As an engineering firm specialising in Physical Asset (Engineering) Management our involvement with the Absa Cape Epic is symbolic of the service that we provide on a daily basis – taking care of and improving the performance of physical assets.

In 2006 Gerrie Olivier, a Pragma director, took part in the Absa Cape Epic for the first time. Company CEO Adriaan Scheeres seconded Gerrie and soon realised that a bike wash service would benefit all the riders at the Epic. This initiative was approved by the ACE management and Pragma has diligently provided the bike wash service over the past three years. This year and for the next four years, Pragma’s involvement will expand into three different services:

• Pragma Finish-line Service
• Pragma Bike Wash
• Pragma Pro Tech Zone

The services will be managed by a group of Pragma managers taking part in a Leadership Development Program.

Pragma Finish-line Service
The aim of this service is to give a rider the opportunity to effortlessly hand over his bike for care and then head through to the recovery zone to take care of him/herself. At the finish line, Pragma staff members will be manning a chute where riders will hand over their bikes to be registered (asset-tagged) and washed at the Bike Wash, before being taken to the bike park. Riders can then collect their bike from the bike park at their leisure.

Pragma Bike Wash
The aim of this service is to wash a rider’s bike after a day’s race so that basic maintenance can be done on a clean bike. As in the past, the Pragma Bike Wash will consist of six dedicated wash bays. After being sprayed with Motorex bio-degradable non-degreaser detergent, the bikes are mounted onto specially designed bike stands and then hosed down with high-pressure Bosch washers. Great care is taken to rid the bikes of mud and grime whilst ensuring that none of the sensitive components are affected by the wash. The bikes are handed over to the bike park to dry afterwards.

Pragma Pro Tech Zone (co-branded with ACE)
The aim of this service is to give the top 30 UCI-licensed pro riders the facility to service their own bikes at the three water points. These teams will have access to pre-packed spares and wheel sets at each of the three water points. The service will operate from three Pragma panel vans, each branded with the relevant water point number. Managers of the pro teams will be responsible for replenishing the wheel sets and spares in the dedicated team toolboxes for the next day’s race. The vans will travel to their designated water points prior to the daily race start. A Pragma-branded ground sheet, with the pro riders’ team numbers on it, will be laid out, and the corresponding team spares from the van placed on the groundsheet. Pragma’s responsibility is limited to placing the wheels and toolboxes onto the groundsheet. Pro riders are required to carry out their own technical work – no mechanical support is provided.