Kate Courtney and Melisa Rollins (She Sends Foundation) were heading into the 2026 Absa Cape Epic as one of the most closely watched teams in the women's category - only for disaster to strike for the pairing of the former winner with the gravel specialist.
Rollins – who had prepared meticulously for her debut in the gruelling eight-day mountain bike event – crashed, breaking her left elbow and injuring her right wrist.
That meant the question now was, after months of preparation, would Courtney be able to find a way to still line up at the event she won in 2018 with Annika Langvad. After all, with around 700km with 16,000m of climbing and the partnership at the heart of the event, it's not easy to find another suitable rider to jump into the fray with just a few days' notice.
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In Greta Seiwald, however, Courtney found the answer.
"In life, you don’t always get to choose your challenges - but you can choose how you respond," said Courtney in an Instagram post.
"While we never would have chosen this turn of events, we’re grateful for the chance to make some magic out of a week filled with really difficult moments.
"We will be racing for you out there Melisa Rollins as you [begin] your road to recovery. And we will be racing for each other - to keep this dream alive and to show that it is always too soon to quit.
"Let’s do this, Greta Seiwald."
The brutal terrain, challenging conditions and accumulated fatigue of the long haul that is Cape Epic means it isn't the type of race any mountain biker can be ready to walk into at the drop of a hat. But Seiwald has already been stage-racing in South Africa and proven that she has the necessary form and partner skills.
The Italian Decathlon Ford rider won the four-stage Tankwa Trek with Sara Cortinovis at the end of last month, beating two riders who will be among her competitors at Cape Epic – Vera Looser and Samantha Sanders. They also certainly weren't the only rivals at Tankwa using it as a suitable pre-Cape Epic tune up, which indicates that it might also just be the ideal run-in for Seiwald's unexpected late partnership.
"With less than a week to the start of the race finding a partner that is ready to take on the challenge of this race seemed impossible," said Courtney.
"But sometimes with the right people, there is an opportunity to do something great and rise to meet even the hardest of challenges."
