8 May 2026 Back to more news...

KAP sani2c Stage 2: Another fast and furious finish

8 May 2026. Jolivet Farm. The blistering pace set by the top teams on Stage 1 continued on day two of the KAP sani2c, producing another tight group finish in the UCI men’s race and a sprint finish for second and third in the UCI women’s race. Stage 2 takes riders from Mackenzie Club to Kings Harvest School, covering approximately 92km with around 1 600m of climbing. 

 

Characterised by the technical descent into the Umkomaas Valley and the decisive tough Unitrans Iconic Climb back out the valley, stage 2 can reshape the General Classification battle, which it did today.

 

The Descent into the Umkomass Valley: Marc Pritzen (front) and Felix Stehli, followed by Keagan Bontekoning (Insect Science) and Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2). (photo Anthony Grote)

 

Men’s Race

 

Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli (Team Honeycomb 226ers) were the victors in a time of 03:12:59, with Jaedon Terlouw and Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) crossing just two seconds later (03:13:01).Keagan Bontekoning and Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) crossed the line just over ten seconds later (03:13:13), the group having spent most of the day on each other’s wheel. 

 

Felix Stehli and Marc Pritzen (Team Honeycomb 226ers) took the win on stage 2, moving up to second on the General Classification. (photo Maryann Shaw)

 

Wessel Botha and Arno du Toit were a few minutes behind them finishing in 03:16:17 to take fourth. The InsectScience Safari Essence team spent most of the day in a chasing group. 

 

The men’s race shifted dramatically early in the stage when Tristan Nortje and Marco Joubert suffered a costly mechanical, creating an opportunity for a fresh battle for the podium. Nortje explained that the pair were forced to stop completely after a snapped chain: “Marco was already ahead, so I had to call him back because he had the chain breaker. We had to break the chain properly, put new links in, and then basically chase all day from there.”

 

Joubert described the incident as a major setback on a stage where maintaining contact with the front group was critical: “It was a proper disappointment because the stage was going well up to that point,” he said. 

 

“On the descents and singletrack you can’t really make up huge amounts of time, so once you lose that momentum it’s very difficult to recover.”

 

Marc Pritzen and Felix Stehli capitalised on the opportunity with an aggressive and committed ride, not without challenge from the rest of the group. 

 

Pritzen said a decisive moment came just before the descent when the front group was fighting for position: “We moved up and I made sure I had Johan in front of me because I know how well they descend,” said Pritzen. “From there I just committed to the front and rode from the bottom of the pass all the way to the finish as hard as possible, trying to look after Felix as much as I could.”

 

Stehli admitted it was a day of survival at times, but credited Pritzen’s relentless pacing for keeping the team in contention throughout the stage: “A lot of the day was about surviving and hanging onto Marc’s wheel,” he said. “He did an unbelievable job pacing - probably for 60 kilometres or more.”

 

The only promising challenge to the powerful riding of Pritzen came when Stehli began struggling at the later stages of the Iconic Climb, and the Toyota Specialised 2 team made a break for it. They looked to be gaining ground at the top of Iconic but by 82km at Haibo 2 the top three teams were together again. 

 

Terlouw says:”We got a bit of a gap growing up Iconic, but we knew that the guys behind would all work together to catch us, and we knew that it's quite a long way still from Iconic back home, so there’s no real point in burning all of our matches trying to go solo for 30km, so we sat up a bit and just stuck with the with the other guys, let them drive the pace, because our other team was behind, we did not know how far out, and we did not want to be helping the other guys get an advantage on our teammates.”

 

The new pairing of Keagan Bontekoning and Johan van Zyl appeared to click during the long and tactical stage.

 

Bontekoning says: “Yesterday was a good learning curve for Johan and me. We figured out where our strengths are and came into today with a proper plan. Johan managed the effort exactly the way I like to race - really smooth, positive, no surging - and that allowed me to save my legs and feel comfortable all day.”

 

Van Zyl said the duo’s understanding improved significantly after the opening stage: “We’ve raced against each other for years, but yesterday we learned a lot about how to work together as a team. On the flats Keegan was super strong and on the climbs we just focused on riding a consistent pace and staying with the group.”

 

Women’s Race

 

Vera Looser and Samantha Sanders extended their overall lead with another commanding performance, and the racing was fierce amongst the other three top teams, showcasing the depth of women’s racing at sani2c.

 

Looser and Sanders (Efficient Infiniti Insure) claimed the Stage 2 victory in 04:03:21, with Cherise Willeit and Ila Stow (Fortress Toyota) finishing second in 04:09:00, narrowly ahead of Frances Swanepoel and Rachel Seaman (Cycle Nation Enza Construction) in 04:09:03. Danielle du Toit and Roxanne Kemp (Safari Essence Titan Racing) finished fourth in 04:17:36 after a difficult day in the saddle.

 

Vera Looser and Samantha Sanders (Efficient Infiniti Insure) increased their GC lead after a controlled day of riding (photo Maryann Shaw)

 

The victory strengthened Looser and Sanders’ grip on the General Classification, where they now lead overall in 08:12:26. Willeit and Stow remain second overall in 08:29:34, with Swanepoel and Seaman moving into a strong third position on GC in 08:32:39. Du Toit and Kemp sit fourth overall in 08:38:14 heading into the final stage.

