Cape Epic Stage 2
Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon) took the Stage 2 win at the 2026 Cape Epic — a decisive, technically demanding victory captured in the Stage 2 highlights published Mar 17 (youtube.com). The coverage spotlights their coordination, pacing and modern lightweight gear on twisty South African terrain — useful intel if you follow endurance‑tech trends in mountain biking (youtube.com).
Stage 2 ran about 102 km with roughly 2,250 m of climbing and featured long, front‑loaded climbs around the Montagu area, including the Ouberg Pass that sorted the field early. (pinkbike.com) The front group’s clocked time for the day was 3:54:55, with the Wilier‑Vittoria pairing of Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto recorded just fractions behind the leaders. (bikehub.co.za) Race reports record the sprint margin to the Italians at about 1.8 seconds on the finish line, a gap that underlined how the day boiled down to a frantic finale. (mbaction.com) Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje retained the overall leader’s jerseys after Stage 2, their GC advantage trimmed to roughly two seconds over Braidot/Avondetto. (mbaction.com) The Canyon pairing moved up the standings into sixth place on GC but still sat approximately 4 minutes 58 seconds off the yellow leaders after the result. (bikenetwork.co.za) Organisers noted the route’s profile favoured fast XC riders in the final 20 km after the heavy climbing earlier in the day, a characteristic teams exploited when setting the pace. (epic-series.com) The men’s result came on a day when the women’s team of Candice Lill and Alessandra Keller extended their overall cushion, opening out to roughly 3½ minutes in the women’s GC after Stage 2. (pinkbike.com)
