Faced with increasing costs due to the decline of the rand and the substantial growth of the event, the Absa Cape Epic will introduce a US dollar-based entry fee for foreign entrants from 2017. South African riders will continue to pay their entry fee in the local currency. The respective entry fees for 2017 will be R67 900 and 5 490 US dollars.  The ZAR / USD exchange rate has declined by over 140% since 2011. Due to this decline in the value of the ZAR, the USD equivalent of the 2012 entry fee (in ZAR) was in fact more than the USD equivalent of the entry fee for this year’s race.

The only change to the 2017 entry process is the introduction of the international lottery.

• Identical, to previous years, 100 Early Bird entries will be available on March 21 – the day after this year’s event. These slots are available to anyone, South African or international, on a first-come-first-served basis. The advantage of this is that an entry is secured immediately and successful applicants have a full year of training available. The 2017 price of Early Bird entries is R67 900 for South African and international riders.
• This will be followed by two separate lottery process - one for international riders and another for South African residents.
• South African lottery:  Available to South African residents with a valid SA ID number. The lottery opens immediately after the Early Bird entries sell out, and closes on 30 May. South Africans will pay the SA Rand entry fee.
• International lottery:  International team entry fee for all riders without an SA ID number. The lottery opens immediately after the Early Bird entries are sold out, and closes on 30 May. Non-South African residents will be charged in US Dollars.

The cost of staging the Absa Cape Epic and maintaining the standards that have been set, have grown considerably in recent years. This is due in part to the poor performance of the rand against foreign currencies and the race having to cover certain costs including race timing, satellite broadcasts, elements of the TV production, international distribution of television packages and international marketing in foreign currency.   At the same time the scale of the event has grown exponentially in recent years and in several areas costs have outstripped inflation. 

Some areas where this applies include the following:

• The media coverage of the event has mushroomed in recent years, with journalists from around the world attending the race. The media facilities and technology to support them has had to grow in similar fashion.
• A variety of factors such as the scale of the event, the number of people on site and the growing infrastructure have resulted in the Absa Cape Epic being classified a ‘medium risk’ event by disaster management services. The event has had to address and grow its safety and security staff and facilities to address the requirements that are inherent in this classification.
• The race villages are bigger and infrastructure needs have increased due to innovations the Absa Cape Epic has introduced to improve the rider experience, the growth in media and to accommodate sponsor requirements.
• An example of growing infrastructure needs is the water points.  Water points today attract many more spectators and are as big as the finish line used to be just a few years ago. Accommodating these spectators and ensuring there is appropriate crowd control, barriers and safety measures are costs the Absa Cape Epic did not have in earlier years.
•  The event’s fuel and transportation costs have increased at a rate greater than inflation due to having more infrastructure to move between race villages, where most of the structures and facilities are temporary and erected by the event staff.

The Absa Cape Epic has worked hard and invested considerably in developing its reputation as the world’s foremost mountain bike stage race. It has become an international event with the largest television coverage globally and attracts professional riders and amateurs from around the world. 

The race continually strives to offer an unparalleled rider experience both on the bike and off it and it has full-time staff which service the needs of riders and stakeholders around the year. Rider feedback from professionals and amateurs has continually been overwhelmingly positive about the event organisation and the race is proud of its overall event delivery and experience.  The business has to continue to adapt to ensure it meets the expectations of its stakeholders.