 

The leaders’ race was not without drama. Welleit revealed she suffered a crash during the stage while trying to hold the pace through the demanding Umkomaas section.

 

“I was probably a little bit too close to the wheel in front of me and just cut the corner too tight. The road just disappeared and I went down, but thankfully it was quite a soft landing.

 

She says the pace at the front of the race was relentless from the opening kilometres. “Today there was no time to look at the view,” she laughed. “I was on the limit the entire time. Vera and Sam were so strong from the start.”

 

Welleit also praised the sportsmanship shown by Swanepoel and Seaman after the crash. “Frances and Rachel actually stopped to check if I was okay, which was really special. They had an incredible race today and I think there’s a big future ahead for them.”

 

Sanders and Looser from the group at Iconic after a tactical opening phase where the top teams largely remained together. “We all stayed together until the first water point,” explained Sanders. “Then through the feed zone we sat up a little and let the others fight it out for a bit. On Iconic we made our move and made sure we got away there.”

 

Vera Looser on the front with Samantha Sanders on the Umko Drop, Toyota Fortress following. The pair took a gap and rode clear of the field during the Iconic Climb at 60km. (photo Anthony Grote)

 

The battle behind them was intense. Willeit and Stow combined forces with Swanepoel and Seaman during the latter half of the stage after Danielle du Toit and Roxanne Kemp began losing contact before Iconic.

 

“Once we got down the descent the top teams were still together, but I could see Danielle and Roxanne were struggling a bit before Iconic,” said Stow. “That’s when I said to Cherise that we needed to try and go.”

 

The collaboration between Fortress Toyota and Cycle Nation Enza Construction proved effective as the two teams worked together through the open roads and windy sections into Kings Harvest.

 

“It really helps having another team working with you in those open sections,” said Stow. “You can motivate each other and keep the momentum going.”

 

Willeit said the tactical nature of sani2c makes consistency more important than explosive attacks: “There’s actually not enough terrain to create massive gaps easily, so you need to be smart and consistent all day,” she said.

 

For Swanepoel and Seaman, the stage marked another major step forward as one of the rising combinations in South African women’s stage racing.

 

“We spoke before the stage and we believed we could move onto the podium overall,” said Swanepoel. “After Iconic the open roads and power riding suited us really well, and we knew we could stay with Cherise and Ila.”

 

Seaman, racing only her second major stage race, said partnering with Swanepoel has accelerated her confidence and development: “It’s been awesome racing with Frances,” said Seaman. “I’ve learned so much already.”

 

Further back, Du Toit and Kemp endured a difficult day but remained philosophical: “It was a really tough day,” admitted Du Toit. “We’re disappointed in the result, but not disappointed in how we raced because we genuinely couldn’t have given any more. There’s still another stage tomorrow, so the race definitely isn’t over yet.”

 

Kemp acknowledged she struggled physically throughout the stage: “Danielle really had to pull me through some hard moments today,” she said.

 

With the General Classification battle tightening and only the final stage remaining, Stage 2 delivered the kind of tactical reshuffling and attrition that has made the KAP sani2c one of South Africa’s most respected mountain bike stage races.

 

The final ‘shorter’ third stage takes riders 86km from Jolivet Farm to the traditional finish at Scottburgh Golf Club - it is fast, flowing and predominantly downhill, featuring 1 042m of climbing and a massive 1 703m of descent. 

 

Day 2 Results

 

Men

 

  1. Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (Team Honeycomb 226ers) – 03:12:59

  2. Jaedon Terlouw & Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) – 03:13:01

  3. Keagan Bontekoning & Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) – 03:13:13

  4. Wessel Botha & Arno du Toit (InsectScience Safari Essence) – 03:16:17

  5. Tristan Nortje & Marco Joubert (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1) – 03:16:53

 

Women

 

  1. Vera Looser & Samantha Sanders (Efficient Infiniti Insure) – 04:03:21

  2. Cherise Willeit & Ila Stow (Fortress Toyota) – 04:09:00

  3. Frances Swanepoel & Rachel Seaman (Cycle Nation Enza Construction) – 04:09:03

  4. Danielle du Toit & Roxanne Kemp (Safari Essence Titan Racing) – 04:17:36

 

General Classification 

 

Men

  1. Jaedon Terlouw & Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 2) – 06:39:06

  2. Marc Pritzen & Felix Stehli (Team Honeycomb 226ers) – 06:39:34

  3. Keagan Bontekoning & Johan van Zyl (InsectScience) – 06:41:01

  4. Wessel Botha & Arno du Toit (InsectScience Safari Essence) – 06:42:33

  5. Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (Toyota Specialized Imbuko 1) – 06:42:38

 

Women

 

  1. Vera Looser & Samantha Sanders (Efficient Infiniti Insure) – 08:12:26

  2. Cherise Willeit & Ila Stow (Fortress Toyota) – 08:29:34

  3. Frances Swanepoel & Rachel Seaman (Cycle Nation Enza Construction) – 08:32:39

  4. Danielle du Toit & Roxanne Kemp (Safari Essence Titan Racing) – 08:38:14

 

Watch live updates on the KAP sani2c “OG” racing on Instagram: _sani2c

 

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