Renowned for its brutal climbs, oppressive heat and tyre-shredding rocks, the Cape Epic is not easy. Each finisher’s medal is earned. For the race’s 2025 edition, the course and climbing stats are what most riders would expect – 376 miles/608km and 54,133ft/16,500m of climbing – but the route won’t venture out of view of Table Mountain. 

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From 16-23 March, pro and amateur teams will journey into the Western Cape’s wine and cattle farming areas. Most of the Cape Epic 2025 will be hosted on trails and farmlands between Durbanville and the historic town of Paarl, both under an hour’s drive from Cape Town’s city centre. 

Dusty, dry and windy conditions, with little shade and the promise of fatiguing heat, will challenge the large contingent of Northern Hemisphere riders who arrive for the Epic from a cold winter training season. Each year, wind and heat define the outcomes for most Cape Epic riders, with many riders underestimating the influence of daily overexposure to African heat. 

Cape Epic_OffRoadCC_Lukas Baum_033.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

Although March is technically the start of autumn in South Africa, the Western Cape, particularly its Paarl region, often experiences several days of extreme heat, as summer eases into autumn. Beyond the heat fatigue, the dust factor is a real crash risk for riders only familiar with tacky Northern Hemisphere forest riding conditions. 

Another Cape Epic risk is the sheer biodiversity of the Western Cape’s floral and plant kingdom, which can trigger unexpected allergy responses for riders new to the area. 

Prologue, Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville - 27km, 750m

The seeding Prologue is a familiar 16-mile route that starts and finishes at Meerendal wine estate, part of the larger Tygerberg mountain bike trail network, the largest mountain bike club in the southern hemisphere. Riders can expect tricky switchback corners and virtually no shade or wind protection during the Prologue. 

Stage 1, Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville - 96km, 2,450m

Stage 1 will take riders on a 60-mile test that starts and ends at Meerendal, taking in several farms forming part of the Tygerberg MTB Club trail network. 

Riders will be rewarded with a high percentage of purpose-built singletrack. Still, those unfamiliar with estimating the mid-corner grip levels of loose-over-hardpack terrain could risk low-speed crashes. The most rewarding descent, and only genuinely forested area during Stage 1, will be the Bloemendaler singletrack, a classic bench cut forest flow trail with rollable single and double jumps. Great for confident riders but potentially consequential for nervous descenders. 

Cape Epic_OffRoadCC_Lukas Baum_031.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

With Stage 1 featuring 8,038ft of ascent, riders will need to pace themselves, with those starting later more at risk for heat – and wind. During March, the Tygerberg trails remain susceptible to strong midday winds. 

Stage 2, Meerendal Wine Estate, Durbanville to Fairview, Paarl - 58km, 800m

There’s no easy day at the Cape Epic, but Stage 2 could be a mild recovery day for the large amateur field. At only 36 miles and 26,24ft of climbing, it’s hardly taxing by Cape Epic standards, and there won’t be any route surprises, like unrideable deep sand. 
Why is Stage 2 so statistically easy? Because it is a time trial. Pros will push each other very hard to make-up time on the time trial. For many riders in the field, it will be an opportunity to acclimate to the heat and riding conditions with an ‘easy’ pedal from Meerendal, leaving the Durbanville area and finishing at the Fairview estate on the slopes of Paarl mountain. 

Tactically and technically, Stage 2 could be an excellent day for those Cape Epic followers who obsess about equipment. It will be interesting to see how pro teams approach the time trial, where aerodynamics and low-rolling resistance can save valuable seconds. 
Will teams opt for ultralight aero gravel bike racing wheels? Fitted with 2.2- or 2.1in tires, instead of the 2.4in casing size, which has recently become a default for most Cape Epic riders? Could pro riders try to maximise their aero advantage by taping their handlebars to create forearm ‘resting’ pads?

Stage 3, Fairview to Fairview, Paarl - 90km, 2,600m

Starting and finishing at Fairview, Stage 3 is effectively a loop of the iconic Paarl mountain, totalling 56 miles and 8,530ft of climbing. Significant singletrack sections surround Paarl Mountain, but what could define Stage 3 might not be the trails but the temperature.

Paarl is known for being much hotter than Cape Town, despite only a 50-minute journey separating them. Surrounded by mountains, there is little cooling or mediating wind influence during summer, and abundant reflected radiation. 

Cape Epic_OffRoadCC_Andreas Seewald_016.jpeg, by Dino Lloyd

During a hot spell, which is entirely possibly in March, the temperature in Paarl often touches or exceeds 40°C, which could prove the undoing of riders without deep heat acclimation. Expect even the pros to don hydration packs, to supplement their frame-mounted hydration bottles. 

Stage 4, Fairview to Fairview, Paarl - 74km, 1,750m

Riders will repeat their start and finishing venue from Stage 3 on Stage 4, with a departure and finish at Fairview. At 46 miles and 5,741ft, it’s not a particularly taxing day, but for amateur riders, the fatigue factor will start compounding. 

Again, with a route journeying around the Paarl area, heat risk will be very high, with hydration management paramount. 

Stage 5, Fairview, Paarl to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West - 103km, 3,050m

The Queen’s stage. At every Cape Epic, there is the stage that punishes all and ruins the ambitions of those with any lingering and present weaknesses. 

Riders who haven’t acquired enough training volume, especially ultra-distance rides, will be daunted when they awake in Fairview to start Stage 5. The finish at Lourensford estate, in Somerset West, will only come after 65 miles and 10,000ft of climbing. Those numbers might make for an intimidating analysis, but they don’t truly convey the drama that stage 5 will become for Cape Epic riders. 

Cape Epic_OffRoadCC_Anne Terpstra_017.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

Tired legs and heat fatigue will be afflicting most of the Cape Epic field by the time they start Stage 5, which will take in some great trail sections as it approaches Stellenbosch like the singletrack of the historic Muratie wine farm. 

The moment of reckoning on Stage 5 will be around 50 miles into the route, where riders must conquer a climb of 1,500ft. Expect much cursing as many dismount to walk, discovering how uncomfortable hike-a-biking can be in carbon-soled shoes on the harsh Western Cape mountain terrain. 

Stage 6, Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West - 92km, 2,850m

For survivors of the Queen’s Stage, there will be little respite on Stage 6. Starting and finishing at Lourensford estate, it routes for 57 miles with 9,350ft of climbing. 

Close to the ocean, there is a possibility of a mediating breeze, yet the Helderberg mountains are wildly unpredictable in how they influence riding conditions. Extreme heat fatigue has retired many riders on Lourensford stages in the past. 

During Stage 6 of the Cape Epic 2023 at Lourensford, torrential rain and freezing conditions created the worst stage in Cape Epic history. Most riders walked more than they rode in an attempt to make the cut-off times, with ruined drivetrains and destroyed brake pads. 

True to the Cape Epic’s billing as a test of endurance marathon mountain biking, Stage 6 will punish riders, leaving them little opportunity to enjoy the stunning mountain and ocean views. 

Stage 7, Lourensford Wine Estate to Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West - 68km, 2,250m

No Cape Epic finish is a given. Even if you survive and start Stage 7. Losing a front wheel on a dusty singletrack corner can equal a broken wrist or collarbone, ending your event mere hours from finishing. 

Cape Epic_OffRoadCC_Anne Terpstra_019.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

Stage 7 will start and finish at Lourensford, taking riders in a northerly direction, out of the Helderberg basin towards Stellenbosch, before returning. It’s not wildly long at 52 miles but with 7,381ft of climbing, it could never qualify as a fun ride. 

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