Stage 1 of the 2026 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz delivered near-perfect racing conditions on Friday as riders journeyed from Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West to Oak Valley Estate in Elgin. The 60-kilometre route featured 1 400 metres of climbing and produced aggressive racing from the opening kilometres.
The Shiraz race celebrates men’s age-group mountain bike racing while also featuring the highly competitive Toyota Mixed and Exxaro jerseys for both men and women.
In the Elite Men’s race, following their dominant display in Thursday evening’s Prologue, Tristan Nortje and Jaedon Terlouw (introduction image) of Toyota Imbuko Specialized again found themselves at the front of the race from the outset. The pair set a fierce tempo on the opening climb, quickly splitting the field and reducing the lead group to only the strongest contenders.
The only team able to match the pace was Toyota Imbuko Specialized 2’s Inus du Preez and Lood Goosen. Behind them, Tayne Rudling and Unathi Nxumalo of Pump For Peace Absolute Motion, Jan Withaar and Arno du Toit, Hans Becking and Teus Ruijter of BUFF | KMC, and Alec Coleske and JP du Plessis formed the chasing group as the race headed towards the Vergelegen Flats.
At the front, the two Toyota Imbuko Specialized teams worked together to establish a significant advantage over the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Becking and Ruijter mounted an impressive charge from behind. The Dutch pairing reduced a deficit of more than a minute to just 20 seconds on the approach to the historic Gantouw Pass and looked poised to bridge across to the leaders.
Their pursuit was halted by a puncture in the A-Z Trails, costing valuable time and ending their hopes of joining the battle for the stage victory. Despite the setback, they continued to ride strongly and secured third place on the day, finishing just over three minutes behind the leaders.
As the race approached Oak Valley Estate, the two Toyota Imbuko Specialized teams remained clear of the field. The stage victory ultimately came down to a sprint finish between the teammates, with du Preez and Goosen powering to the win ahead of Nortje and Terlouw.
While Toyota Imbuko Specialized 2 celebrated the stage victory, Nortje and Terlouw limited their losses and retained both the CIOVITA leader jerseys and SOX leader’s socks. Their consistent performances across the Prologue and Stage 1 see them maintain a 45-second advantage in the overall classification heading into Stage 2.
Rudling and Nxumalo continued their strong start to the race with another solid performance to remain firmly in contention as the weekend progresses.
In the Open Men category, Safari Essence teammates Mark van Zyl and Johan van Zyl secured victory ahead of Cameron Roach and Ross Crookes.
The Toyota Mixed category saw Margot Moschetti and Jeff Farez of e-FORT | MB RACE claim the first green jerseys of the Shiraz race.
In the Exxaro Men’s jersey race, reserved for riders from previously disadvantaged backgrounds under the age of 26, Jordaan Ziandro and Ethan Michaels of Faitree DP World Cannondale 1 lead the standings after Stage 1. Their strong ride to Oak Valley Estate sees them hold a 1 minute and 20 second advantage over Selaelo Hlako and Siyabonga Ntsele of Exxaro Grootegeluk, setting up an intriguing battle for the jersey as the race heads into the decisive weekend stages.
In the NTT DATA Masters category, Phillip Malan and Renay Groustra emerged victorious ahead of Gordon Gilbert and Erik Kleinhans.
The closest contest of the day came in the GIC Grand Masters category, where Thorkild Nielsen and Gavin Viljoen finished just 18 seconds ahead of German pairing Christoph Listmann and Pascal Repp. Conway Oliver and Vickus Boshoff completed the podium in third place.
With Stage 1 complete, attention now turns to the traditional Oak Valley and Paul Clüver “Play Day”. Widely regarded as the favourite stage of the weekend, riders can look forward to flowing singletrack, iconic trails and another day of close racing as the battle for the final Shiraz titles gathers momentum.
VIEW RESULTS: https://www.epic-series.com/races/wines2whales/results
Source: Epic Series Media
