maré rode home victorious in the UCI Women’s competition at the 2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen. Friday, 25 September, was in many ways much like the preceding days for the Efficient Infiniti Insure pairing, as they softened up their rivals, distanced them early, and controlled their efforts while gaining time all the while. In the UCI Men’s race, Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli have found their Stage 1 dominance harder to replicate, yet on Stage 4 the Honeycomb 226ers team notched up their third stage win, and their second by a slender margin from a sprint finish.
96 kilometres with 1 100 metres of climbing suggested that the day would perhaps offer some of the teams further down the general classification standings with an opportunity to contest for stage honours. That was not to be, however, particularly in the UCI Women’s race where Sanders was not in a gifting mood. “Sam [Samantha Sanders] is the only woman who can make a flat road feel like a massive climb,” Chloé Hopf grimaced. “When she’s on the front, and you’re trying to hold the wheel, it is brutal!”
“I feel very grateful to be able to team up with Sam,” her Efficient Infiniti Insure teammate, Maré,praised. “I think she’s a world-class athlete, and to be able to learn from her is amazing. I’ve had an armchair ride at times this week following Sam.”
In third or fourth wheel, behind the Sanders-led mini-train, that feeling was not shared by the Hollard Summerplace Racing combination. “We hung in there until just after the first feed zone [25 kilometres into the stage] today,” Hopf explained. “Then in the chaos of age category and mixed teams coming past us, Sam [Sanders] and Sarah [Maré] got a gap of a few metres.”
That gap grew into an unassailable lead until Sanders and Maré cantered onto the Langenhoven Gimnasium fields to win their fourth stage of the five-day Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen. Hopf and Baber came home second, 6 minutes and 43 seconds down. Going into the final day, the Efficient Infiniti Insure team thus lead Hollard Summerplace Racing by 36 minutes and 2 seconds.
Rachel Seaman and Bianca Botha, of Cycle Nation Enza Construction, the third UCI Women’s team, endured a challenging day out. “Bianca [Botha] dropped her chain as we left the neutral zone and she had to stop to get it back on,” Seaman retold. Despite only being stopped for a handful of seconds, the pair lost valuable places in the train of riders racing through the dual tracks. With no room to move up, Seaman and Botha were trapped riding at the speed of the group ahead of them, knowing that they were continuing to lose time to Efficient Infiniti Insure and Hollard Summerplace Racing.
“Not long after we got going again, Bianca punctured,” Seaman sighed. “It took us a while to fix it, and after that we were riding to finish the day, not to race.” Botha has battled through repeated bad luck during the race thus far, but has continued to fight for her finisher’s medal and to help Seaman to a podium finish in a UCI stage race.
In the UCI Men’s race, Pritzen and Stehli had promised to continue to race aggressively after their commanding Stage 1 victory. They certainly have done so, but the Insect Science Safari Essence and Toyota Specialized Imbuko teams have not let them add time to the 8 minutes and 5 seconds they established as a general classification buffer on the opening day. With just 1 minute and 46 seconds separating Jan Withaar and Wessel Botha’s Insect Science Safari Essence team from Toyota Specialized Imbuko’s Lood Goosen and Ignatius du Preez, the battle to watch on day four was for stage victory and second on the overall standings.
“There’s less than 2 minutes between us and Insect Science [Safari Essence]” Du Preez pointed out. “They have a numerical advantage with the second team, but I think Stage 4 will suit us.”
That proved true, but bad luck prevented Du Preez and Goosen from turning early pressure into a race-changing move. After surviving the chaotic first 35 kilometres, during which there was at least one major crash and numerous minor offs, Goosen punctured from the lead group. A porcupine quill pierced his front tyre and required two plugs to repair.
At that time, the front group included the Honeycomb 226ers, Insect Science Safari Essence, Insect Science, and Tshenolo Pro Cycling. Behind Pump for Peace Abashovi’s Unathi Nxumalo and Thabiso Zindela were also chasing back from a puncture, while Project Dream SA were finding their rhythm after Travis Rademan-Ludeke had been dropped from the group 10 kilometres earlier. Goosen and Du Preez received no assistance in their chase, however, as they were moving faster than any would-be collaborators.
