THREE CAPE EPIC STAGE WINS FOR SCHWARZBAUER & GAZE ON PROTOTYPE CANYON LUX WORLD CUP

Stellenbosch, South Africa — After eight stages of epic racing action in conditions ranging from bone-dry heat to torrential downpours on the Western Cape, Luca Schwarzbauer of Canyon MTB Racing and Sam Gaze of Alpecin-Premier Tech executed three landmark victories on an unreleased prototype of the Canyon Lux World Cup.

In South Africa’s 2026 Cape Epic mountain bike race, the German–Kiwi pairing of Schwarzbauer and Gaze excelled on stages 2, 4 and 7 with a mix of aggressive race tactics, precise pacing and composed bike handling, covering 707 kms of racing and more than 15,000 meters of climbing to finish third in the General Classification with an overall time of 26 hours, 59 minutes and 25 seconds.

A Clean Sweep in the Mixed Category

Adding to the story of cross-team success, the Mixed Pairs category was won by Canyon XC Racing’s Jenny Rissveds and her husband Simon Andreassen, racing for the Orbea Fox Factory Team. The pairing won all eight stages, completing the distance in 31 hours, 29 minutes and 38 seconds. Rissveds competed on the same prototype Lux World Cup CFR platform, further underlining the new bike’s race-winning pedigree.

Innovation: The Anti-Squat Flip-Chip

The 2026 Cape Epic served as the ultimate "live lab" for Canyon’s latest innovation and allowed for a major statement on Canyon’s upcoming race platform. While details about the unreleased Lux World Cup are few and far between, Schwarzbauer, Gaze and Rissveds’ success suggests the bike has gained in efficiency, comfort and control, partly thanks to a new anti squat flip chip, which ultimately allows it to be ridden faster under the most demanding yet varied race conditions.

Speaking to Pinkbike earlier this year, Canyon said: “As the sport of XC develops, we’re chasing narrower margins but one area for exploration is to allow racers to tune their suspension feel and set up based on the course, on any drivetrain changes or simply by preference. The idea was initially floated to Canyon athletes Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer and it resulted in this innovative new flip-chip system that targets anti-squat specifically, whilst creating no other discernible differences in geometry or suspension feel. This is one for those racers chasing that final percent, where every pedal stroke matters.”

Canyon confirmed that the new Lux World Cup has drawn heavily from insights gained during both XCO and XCC World Cup racing and previous editions of Cape Epic. A public release of the new bike is expected later this year and, with multiple victories at the 2026 Cape Epic, it would appear that the innovations inherent in the new Lux World Cup do indeed result in that final percent when it matters most.

1. Photo credit: Moritz Sauer.