The legendary 230km single-stage Trans Baviaans returns on 8 August 2026 — but May floods through the Baviaanskloof mean the famously brutal route will be reworked and only revealed to riders a week out.
Billed by its organisers, EcoBound, as “the toughest, most rewarding mountain bike race in the country”, the Trans Baviaans is a South African rite of passage: a single, unbroken 230km push from the Little Karoo town of Willowmore, across the wild Baviaanskloof, to the coast at Jeffreys Bay. There are no stages and no daily rest — you and your team simply ride until it is done, with 24 hours to make the medal cut-off. Now into its third decade, it remains one of the few genuinely unmarked, self-navigated endurance races left on the local calendar.
What makes it hard is not raw distance but relentlessness. Roughly 2,840m of vertical is stacked into a string of named climbs that riders trade war stories about for years afterwards — and the back half is ridden in the dark. It is raced in teams of two, three or four, and the rules are unambiguous: no outside assistance on the route, no support crews shadowing you through the kloof, and every rider must be self-sufficient from Willowmore to the sea.
The route: a roll-call of infamous climbs
From the Town Hall start, the course climbs early over the Nuwekloofpas before the gradient starts stacking up. The signature obstacles come in order: Baviaansback (8km-plus of switchbacks with 80-odd bends), the wickedly steep Fangs (about 3.5km at gradients touching 1:4), and the Mother of All Climbs — the fabled ‘MAC’ — a roughly 5km wall of 50 bends and 90-degree switchbacks. The high point at Bergplaas falls near the 140km mark, after which riders drop the Big Dipper (a 5.5km descent with 70-plus bends) into the Cambria Valley. Just when legs are done, the Neverender and its false summits and the short, sharp Mini Mac stand between the field and Jeffreys Bay.
Trans Baviaans start — Willowmore Town Hall
Race start (10:00, Saturday 8 August 2026)
Willowmore, Eastern Cape
Elevation & difficulty
Checkpoints, cut-offs & water
Teams must check in and out at strategically placed checkpoints so their whereabouts can be traced, and medics are stationed at each one. The halfway gate matters most: riders must leave Checkpoint 4 (140km) before midnight on Saturday to continue, and the final cut-off at the Jeffreys Bay finish is 10:00 on Sunday. Approximate published checkpoint distances and elevations:
Tyres & setup
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Trans Baviaans and where does it go? +
It is a single non-stop stage of about 230km from Willowmore in the Little Karoo, across the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area, to Jeffreys Bay on the Eastern Cape coast.
Is it a solo race? +
No. It is raced in teams of two, three or four riders who must stay together, check in and out at each checkpoint, and be fully self-supported between them.
What are the cut-offs? +
Teams must leave Checkpoint 4 (140km) before midnight on Saturday, and the finish cut-off at Jeffreys Bay is 10:00 on Sunday — a 24-hour limit from the 10:00 start.
Will the 2026 route be different because of the floods? +
Organisers have said the race goes ahead on 8 August with route changes after flooding in the Baviaanskloof, with the confirmed course and GPX files sent to entrants at least a week before the event.
