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Total Prize Purse: R1 743 200
The Absa Cape Epic matched the Women's prize purse to the Men’s purse in 2014. The increase to R700 000 for the Women's category purse made it the biggest prize for women in cycling and took the race’s total prize purse for all categories to R1 600 000. The Absa African Women's special jersey was later introduced in 2018 for the first all-African Women's category team to cross the finish line, further increasing the prize purse by R100 000 to a total of R1 743 200.
The trophies and special awards at the Absa Cape Epic also makes it the ultimate prize in Mountain Biking.
- All UCI licensed teams that wish to compete for prize money and earn UCI points must present their valid UCI license at registration
- Prize money is awarded per team
- Teams are eligible for stage money even if they do not complete the entire race (except in the event of disqualification)
- All prize money is in South African Rand and will be paid via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
- Please note that unless you can provide us with your SA income tax number we are obliged by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to withhold 15% tax on prize money. This will be deducted off the prize money due to you and paid over to SARS accordingly.
UCI Status
The Absa Cape Epic was awarded Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) status in 2005 - the first-ever team mountain bike stage race to achieve this. At the time it was the only mountain bike race in Africa to appear on the UCI calendar. Since then the race was classified as SHC (stage hors categorie) by the UCI for the Men's and Women's categories, which is the highest classification awarded by the UCI. There are only 5 HC bike stage races in the world, the other four HC classified races being the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Cyprus Sunshine Cup.
The Men's and Women's category winners receive 320 UCI points per team (160 per rider). This can have a huge impact on the racing season, and compares favourably to the UCI awarding 300 points to the individual winner of a Mountain Bike World Championship
The following UCI points are awarded to each rider in a team according to the following GC / overall results, with no UCI points are awarded for stage results.
Men and Women
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 160 | 150 | 140 | 130 | 120 | 110 | 100 | 90 | 80 | 70 | 65 | 60 | 55 | 50 | 45 | 40 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 30 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Prize Money
Men's and Women's UCI Licensed Teams
Each year professional mountain bikers from around the globe come together at the Absa Cape Epic start line to race for the ultimate title in mountain biking.
| Position | Overall Results | Stage Results |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R300 000 | R5 000 |
| 2 | R200 000 | R3 000 |
| 3 | R120 000 | R2 200 |
| 4 | R70 000 | R1 800 |
| 5 | R60 000 | R1 500 |
| 6 | R40 000 | R1 300 |
| 7 | R30 000 | R1 200 |
| 8 | R20 000 | R1 000 |
| 9 | R15 000 | R 900 |
| 10 | R12 000 | R 800 |
Hotspots
Hotspot prizes are awarded to the first Men's and Women's team to pass a pre selected part of the route.
| Stage | Category | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 3 | Men's and Women's | R15 000 |
| Stage 4 | Men's and Women's | R15 000 |
| Stage 7 | Men's and Women's | R15 000 |
Special Ranking Absa African Men's and Women's Jersey
Prize money is awarded for both the Men’s and Women’s Absa African jersey winners. To be eligible for this prize money, teams must finish within 15% of the GC winning times in their respective category.
Any prize money not awarded at the Absa Cape Epic will be used to support riders who are chosen to represent South Africa at the cross country or marathon World Championships.
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1st | R50 000 |
| 2nd | R30 000 |
| 3rd | R20 000 |
