Guaranteed Entries into 2010

If you’re considering riding the race in 2010, the good news is that you can guarantee yourself an entry by being the fastest at the keyboard on the Sunday night after the race this year. We’ve allocated 100 of the 600 available team entries to be sold as guaranteed entries on a first come first served basis starting at exactly midnight on Sunday 29 March 2009.If you’re ready to commit a full year in advance be sure to be at your computer on Sunday after the race!

The remaining entries will still be allocated via the lottery, which will run as usual until 30 June. Lottery tickets are available now and both you and your partner can buy lottery tickets in order to stand a chance of gaining an entry. Lottery results will be announced by 14 July 2009.

The route for 2010 will be announced at our annual Charity Gala that will take place on 28 October 2009. But we can announce that in 2010 we will introduce a new daily ‘refuel zone’ on the finish line where riders will be able to eat as much as they can immediately after they finish the day’s stage. This will be new for 2010 and is a result of canvassing riders for what we can still do to improve the riding experience. Watch this space for even more new additions to the rider package for 2010.

The team entry fee is increased from 2009 but the Absa Cape Epic still remains one of the cheapest mountain bike stage races in the world. More and more major stage races are appearing on the global mountain bike calendar and each is raising the organisational standard and expectations of participating riders. Up until now we have been lucky to be regarded as one of the best value and organised races in the world, and we want to ensure that we keep this prized position. Therefore we need to continue introducing new features and enhanced levels of service to our participating riders from across the globe. The increased entry fee will allow us to continue our quest to host the best mountain bike stage race in the world on South African soil each year.