The last time a South African stood on the top the women’s podium at the Absa Cape Epic was back in 2013. Thirteen years on, there’s a strong sense that the drought could finally come to an end as Candice Lill lines up once again – this time determined to shake off her runner-up streak and claim the title that has eluded her for so long.
By Joanne Badenhorst
The last local rider to win the race was Yolande Speedy, who teamed up with Britain’s Catherine Williamson. Their victory was the stuff of Cape Epic legend. After crashing late in the race and breaking several ribs, Speedy still lined up for the final stage, gritted her teeth and raced to the overall win – an effort that remains one of the most courageous performances in the event’s history.
Lill, meanwhile, has built a reputation as one of the fastest riders in cross-country racing. Yet despite her pedigree, the Cape Epic has repeatedly dealt her near misses. She has finished second five times and worn the race leader’s coveted Orange Jersey for a total of six days – just never on the day that matters most, the final stage.
Her overall results at the Cape Epic tell the story of persistence and proximity to victory:
Candice Lill’s Absa Cape Epic record
2017 – 6th with Vera Looser (NAM)
2018 – 4th with Amy Wakefield (RSA)
2019 – 2nd with Adelheid Morath (GER)
2021 – 2nd with Mariske Strauss (RSA)
2022 – 2nd with Mariske Strauss (RSA)
2023 – 2nd with Amy Wakefield (RSA)
2024 – 2nd with Mona Mitterwallner (AUT)
In 2023, Lill and Wakefield looked all but certain to seal the win. They carried a commanding 13:55 advantage into the penultimate stage before disaster struck – a broken rear rim on Wakefield’s bike. The mechanical cost them dearly, essentially handing the title to fellow Africans Vera Looser and Kim Le Court.
The following year brought renewed optimism. Lill partnered with reigning Marathon World Champion Mona Mitterwallner, and expectations were high. But illness plagued Mitterwallner for much of the race, and the pair ultimately had to settle for second behind the Ghost Factory Racing duo of Anne Terpstra and Nicole Koller. Their victory margin –just over eight minutes – remains the narrowest in the race’s history.
Lill skipped the 2025 edition to focus on her cross-country campaign, but she returns in 2026 with a formidable new partner: Swiss star Alessandra Keller. The pair will race as Thömus Maxon Sabi Sabi.
Although it will be Keller’s Cape Epic debut, her credentials are formidable. She won the overall UCI World Cup titles in both XCC and XCO in 2022 and 2024, claimed the XCC World Championship in 2025 and currently sits third in the UCI world rankings (while Lill holds 14th).
The pair have spent the past few weeks training together and building familiarity ahead of the challenge.
“We’ve raced against each other a lot over the years, so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Lill. “Our riding styles are quite similar, we’re a similar build and we produce power in the same places. Personality-wise, Alessandra is very calm and level-headed. She doesn’t let negative things get to her, and that will be a big strength for us.”
Standing in their way, however, is one of the deepest women’s fields the race has seen in years (there are 21 Elite Women’s teams) – and the unpredictable nature of the Cape Epic itself, where fortune often plays as big a role as form.
Among the main contenders is the American-Italian pairing of Kate Courtney and Greta Seiwald. Courtney won the race at her first attempt in 2018 alongside the legendary Annika Langvad and currently holds the Marathon World Champion’s rainbow stripes.
Seiwald steps in as a late replacement after Courtney’s original partner, Melissa Rollins, broke her elbow just days before the start. Originally entered in the Mixed category, Seiwald now shifts her focus to the Elite women’s race.
Primarily an XCO rider, she has already shown strong form on South African soil this season, dominating the Tankwa Trek by winning the overall title and sweeping all four stages (with Sara Cortinovis). She also finished runner-up to Lill at the Big 5 MTB Challenge – a race whose terrain and intensity closely mirror a typical Cape Epic stage.
Another team likely to feature prominently on the podium is the pairing of Vera Looser and Rosa van Doorn, racing as Buff BH Efficient Infiniti. Looser won the race in 2023, while Van Doorn arrives as the overall winner of the 2025 UCI Marathon World Cup Series and boasts several Epic Series stage race victories.
Then there are last year’s comeback specialists, Monica Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas, racing for Massi ISB Sport. After struggling with the heat early in the 2025 race, the duo clawed back time in the latter stages—almost winning Stage 5 before taking victory on Stages 6 and 7 to finish fourth overall.
South African fans will also keep a close eye on the local pairings of Samantha Sanders and Bianca Haw (Efficient Infiniti Racing), as well as Hayley Preen, who will team up with Canada’s Haley Smith for ChemChamp Honeycomb.
For 2026, organisers have shortened the Elite women’s race in an effort to tighten the competition and increase media exposure for the leading riders – a move made to encourage more aggressive racing from start to finish. Here’s what the race route looks like.
And if things finally fall into place for Lill, it could also mark the end of a 13-year wait for the next South African winner.
Note: Both Ariane Lüthi (2014–2016) and Jennie Stenerhag (2017) have won the Cape Epic since 2013. Although both held South African citizenship, Lüthi raced under the Swiss flag while Stenerhag competed for Sweden.
