Absa Cape Epic

Vision

Connecting an iconic race to the world

The Absa Cape Epic brings mountain bikers from across the world together for a unique and grueling experience. But what puts this race in a category of its own is the 700km of remote, isolated terrain and potentially extreme weather conditions that riders experience.

Most of the route doesn’t have infrastructure for connectivity, with even mobile signal for calls not guaranteed. The race organizers needed a connectivity solution that would allow riders, UCI officials, the venue operating center, organizers, caterers, medical personnel and media to connect with each other and the rest of the world.

The medics must be able to communicate with hospitals and send treatment information if necessary. Media coverage needs to support real-time streaming, as well as allowing commentators to report from anywhere on the course.

The connectivity solution needs to be stable enough to function under all weather conditions, offer enough bandwidth to livestream the event, and secure to protect personal information.

Transformation

Providing connectivity wherever it’s needed

One of the Absa Cape Epic’s best-kept secrets is the next year’s race route. Since the route changes each year it requires new infrastructure to ensure that all corners of the race route are covered.

Once the infrastructure is in place, the network allows devices to connect to the network, allowing people to engage with each other and the outside world. These devices can range from IoT devices for tracking vehicles and riders to facilitating live media broadcasts and letting everyone share the excitement of the race through social media posts.

The ability to deliver this has seen the race’s YouTube views increase by 20% and Instagram followers grow by 14% between 2021 and 2022.

The race location means that fans can’t come see the action for themselves, with technology putting them in the thick of the action. Helicopter footage is combined with footage from ebikes and traditional camera positions. The ebikes allow experienced riders to follow racers without disrupting the racers’ experience with all the footage streamed in real time. The network also allows riders to share their personal experiences from their GoPros and smartphones.

The race experience keeps evolving. From connecting commentators reporting live from the course to live streaming the entire race coverage, on-screen data nuggets derived from analytics and data (such as the heart rate) for professional riders. We also supported the first fully independent live-streaming broadcast production as well as testing the delivery of personalized digital rider content to racers.

Results

Providing an immersive and connected race experience

Despite the Absa Cape Epic’s remote location, connectivity allows fans to watch the race, experience the action in real time and see where riders are on the route, where they finish and what their ranking is. Riders can upload their own statistics to assess their performance on the go.

High-availability connectivity

The success of the live steam relies on seamless connectivity. The Absa Cape Epic streams live from the ebikes, motorbikes and the helicopters. In 2022, 116 countries watched the live stream of the race with a total of 1 million views.

Improving safety

Knowing where racers are on the route allows the organizers to assist racers who have trouble on the route and send medics to their location. The mobile race hospital is connected to the Mediclinic hospital network, enabling world-class field triage and aftercare treatment. Medical histories are kept on record so that riders who compete again are given appropriate attention.

Real-time support

The Dimension Data team provide support on the ground allowing them to resolve technical issues fast. The network also allows experts to assist from anywhere in the world if needed.