Wines2Whales Chardonnay photos: View the inaugural elite women’s version

The inaugural all-women’s Wines2Whales Chardonnay three-day race started at the Lourensford Wine Estate and finished up in the whale-watching town of Hermanus at the conclusion of the final stage.

View selected photos below of each stage. Photos courtesy of Greg Beadle.

Stage one

The opening stage comprised a 69km route from the Lourensford Wine Estate to the Oak Valley Wine Estate, which started with a long gravel drag before a lengthy and steep descent.

The notoriously steep Vergelegen climb is marked as the toughest climb of the race and is situated some 20km in, after which riders were tested with some single track sections, as well as open vineyard roads before the finish.

Summit Finance’s Candice Lill and Adelheid won the stage. View the results

Stage two

The second stage consisted of a 62km route, which started and finished at the Oak Valley Wine Estate. The route comprised some testing single track sections, berms and tricky descents – the first half being relatively fast-flowing.

Riders took on the Thandi switchbacks, before a final 10km dash for the finish.

Summit Finance’s Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath won the stage. View the results

Stage three

The third and final stage comprised a 72km route, which finished in Hermanus. Most of the climbing came in the final 30km of the route. The trickiest part of the stage was the Kat Pas descent shortly after the Houw Hoek trails, before riders took on a series of climbs on the Gaf-se-Bos and Hemel en Aarde trails.

The final stage was won by Team Spur’s Ariane Luthi and Barbara Benko, but the overall title went to Summit Finance’s Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath. View the results