SOUTHERN AFRICANS EXPECTED TO SHINE AT 2026 TANKWA TREK

The 2026 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, is South Africa’s flagship four-day UCI stage race. It boasts S1 Union Cycliste Internationale status and a deep field of fiercely competitive age-category racers, alongside one of the most formidable elite start lists on the local cycling calendar.

Such is the strength of South and Southern African mountain bikers at present, that even the attendance of the reigning European Marathon Champion does not knock the locals from the top of the favourites list. Toyota Specialized Imbuko will start with the number one bike boards on their machines, and the weight of expectations on their shoulders, when the race gets underway on Thursday, 5 February.

Hosted by Kaleo Guest Farm, north of Ceres, in the Western Cape’s Koue Bokkeveld, the race is famous for the rugged and rocky terrain it covers, as well as the inclusion of the biggest climb in South African mountain biking – the Merino Monster. Measuring 20 kilometres long, from the Ceres Valley floor to the summit of the mountain, the Monster challenges with 1 000 metres of elevation gain. The final 8 kilometres average 8.8% and have often proved decisive in the battle for the overall titles. Beyond the massive climb, the trails of the Witzenberg Valley on Stage 2 are not to be underestimated, while Kaleo’s ever-expanding network of singletracks provides many of the technical tests for Stages 1 and 4.

In 2025, Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje best conquered the combined challenges of the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen. In 2026, they return as defending champions, racing for Toyota Specialized Imbuko A. Despite the team’s best result thus far this year being the fifth-place finish Nortje achieved at the Attakwas Extreme on the 17^th of January, they have shown more consistency in the early weeks of the year than their rivals.

“I’m relatively happy with how the first two races have gone, personally, but I think the big positive for the team is how closely matched all our pairings have been thus far,” Nortje revealed. “I think that is a good sign for the team racing we’ll be doing in February and March. With the first two races having gone pretty well and barring injuries or illness, we’ll stick to the teams as we had them down at the start of the year. I’ll be racing with Marco, while Jaedon [Terlouw] and Travis [Stedman] will be teaming up.” Ignatius du Preez and Lood Goosen complete the Toyota Specialized Imbuko line-up for the battle in the Bokveld.

Their fiercest rivals are two Singer KTM Racing teams, and the Insect Science squad of Johan van Zyl and Wessel Botha. Andreas Seewald has started the season strongly, notching up two top ten places in the first races of the season, while Jakob Hartmann endured a race-ending mechanical in the Attakwaskloof after returning to racing, after a pulmonary embolism cut short his 2025 season in June. Hartmann has been training well, alongside Seewald, in South Africa since early January and is looking to get back to his best. His teammates, Simon Stiebjahn and Martin Frey, are experienced campaigners, and Stiebjahn is a former champion too, having won alongside Urs Huber in 2020. Their experience in the rugged terrain will undoubtedly help them when the racing heats up.

Van Zyl and Botha are another well-matched pairing, though they could use the technical sections of Stage 2 as a launchpad rather than a segment of the route to navigate safely. Both men are chasing their first victory in the event, and 2026 could thus be a big year for them. Having only switched to Insect Science in the off-season, Van Zyl and Botha greatly strengthen the stage racing depth of the outfit. Their campaign could benefit from the experience and support, on the trials, of Arno du Toit and Jan Withaar, who line up as Insect Science Safari Essence. The team dynamics of the top favourites could well come into play. In this Toyota Specialized Imbuko holds a numerical advantage of three teams to Singer KTM and Insect Science’s two.

Computer Mania PRO MTB’s Daniel van der Walt and Sascha Webber, as well as Filip Rydval and Hermann Pernsteiner, of D2mont Merida, are also contenders for a general classification podium position. Further down the start list, Herman Fourie and Keegan Tullis race together for the first time, in the CVNR colours. While the Pump for Peace Blazers and Pump for Peace Abashovi squads of Tumelo Makae and Damon Terblanche, as well as Unathi Nxumalo and Thabiso Zindela, will catch the eye in their new pink jerseys. Jordan Boshoff and Travis Rademan-Ludeke, of Project Dream SA, will be contenders for a top ten place, but only if they can hold off the Realty Dynamix, Enduroplanet Racing, ASAP Cycling, and Neo Energy USN Racing teams.

