Joubert & Nortje Clinch Tankwa Trek Title as She Sends Dominates Women’s Race

Candice Lill (left) and Kate Courtney (right) won all four stages and claimed the Queen of the Mountain hotspot prize to complete an emphatic clean sweep of the available honours at the 2025 Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen. Photo by Oakpics.com.

Imbuko ChemChamp’s Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje crossed the Kaleo finish line second on the final stage of the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, on Sunday – 9 February – to seal the 2025 title in fine style. Their firm grip on the race was only superseded by the UCI Women’s champions; She Sends. Kate Courtney and Candice Lill complete a clean sweep of stage victories to win by nearly 40 minutes after four days of rugged Koue Bokkeveld mountain biking.

The last day of the twelfth edition served up drama as the Honeycomb 226ers lost their podium place when Wessel Botha crashed 15 kilometres into the 57-kilometre-long stage. Botha and Marc Pritzen had been Imbuko ChemChamp’s closest rivals and had pushed the team from Wellington throughout much of the race. On two key occasions they faltered though, which served to highlight not only their lack of luck but also the benefit of using attack as the best form of defence.

“What’s the saying? ‘Attack is the best form of defence’,” Joubert queried after wrapping up the overall victory. “We know from previous years that the light and dust can make visibility difficult on this stage. The only way to be safe is to race from the front and control the pace, which is what we did today.”

“I didn’t see Wessel [Botha] crash,” Pritzen confessed. “On the first descent I looked back and he wasn’t there. When he didn’t catch up, I stopped and riders passing me while I waited said he was on his way but didn’t look good. When he got to me, I had to convince him not to continue and get into the ambulance.”

Botha appears to have crashed on a relatively innoxious section of dual track. “I think he just misjudged a line in the dust, riding into the sun,” Matt Beers speculated. “It looked quite bad, but he was adamant that he needed to finish the stage. So, I’m glad Marc [Pritzen] and the medics convinced him to stop.” The Honeycomb 226ers rider was taken to the race doctor for a check-up and has been treated for concussion.

Singer KTM Racing’s Martin Frey (leading) and Simon Stiebjahn raced to stage honours on the final day of the 2025 race. Photo by Max Sullivan.

“We didn’t realise Wessel had crashed, so we stuck to our pre-stage plan and pushed hard for the first hour,” Nortje explained. “When we got to Water Point 1, at the 24 kilometre mark, we had a look around and saw that only Singer [KTM Racing] and Toyota Specialized were with us. We went to the line with those two teams and were happy that Simon [Stiebjahn] and Martin [Frey] won the stage. They’re two of the nicest guys in the peloton and really deserved the stage victory today.”

“People don’t see the long hours of training and all the work which goes on behind the scenes,” Joubert added. “The whole Imbuko ChemChamp team put in a massive amount of effort to get us here and help us throughout the week. This victory is a good way of paying back all their hard work and support.”

Singer KTM Racing edged out Imbuko ChemChamp in the closing metres, which allowed Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn to win the final stage. Joubert and Nortje were second on the day, but won the overall by 10 minutes and 36 seconds from Frey and Stiebjahn. Beers and Johan van Zyl, of Toyota Specialized, were third on the stage, and moved up to fifth overall. Computer Mania Cannondale Pro MTB’s Daniel van der Walt and Ursin Spescha were sixth on the day but moved up to third overall. Arno du Toit and Keagan Bontekoning also moved up following Honeycomb 226ers’ withdrawal. Insect Science Cycling thus finished fourth.

She Sends Dominates UCI Women’s Category with Clean Sweep

She Sends’ four of four stage wins put an exclamation point on their time in the Bokveld. “Today was another good day,” Courtney smiled. “We pushed hard and I really enjoyed the riding. Racing alongside Candice [Lill] has been great. She kept me honest and ensured that we were always pushing.”

“The Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, is my favourite stage race,” Lill stated. “It has been so much fun coming from the training camp with Greta [Seiwald], Martina [Berta], Tyler [Jacobs] and Sara [Cortinovis] to the race. The riding has been tough, as always, but it was superbly organised and as a Biogen athlete it was great to represent a co-sponsor here. They, along with Dryland and Momentum really look after everyone so well.”

Courtney and Lill’s winning margin on the final stage was 6 minutes and 5 seconds, which took their overall winning margin to 40 minutes and 37 seconds. Spaghetti M&G’s Greta Seiwald and Martina Berta overcame two puncture disrupted days to secure silver behind the dominant champions. The young Ghost-Liv Racing combination, Tyler Jacobs and Sara Cortinovis were third on the day and overall. Sarah Hill and Vera Looser were fourth, ahead of Ila Stow and Cherise Willeit in fifth.

Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, Results

UCI Men | Stage 4:

  1. Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (2:13:40)
  2. Imbuko ChemChamp A: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (2:13:45 | +5)
  3. Toyota Specialized: Matt Beers & Johan van Zyl (2:14:07 | +27)
  4. Team Bulls: Axel Roudil-Cortinat & Simon Schneller (2:17:01 | +3:21)
  5. Insect Science Cycling: Keagan Bontekoning & Arno du Toit (2:17:06 | +3:26)

UCI Women | Stage 4:

  1. She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (2:36:21)
  2. Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (2:42:26 | +6:05)
  3. Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (2:44:02 | +7:41)
  4. Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (2:54:44 | +18:23)
  5. Kolisi/Songo Foundation: Ila Stow & Cherise Willeit (2:56:27 | +20:06)

UCI Men’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. Imbuko ChemChamp A: Marco Joubert & Tristan Nortje (10:40:04)
  2. Singer KTM Racing: Martin Frey & Simon Stiebjahn (10:50:40 | +10:36)
  3. Computer Mania Cannondale Pro MTB: Daniel van der Walt & Ursin Spescha (10:59:12 | +19:08)
  4. Insect Science Cycling: Keagan Bontekoning & Arno du Toit (11:03:24 | +23:20)
  5. Toyota Specialized: Matt Beers & Johan van Zyl (11:10:16 | +30:12)

UCI Women’s General Classification after Stage 4:

  1. She Sends: Candice Lill & Kate Courtney (12:43:17)
  2. Spaghetti M&G: Greta Seiwald & Martina Berta (13:23:55 | +40:37)
  3. Ghost-LIV Racing: Tyler Jacobs & Sara Cortinovis (13:33:15 | +49:58)
  4. Efficient Infiniti: Sarah Hill & Vera Looser (13:51:45 | +1:08:28)
  5. Kolisi/Songo Foundation: Ila Stow & Cherise Willeit (14:23:25 | +1:41:08)