On The World’s Biggest Stage
Team Wilkinson Wilkinson is a two-person MTB, gravel and adventure cycling team comprising partners Jessica Wilkinson and Isaac Wilkinson. Jess hails from the mountains and coastlines of South Africa, while Isaac brings the grit and racing experience of the United Kingdom. Together, we form an international, driven team built on a shared love of bikes, competition, and wild places. We live to race, travel, and tell authentic stories about the people and places we meet along the way.
This is our 2026 ABSA Cape Epic story.
The ABSA Cape Epic is an eight-day mountain bike stage race that strips you down physically and mentally. It pushes you to your limits, humbles you daily, and never gives you an easy moment. It’s brutally beautiful. One of those rare events that, once you’ve experienced it, keeps pulling you back.
And we keep coming back.
Not because it gets easier, but because it doesn’t. Every year brings a new version of yourself to test, a new set of unknowns, and a reminder of how much further you can go than you thought possible.
“Sometimes during the race, when I’m suffering in the mountains, I’ll find myself already thinking about next year. How I can improve. How I can show up stronger. It’s definitely addictive, and I think it’s the best way to learn more about yourself and what you’re capable of.”
- Jess Wilkinson
In 2025, we finished 10th in the Mixed GC. This year, we came back aiming for a top 5.
The prologue is always a shock to the system. It’s short, but it counts. There’s a lot of hype building into this moment, which makes it especially nerve-wracking. Everyone is fresh, everyone is nervous, and you end up going harder than you think you should. There’s pressure - but not much time to sit with it. Once you roll off the start ramp, it’s just full-gas racing. No more build-up, just you and your partner and the 8 stages of tough racing ahead. We placed 10th, within a minute of 5th, close enough to know it’s there.
Stage 1 set the tone early. Ninety kilometres and 2150 metres of climbing through the rugged landscapes of Montagu. Having spent time there beforehand, we knew what was coming. We rode a controlled but committed race and came away with a clean day, finishing 9th on the stage.
From Stage 2 onwards, the race shifted. It set the tone for the rest of our race, where we’d just be chasing. You can only control so much in a race like this, and the unplanned moments are where you learn the most. Patience, resilience, strength, perseverance. The Cape Epic is hard. You work for every kilometer, and when additional challenges hit, it quickly becomes a battle for survival.
Across the week we dealt with a few technical setbacks - multiple punctures, a broken rim, a snapped chain right at the start of the Queen stage, swollen bodies constantly on the brink of being sick, and tough weather conditions during what has to be one of the hardest stages of the Cape Epic.
But these are the moments that stay with you. They’re the experiences you wouldn’t normally put your body or mind through, and that’s part of the draw card of entering these races. You put yourself in a space where you’re forced to go deeper, to keep emptying the tank and find out what you’re capable of. It’s definitely addictive.
After 8 days of full-gas racing Team Wilkinson Wilkinson finished 8th in the Mixed GC. We can’t help but think that if we hadn’t had those mechanicals, all that effort that went into chasing could have been put towards gaining time in the GC. But that’s racing. It is what it is, and we’re driven to come back stronger in 2027.
This year we worked with CIOVITA to create a custom kit that reflects our Team Wilkinson Wilkinson identity. It’s been a really special part of the journey leading into the Cape Epic, and we’re incredibly proud of how it all came together. From the first design concept through to wearing the kit for the first time, it felt like a meaningful step in building our identity as a mixed racing team. Over the past year, Team Wilkinson Wilkinson has grown through the support of some great partners, and our custom kit is a reflection of that shared commitment to the sport and the goals we’re chasing.
Watch Team Wilkinson Wilkinson’s ABSA Cape Epic race on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZjuZcqFeaM
Photos by James Heron and Chris Wilkinson
