Wilier-Vittoria, Avondetto and Braidot strengthen their grip on yellow at the Cape Epic

Consistency continues to be a key strength for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team. At the end of Stage 4 of the 2026 Cape Epic — 87 km and 1,750 metres of elevation gain around Greyton — Simone Avondetto and Luca Braidot once again finished second. It marks their fourth runner-up finish in five race days, all decided in sprint finishes and without conceding any time to the winners.

The stage was won by Samuel Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer, but the Wilier-Vittoria duo crossed the line just behind them, gaining a further 23 seconds on South Africans Matthew Beers and Tristan Nortje. As a result, they strengthened their hold on the yellow jersey and now lead the general classification by 1’37”.

There were also encouraging signs from Juri Zanotti, who bounced back after yesterday’s difficulties. Riding alongside Mathis Azzaro, he finished seventh on the stage, the same position they currently hold in the general classification, 17’51” behind Avondetto and Braidot.

“It was a fun stage, definitely better than yesterday, with plenty of technical trails,” said Avondetto. “The pace was quite controlled until the South Africans attacked on a climb. We managed to follow them well, and then we made the difference on the descent together with Gaze and Schwarzbauer. Unfortunately, they’re faster than us in the sprint and we couldn’t beat them — but it’s only right to keep trying every day.”

“It’s great to be in the yellow jersey, even if the goal is to have it at the end of the week,” added Braidot. “The race really came alive only towards the finale, but the legs are good and we stayed where we needed to be. Overall, a positive day — technically, probably the most enjoyable stage so far.”

“In my opinion, this was the first real Cape Epic stage — the kind where you think, ‘how cool is it to be here,’” said Zanotti. “It went much better than yesterday, my legs felt stronger, even though when the attacks came on the climb I didn’t have the power to follow the very front group. How did I recover after yesterday? It wasn’t a bonk — I just made sure to eat and drink a lot straight after the stage, with recovery products and electrolytes from Named, and then plenty of rice and chicken.”

Tomorrow brings another demanding stage, from Greyton to Stellenbosch, covering 134 km and 2,750 metres of elevation gain — a crucial day for the overall standings.