The second stage of the Garden Route Giro saw dramatic racing in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories on Tuesday, 14 April 2026. Stage winner Cronje Beukes climbed to an unassailable advantage on Rooiberg Pass, while Lisa Bone used the day\u2019s biggest climb to build a buffer over the best descender in the women\u2019s field,\u00a0Mari\u00eblle Trouwborst. This helped Bone retain parity on the descent, and from there she was able to sprint to stage victory, leapfrogging Trouwborst into yellow.<\/p>\n
Marco Joubert flew down Rooiberg Pass, but could only take 41 seconds out of Cronje Beukes\u2019 lead at the summit. Photo by Shift Media Co.<\/em><\/p>\n Stage 2 took riders from Oakdale Agricultural High School, outside Riversdale, to the Old Railway Station in Calitzdorp. In total, the day featured 119 kilometres of racing and 2\u00a0000 metres of climbing, with most of the climbing coming on Garcia\u2019s Pass in the first 20 kilometres, and then on \u201cLittle\u201d and \u201cBig\u201d Rooiberg Pass later in the day. Between the climbs, pristine gravel roads allowed for fast group riding. The climb to the highest point of the day – the summit of Rooiberg Pass – proved pivotal in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s battles, as did the final drag to Calitzdorp into a stiff headwind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long before the decisive moment in the finale, Bone laid the groundwork for her success by getting into a powerful group for Garcia\u2019s Pass. \u201cIt was a brutal headwind up Garcia\u2019s,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d sit on the right, and I\u2019d be in the wind, so I would move to the left, and I\u2019d still be in the wind. There was nowhere to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not that Bone needed to hide, because at the summit of Garcia\u2019s Pass, she proved her strength by claiming maximum Sprint classification points ahead of Vera Looser and Trouwborst. Catherine Kruger had also made the front split and would also benefit from the strength of the men ahead of them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cVera [Looser] and I were actually chatting about how fast the guys were going and wondering if they were aware of how tough Rooiberg was going to be,\u201d Bone laughed. \u201cThen at the Van Wyksdorp water point [62 kilometres in], they stopped to refuel, and we pushed on. On \u2018Little Rooiberg\u2019, Mari\u00eblle [Trouwborst] and I managed to distance Vera. Then, about 2 kilometres from the top of \u2018Big Rooiberg\u2019, I also managed to get a gap on Mari\u00eblle.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe [Trouwborst] is so strong. Everything I try, she\u2019s right there. So, to be able to gap her slightly on a long climb gives me confidence going into the rest of the week, because she\u2019s definitely a better descender,\u201d Bone admitted. \u201cI had to get an advantage so I could ride the Rooiberg descent at my own pace, knowing she would catch and pass me. But I managed to get far enough down that I was able to bridge back to her on the flats.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once back together, the Trouwborst and Bone worked well together to extend their advantage over Looser. In the finale, Bone got the jump on Trouwborst, reversing the Stage 1 result. \u201cYesterday she went around the outside of me, today I pulled the same move on her,\u201d Bone said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bone\u2019s sprint produced daylight between her rear wheel and Trouwborst\u2019s front, allowing the South African to gain a vital two seconds on her Dutch rival. After finishing level on time on Stage 1, the 2-second gap was enough to earn Bone the yellow First Ascent women\u2019s leader\u2019s jersey going into Stage 3. She and Trouwborst also did enough to gain 7 minutes and 18 seconds on Looser. This means that the Efficient Infiniti Insure rider is now 8 minutes and 29 seconds back on the overall standings. After finishing fourth and fifth again, Cherise Willeit and Bianca Haw continue to hold those positions on the women\u2019s general classification standings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the men\u2019s race, Toyota Specialized Imbuko put Ignatius du Preez to work for the yellow jersey from the off. With Travis Stedman withdrawing from the race, following his Stage 1 crash, the Wellington-based team was down to two riders, and Du Preez would play a stellar super domestique role. After controlling the tempo on Garcia\u2019s Pass, Du Preez launched a four-rider breakaway with Keagan Bontekoning, Keegan Tullis, and Dan Loubser once they reached the gravel. The quartet was never let fully off the leash, however, and just before Van Wyksdorp, Marco Joubert and Cronje Beukes worked with Wessel Botha to bridge across to the leaders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was not all smooth sailing in the men\u2019s field, though. Herman Fourie endured a catastrophic puncture and lost an hour and a half before the 62-kilometre mark. The Cape Vulture Nature Reserve rider had to resort to stuffing his tyre with detritus from the road edge to limp to the Van Wyksdorp aid station, where he was able to get a new tyre from neutral support and complete the stage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leaving the Klein Karoo hamlet of Van Wyksdorp, the climbing began in earnest, and the battle at the sharp end of the men\u2019s race intensified. Initially, Joubert, Botha, and Beukes shed Du Preez, Tullis, Bontekoning, and Loubser. Then Botha faltered. Sensing his opportunity, Beukes pushed on, distancing Joubert, in the yellow First Ascent jersey, and rapidly built up an advantage on the road.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over the Rooiberg summit, Beukes held a one-minute and 33-second advantage on Joubert, with Botha a further one-minute and 20 seconds adrift. On the nine-kilometre descent, Joubert brought back the gap to just over a minute, but try as he might, he could never reel Beukes in. A headwind made the 20-kilometre flat road to Calitzdorp agonisingly slow, and Joubert was only able to reduce Beukes\u2019 lead to 52 seconds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Crossing the line, Beukes\u00a0celebrated knowing that he would wear yellow on Wednesday\u2019s Stage 3. Joubert had to settle for second, and Botha third. Behind the podium places, Loubser was fourth and Bontekoning fifth, both moving up at the expense of Du Preez and Jan Withaar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI felt strong all day today, and I knew that Rooiberg Pass would suit me,\u201d Beukes said. \u201cI hope that this is a good sign for the rest of the week, especially because Swartberg Pass tomorrow is also near the end of the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After two days of racing, Beukes leads Joubert in General Classification by 44 seconds and Botha by just under four minutes. Loubser and Bontekoning are separated by 42 seconds in fourth and fifth, but are 10 minutes and nearly 11 minutes down, respectively.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Stage 3 will provide Beukes with an opportunity to copy and paste his Stage 2 tactics. After departing Calitzdorp, the route climbs gradually along the foothills of the Swartberg Mountain. The first 27 kilometres, following the Nels River, is one of the most beautiful segments of the entire Garden Route Giro course. Then becomes one of the most demanding. From the 56-kilometre mark to Die Top, at 68 kilometres, it is relentlessly uphill on the Swartberg Pass. A second summit, seven kilometres later, is followed by a high-speed descent to Prince Albert, though the run into town is nine kilometres long, rather than 20 as was the case on Stage 2. In total, Stage 3 features 89 kilometres of racing, with 2\u00a0100 metres of climbing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To follow the action, as it unfolds, like the\u00a0Garden Route Giro<\/a>\u00a0Facebook page and follow\u00a0@gardenroutegiro<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram. Cycling fans can also tune in for daily highlights on the\u00a0Dryland Event Management<\/a>\u00a0YouTube channel and read the daily news releases on their favourite cycling platform.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n