38 kilometres into a stage packed with amazing singletracks, comes one of the Western Cape’s most iconic trails. Built for the second edition of FNB Wines2Whales, back in 2010, the Pofadder was an instant hit. Though in the early years it was more notorious than famous. Rebuilt for 2019 it doubles as Stage 2’s Land […]
The University of Cape Town’s men’s and women’s cycling teams had stellar days on the muddy trails of the Elgin Valley. Both claimed stage victories on Stage 2 of the FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage race, which doubles as the Varsity MTB. After the intermittent rain of the opening day, the largely clear skies ensured the trails […]
Letshego Zulu is no stranger to extreme adventures. Which is why she and, her FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage partner, Phathokuhle Zondi were undaunted by the Stage 1 weather prediction. Despite the Western Cape cycling through all its weather options during their ride, from Lourensford to Oak Valley, the pair never stopped smiling. “Phathokuhle is the CEO […]
A puncture, just 10 kilometres from the finish line in Onrus, turned the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay race on its head; on Sunday, 27 October. Seizing the opportunity provided by the overnight leaders’ misfortune, the dormakaba team, of Robyn de Groot and Amy McDougall, raced to stage and overall victory. Adelheid, who suffered the rear […]
In the world of mountain biking, the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay is unique. It is the only event which features a women’s specific start group, which starts first every day. In addition to that, all the media attention and all the prize money, which totals over R250 000, is paid to the women’s teams. For the […]
The FNB Wines2Whales Switchback is no simple route reverse. It is a dramatic reimagining of the trails which usually take riders from the winelands to the whales each year. The 2020 FNB Wines2Whales will switchback; leading riders from the whales, in Hermanus, to the wines of Lourensford Wine Estate, over three spectacular three-day stage races. […]
New brake pads were the first order of business, for the mechanics, on every bike that rolled out of the Squirt Kränzle Bike Wash and into a bike shop work station. Across the board, the stores reported replacing every set of pads they encountered after Stage 1. They even had to send drivers back to […]
Stage 2 of the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay saw the general classification leaders of the Elite Women, Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath, outsprint Robyn de Groot and Amy McDougall; on Saturday, 26 October. Racing a circular loop of the famed Elgin trails from Oak Valley, the Faces team secured their second stage victory, and in so […]
The FNB Wines2Whales is almost as famous for its variable weather, as it is for its scintillating singletracks and Serious GEES. In 2019, the riders can now live in hope, that the worst of the weather coincided with the first day of the three, three-day, events. The clouds opened in the early hours of Friday […]
The Faces team of Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath got their FNB Wines2Whales title defence off to a winning start on Friday, 25 October. Departing Lourensford Wine Estate in consistent rain, the Elite Women endured a muddy day on the bike, but that did little to dampen Lill and Morath’s spirits as they thrived in […]