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The Absa Cape Epic, also known as the Cape Epic, is an annual stage mountain bike race that takes place in the Western Cape, South Africa, and was first held in 2004. It has been accredited as a hors catégorie (more beyond categorization) by the Union Cycliste Internationale.
The race generally covers more than 100 km (62 mi) and lasts eight days: a prologue and seven stages. Professional mountain bikers from around the world compete in up to 650 teams of two. To qualify for a final, teams must stay together throughout the race. The race is also open to fans, who enter a lottery to win a spot. The times needed to finish each stage are added together 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.
Kevin Vermaak 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. Today the Absa Cape Epic is commonly referred to as "the Tour de France of mountain biking". The growth of the Absa Cape Epic has paralleled an explosion in mountain biking in South Africa and there are now over 50 stage races.
An electrical engineering graduate from Capetonian and UCT, Kevin worked in IT in London in the early 2000s and, as a passionate mountain biker, rode in events around the world, including two Himalayan mountain bike traverses. He conceived Absa Cape Epic while participating in La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica in November 2002. In February 2003 he was back in South Africa after eight years in London to establish Cape Epic. Vermaak rode the Absa Cape Epic for the first time in 2016 and again in 2019.