Absa Cape Epic
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| Date | March–April |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Cape, South Africa |
| Discipline | Mountain bike racing |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Grandstand Management |
| Race director | Kati Csak |
| First edition | 2004 |
| Editions | 14 |
| First winner |
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| Most wins |
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| Most recent |
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The Absa Cape Epic is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. It has been accredited as hors categorie (beyond categorisation) by the Union Cycliste Internationale. First staged in 2004, the race typically covers more than 700 kilometres (435 miles), and lasts eight days - a prologue and seven stages. The Absa Cape Epic attracts elite professional mountain bikers from around the world, who compete in teams of two. To qualify for a finish, teams have to stay together for the duration of the race. The race is also open to amateurs, who enter a lottery in order to gain a slot. A total of 600 teams take part. The times taken to finish each stage are aggregated to determine the overall winning team in each category at the end of the race. The course changes every year, but the race has always taken place in the Western Cape. The Absa Cape Epic was described by Bart Brentjens, 1996 Olympic gold medallist in mountain biking and a former Absa Cape Epic winner, as the "Tour de France of mountain biking".
It is owned by World Triathlon Corporation, part of Dalian Wanda Group.
Kevin Vermaak, 43, founded the Absa Cape Epic in 2004 at a time when there were no similar events in South Africa and the sport of mountain biking was in its infancy in the country. His vision was to create the world’s premier mountain bike event and set a new benchmark for the sport - today the Absa Cape Epic is routinely referred to as “the Tour de France of mountain biking”. The growth of the Absa Cape Epic has been paralleled by an explosion in mountain biking in South Africa and there are now more than 50 stage races. Kevin, a Capetonian and UCT electrical engineering graduate, worked in IT in London in the early 2000s and, as a passionate mountain biker, took part in events across the world, including two mountain bike crossings of the Himalayas. He conceived the Absa Cape Epic while taking part in the La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica in November, 2002. By February 2003 he was back in South Africa after eight years in London to establish the Cape Epic. Vermaak rode the Absa Cape Epic for the first time in 2016.
The route starts and finishes in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is redesigned every year. Race week lasts 8 days and typically covers around 700 kilometres (435 mi). The shortest Absa Cape Epic will be in 2016 at 647 kilometres (402 mi), the longest route being in 2008 at 966 kilometres (600 mi). The route originally was a point-to-point race, beginning in Knysna and ending in the winelands of the Western Cape. This format changed in 2009, where riders spent multiple days in each stage location to ensure the route could fully explore the best mountain biking that the region had to offer. This format looks likely to be the way forward for the organisation.
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