Withaar and Botha put Keagan Bontekoning and Arno du Toit, of Insect Science, to work on the front of the lead group to keep Goosen and Du Preez at bay. They could not prevent the Toyota Specialized Imbuko team from making their way back, but they did dull their attacking spirits. “I think Lood [Goosen] was pretty cooked by the time we got back,” Du Preez allowed. “I could see he was struggling and riding really bad lines. So I told him we would just sit on, and mark Insect Science [Safari Essence].”
Botha put in a final dig on the last climb of the day, just 5 kilometres from the finish line. His efforts were enough to conclusively distance Tshenolo Pro Cycling’s Halalisani Ndebele and Alec Coleské, as well as Bontekoning and Du Toit. Somehow Goosen and Du Preez clung on, though.
Once on the tar, in Oudtshoorn, Botha had to commit, driving the pace for Withaar, Pritzen and Stehli while Du Preez followed at the back of the group, hoping Goosen would find the strength to close a 50-metre gap. “I sort of got dropped on the last climb,” Goosen confessed. “I didn’t think we’d be able to make it back. I don’t actually know how I did.”
“I was finished!” Botha allowed.
As the Insect Science Safari Essence rider faded, Pritzen and Stehli surged ahead, crossing the line to win their third stage of the race, and Goosen clawed his way back to parity with Botha. Withaar coasted home behind the Honeycomb 226ers, then turned to watch Du Preez and Goosen swoop past Botha.
For the third time in the race, the top three teams were separated by mere seconds; as such, the general classification standings hardly changed. Honeycomb 226ers take an 8-minute and 9-second advantage into the final stage, while Insect Science Safari Essence and Toyota Specialized Imbuko are still separated by just 1 minute and 46 seconds in second and third. Bontekoning and Du Toit remain fourth, while Ndebele and Coleské’s fourth place on the day was enough to move them ahead of Nxumalo and Zindela into fifth.
Saturday, 26 September’s final stage of the 2026 race will take the Race with Soul campaigners into Chandelier Game Reserve for a thrilling and wildlife-filled finale. Stage 5 features a 65-kilometre route with 1 350 meters of climbing. The men and women in the First Ascent leaders’ jerseys will need to exercise caution once again, because the rocky dual tracks of Chandelier have accounted for many mountain bike wheels over the years.
To watch the final stage of the 2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen, unfold, mountain biking fans can follow @capepioneer on Instagram or like the Cape PioneerFacebook page to view photos and videos from the racing thus far. To find out more, visit www.capepioneer.co.za.
2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen, Leading Results
UCI Men’s Stage 4 Results:
1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (3:12:23)
2. Toyota Specialized Imbuko: Ignatius du Perez & Lood Goosen (3:12:28 | +5)
3. Insect Science Safari Essence: Jan Withaar & Wessel Botha (3:12:28 | +5)
4. Tshenolo Pro Cycling: Halalisani Ndebele & Alec Coleské (3:13:09 | +46)
5. Insect Science: Arno du Toit & Keagan Bontekoning (3:14:04 | +1:41)
UCI Women’s Stage 4 Results:
1. Efficient Infinity Insure: Samantha Sanders & Sarah Maré (3:37:31)
2. Hollard Summerplace Racing: Chloé Hopf & Lilian Baber (3:54:14 | +6:43)
3. Cycle Nation Enza Construction: Rachel Seaman & Bianca Botha (4:30:36 | +43:05)
UCI Men’s General Classification Standings after Stage 4:
1. Honeycomb 226ers: Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (12:00:39)
2. Insect Science Safari Essence: Jan Withaar & Wessel Botha (12:08:48 | +8:09)
3. Toyota Specialized Imbuko: Ignatius du Perez & Lood Goosen (12:10:36 | +9:57)
4. Insect Science: Arno du Toit & Keagan Bontekoning (12:15:27 | +14:48)
5. Tshenolo Pro Cycling: Alec Coleské & Halalisani Ndebele (12:34:34 | + 33:55)
UCI Women’s General Classification Standings after Stage 4:
1. Efficient Infinity Insure: Samantha Sanders & Sarah Maré (14:50:54)
2. Hollard Summerplace Racing: Chloé Hopf & Lilian Baber (15:26:56 | +36:02)
3. Cycle Nation Enza Construction: Rachel Seaman & Bianca Botha (17:21:26 | +02:30:32)
For the full results from the 2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Cape Pioneer, presented by Biogen, click here.
Source: Seamus Allardice
