DEATH, TAXES,
SINGLETRACK &
VINEYARD CLIMBS
STAGE 6
START AND FINISH
University of
Stellenbosch Sports
Fields, Stellenbosch
89
KM 2650 M
DISTANCE
CLIMBING
Stellenbosch is the town of choice for European athletes training in South Africa during
their winter, and it is not difficult to figure out what attracts them to the beautiful Western
Cape town. Just 45 minutes from Cape Town, Stellenbosch is renowned for its university,
wines, architecture, scenery and for being a sporting playground. The Stellenbosch wine
route is the oldest in the world and includes more than 300 wineries. Besides its fantastic
wines, the town is well-known for helping develop some of the country’s finest minds at
Stellenbosch University. The town is located amid spectacular scenery and some of the
country’s best, and most challenging, mountain bike trails thread through the surrounding
valleys. Restaurants in the town are celebrated for their cuisine, and the local Cape Dutch
architecture is also a popular drawcard for tourists.
RATING
THE ROUTE
The old saying goes that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. When mountain biking in Stellenbosch
another two can be added: singletrack and vineyard climbs. Play day, or earn the right to play day; Stage 6 of the 2019 Absa
Cape Epic starts with Heart Break Hill inside the first kilometre. Then it is onwards and upwards, because Botmaskop needs
to be conquered in order to earn the right to swoop down Skyfall. No circumnavigation of the Banhoek Valley is complete
without Nik Naks, a technical climb and descent. The climb to Tokara on the Simonsberg follows, before descending into
Rustenberg Wines. An inexorable grind with a name stolen from the singletrack at its summit – Never-Say-Neverender –
traverses Rustenberg, Quoin Rock, Delvera and Uitkyk, whereafter the Simonsberg Trails reward with singletrack descents.
Across the valley Klapmuts Kop and the stage’s Land Rover Technical Terrain awaits on a rocky but flowing switchback
descent. The route back to Stellenbosch takes a lower line but still requires climbing all the way back to Botmaskop, where
the final thrill of the day is provided by the revitalised World Cup Downhill track from the late 1990s.
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