The finish line

At the finish line, a Finish Line Service crew member will take a rider's bike so that the rider can go directly to the recovery zone to collect some Woolies munchies before retiring to his/her tent. Riders are requested to remove their cycling computers from their bikes as we do not take responsibility for any water damage that might occur. The bike will be registered on the On Key Enterprise Asset Management System as it enters the Bike Wash area to keep count of how many and who's bikes have been washed.

Bike wash

Upon entering the bike wash bay, the bike is soaped with a bio-degradable, non-degreasing Mororex soap (Motorex) before moving on to a stand where it will be thoroughly washed. Kranzle (involved with the Epic for the first time this year) sponsors the high pressure washers used in the Bike Wash. Our washers adhere to strict guidelines on how to carefully wash around seals and bearings. Washing of the bike is the first step of the maintenance of the day's wear and tare and to ensure a smooth ride for the next day.

One of the 7 stands is dedicated to the technicians of the top professional riders who signed up for the Pro-tech zone service as well. All the other bikes (and sometimes the riders) are washed by the approved Pragma team.

When the bike leaves the wash area, the bike is checked out of the On Key system and a SMS sent to the rider informing him/her that the bike is clean and parked in the Bike Park.

Bike Park

The setup of the bike park infrastructure is managed by another partner of the Absa Cape Epic. Pragma is responsible for the numbering of the bike park and ensuring that bikes are packed in their correct numerical spots. The bike park is a secured area with guards that the Epic appoint at the main entrance. Only riders and designated technicians may enter the bike park to collect bikes.

"We would like to invite the first-time riders to make use of the Finish Line and Bike Wash Services from day one. Our experience is that riders are naturally hesitant to hand over their bikes at first. However they soon realise the benefit and convenience of having clean bikes without any fuss, before servicing them for the next day's ride. By the latter stages of the race, bikes are unceremonially handed to the Pragma service to be taken care of without a second thought," says Corneli Vorster, Pragma Events Manager.

"Our clients understand our passion and drive to ensure that they can have peace of mind over the performance of their assets, controlled maintenance budgets and contained risk. We will do the same for every rider," Adrian Scheeres, CEO of Pragma Holdings.


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