A potentially fascinating battle is also brewing between a group of rising stars. Youngsters, Stephen Aldum and Wium du Toit, Beon van Staden and Ruan Portwig, Tayne Rudling and Victor Olckers, as well as André van Rooyen and Alec Coleské, in an unofficial race-within-a-race. The two Demacon Racing outfits are up against the proven talent development skills of Absolute Motion and the Kings of Neon academy combinations. The team that fares best from this quartet may well be future champions of the race.

Namibia’s Vera Looser and South African Champion Samantha Sanders headline the UCI Women’s race. The pair are the defendingCape Pioneer champions and have both finished upon the final podium at Kaleo Guest Farm before. The Efficient Infiniti Insure outfit has often sent two teams to the event, but with Sarah Maré racing in the mixed category in the early-season stage races, Looser and Sanders will be without team support. Though their class and experience make them the favourites ahead of the cross-country power of the Decathlon Ford | Unno combination.

Italians, Greta Seiwald and Sara Cortinovis, raced the 2025 edition with Martina Berta and Tyler Jacobs, respectively, finishing second and third overall. Cortinovis started her 2026 campaign with a 6th-place finish in a South African national series marathon race, while Seiwald has yet to ratchet down her BOAs in anger this year. Alongside the Efficient Infiniti Insure and Decathlon Ford | Unno teams at the top of the start list are Danielle du Toit and Roxanne Kemp.

A new pairing for 2026, the Safari Essence Titan Racing will look to grow as a team through the four days of racing and bank a solid result, too. They will, however, have to ensure that they best Lilian Baber and Malena Seer, of 1Of1 x Summerplace Racing, as well as Graaf Fruit | Degrendel’s Stephanie Wohlters and Chloe Bishop, to finish on the final general classification podium.

Julia Marx and Capucine Wiroth, of MW Racing, step into the deeper waters of UCI stage racing for the first time and can look to Cherise Willeit and Ila Stow, of Fortress Toyota, as well as the Index Property Solutions team of Sanchia Malan and Claudia Krenn, as a gauge of their debut performance. All three squads can challenge for a top-five place, particularly Willeit and Stow, who will get stronger as the race unfolds.

The Breathalisers.co.za and ChemChamp Specialized Geraardsbergen teams round out the UCI Women’s field. How well each pair will combine is the biggest question going into the race. Rebecca van Huyssteen is perhaps in the best form of her career, while Nicola Freitas has found juggling work, medical specialisation studies, and training difficult in recent months. Similarly, Emma van der Stockt has been racing across cycling disciplines as disparate as gravel and Enduro, while Juanita Mackenzie has stepped back from frequent competition. The first stage, on Thursday afternoon, will reveal much, though certainly not all…

Stage 1 is a 32-kilometre-long test to get the racing underway. Starting at 15:00, the racing’s ferocity is expected to be matched by the mercury’s rise towards 30 degrees Celsius. With the scene set, Friday’s Stage 2 will see slightly hotter temperatures, even, but a light breeze should take the edge off the heat on the ridgelines high above the Witzenberg Valley. During the Queen Stage, conditions are predicted to be hot and humid, with the chance of a few drops of rain in the late afternoon. Sunday’s final stage will play out under clear skies once more, and early expectations are that it could be the hottest day of the race, with a high of 32 degrees forecast.

To follow the action as it unfolds, mountain biking fans can like the Tankwa Trek Facebook page and follow @tankwatrek on Instagram. Daily highlights will be uploaded to the Dryland Event Management YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.tankwatrek.co.za.

Source: Seamus Allardice Media