Who still remembers the Rapport Bicycle Tour?
You were either a Gerrie Coetzee or a Kallie Knoetze man.
And you were either on the side of Alan van Heerden or Robbie McIntosh.
The two cyclists captured the nation’s imagination.
People couldn’t get enough of the big cycle tour, which was held from Johannesburg to Cape Town from 1973 to 2000.
The tour, unfortunately, stopped, like the newspaper.
But now, a five-day tour is being presented again in the Western Cape, the Tour du Cap. Middelburg’s Francois Hefer endured the gruelling five days last year for a Tour de Cup medal.
Tour du Cap route description, March 2–6, 2026.
The Tour du Cap, South Africa’s signature road cycling tour, takes place from March 2–6 next year in the same week as the Cape Town Cycle Tour.
The tour is based at Café la Vita on the outskirts of Wellington for all five days, and all stages start at Café la Vita. All the stages also conclude at Café la Vita, except the queen stage four, which finishes at the top of Du Toitskloof Pass in Paarl.
The tour features two mountain top finishes, two flat finishes, and an individual hill climb time trial.
The hill climb time trial (stage 2) takes place on Bainskloof Pass, and Bainskloof also plays host to the finish of the opening stage.
The 2nd and 5th stages will dish up something for the sprinters, while the 4th stage will likely be the decider over 132km and 1 983m of vertical ascent, finishing at the top of Du Toitskloof Pass.
The total distance is 464km while the elevation measures 5 245m.
With the tour-based Café la Vita in Wellington, it eases rider logistics by resting at the same venue every day.
Monday, March 2, 2026
Stage 1:
Start: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Finish: Top of Bainskloof Pass (Wellington)
Distance: 102km
Elevation: 1 338m
Route inclusions: Wellington; Tulbagh; Bainskloof Pass.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Stage 2:
Start: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Finish: Top of Bainskloof Pass (Wellington)
Distance: 11km Individual Time Trail
Elevation: 574m
Route inclusions: Bainskloof Pass
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Stage 3:
Start and Finish: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Distance: 90km
Elevation: 949m
Route inclusions: Wellington; Hermon; Riebeeck Kasteel; Bothmaskloof Pass.
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Stage 4:
Start: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Finish: Top of Du Toitskloof Pass (Paarl)
Distance: 132km
Elevation: 1 983m
Route inclusions: Paarl; Wellington; Paardeberg; Stellenbosch; Helshoogte; Pniel; Simondium; Du Toitskloof Pass.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Stage 5:
Start: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Finish: Cafe la Vita (Wellington)
Distance: 129km
Elevation: 1 250m
Route inclusions: Wellington; Paarl; Windmeul.
Tour du Cap Stage Descriptions
The 102km Stage 1 starts at Cafe la Vita in the direction of Wellington and routes out towards Hermon, Gouda, and Tulbagh before returning on the R43 towards Worcester. It then tackles the final obstacle, Bainskloof Pass, to finish on top of the pass.
Stage 2 is a 10.9km individual hill climb Time Trial on Bainskloof Pass. Riders climb the pass from the opposite side on stage 2, starting at Café la Vita.
The 90km Stage 3 is fast and flat, routing towards Hermon and Riebeeck-kasteel before turning back before Malmesbury via the R45.
Stage 4 is the queen stage, featuring 132km and just over 1 900m ascent. It routes through Wellington to link up with the Paardeberg loop. It routes around the Paarl Mountain via the Suid-Agter Paarlberg road and then heads out to Stellenbosch via Klapmuts and the stunning R44.
The route touches on the outskirts of Stellenbosch before taking a left turn to the first big obstacle – the old Helshoogte Pass. On the other side of the pass, the route takes a right at the Allee Bleue T-junction, and left on the Wemmershoek road (R301), which runs between Franschhoek and Paarl.
And then Du Toitskloof Pass awaits after a right turn at Boschenmeer Golf Estate onto Drakenstein road. After the finish, riders freewheel back down the pass to the Faure Street Stadium without having to turn the pedals.
The 129km Stage 5 provides a showcase for the sprinters. The tour heads out to Malmesbury and passes through the town. It exits on the R302 and does a long loop before returning to the Paardeberg Loop and routing back to Cafe la Vita.
The finish is different from Stage 3, with riders finishing on the main road exiting Wellington towards Bainskloof.
