FNB Wines2Whales riders should have easier access to refill water in the 2026 race villages, with Bluewater named as the event’s official water purification and remineralisation partner. The announcement covers the three-day mountain bike stage race’s Chardonnay, Pinotage and Shiraz events.
What riders will actually notice
Bluewater says it will bring mobile water purification trailers and hydration stations into the race villages, serving purified and remineralised still and sparkling water before and after stages. Riders will be able to refill reusable cups and water bottles with chilled water throughout the event, which is the practical bit we care about most: fewer frantic bottle missions, fewer single-use empties, and hopefully a smoother post-stage routine when your legs are cooked and your brain is mostly biltong.
The partnership is being framed around rider convenience and reduced reliance on single-use plastic bottles. Bluewater expects the system to eliminate thousands of single-use plastic bottles across the three events, while helping FNB Wines2Whales significantly reduce single-use plastic waste.
Race-village logistics, not race-day results
FNB Wines2Whales, established in 2009, runs across three event formats named Chardonnay, Pinotage and Shiraz, and the organisers say it attracts more than 3,000 riders annually. For riders heading to the race villages, this is not a route change or a racing update, but it is a useful logistics note: bring the reusable bottle, and maybe leave a little space in your race-village routine for sparkling water. Very civilised. Very dangerous if someone starts calling it recovery bubbles.