How are South Africa’s iconic, long-standing road and mountain-bike events fairing, in this post-pandemic era? What does the future hold? 

Casual observers will have noticed that participant numbers at their favourite rides are not quite as stratospheric as in previous years, and there no longer seems to be the demand for entries that previously saw events like the Cape Town Cycle Tour institute a lotto system for a coveted start time. Popular mountain bike races like sani2c and Wines2Whales are still regarded as ‘must-do’, but entries no longer fly off the shelves as they did in their respective heydays. 

So, is it all doom and gloom? Are our beloved cycling events in South Africa on their way out, consigned to the scrapheap like your once-prized 26er mountain bike? Not so, according to South Africa’s major events organisers.

While many admit that since the dark days of the Covid lockdown, ‘the struggle is real’, they do see green shoots on the horizon. Some are innovating, others are tweaking what already works, while the brave and bold are even launching new events. Most agree that the industry is in flux, but the challenges faced by cycling events in South Africa are not insurmountable. 

The challenges

“I think [all events] are facing similar challenges in the current landscape,” says Christo Toua of the Ironman Group, organisers of the Cape Epic and Wines2Whales. 

“In the past, riders could participate in multiple events each year; but now, many are choosing just one or two to focus on. This shift makes planning and budgeting more difficult, as riders are entering later in the season. Since the pandemic, the cost to activate the various events has gone up substantially with inflation, but at the same time we try to keep price increases as low as possible.”

We must ensure our events are exceptional

Price sensitivity means that for organisers, there’s nowhere to hide. If riders are paying what they deem to be a high entry fee, they expect a world-class event. “For event organisers, the challenge is clear,” Toua says. “We must ensure our events are exceptional. It’s as simple as that. If riders trust the quality of an event and feel confident they’ll receive value for their money, they’re more likely to commit.” 

Fritz Pienaar, managing director of Faces – the company behind the increasingly popular Race to the Sea and Race to the Sun events, as well as the Trailseeker series and Ride Joburg – echoes Toua’s sentiments.

“[The pandemic] was devastating, as it resulted in a full ban on gatherings. Most sponsors also cancelled their agreements, and recovery was slow. We were almost back to normal in 2023; but we then faced some challenges with adverse weather and a tough economic landscape. We’ve also noticed that participants enter very late, which makes planning difficult, especially when it comes to ordering merchandise and medals, which we need to finalise months before the event date.” 

Rising costs for organisers is a common theme. Gary Green (organiser of Berg & Bush) and Henco Rademeyer of Dryland (organisers of the Cape Pioneer, Tankwa Trek and Attakwas Extreme) both highlight the difficulties of hosting races that are dependent on rider budgets.

“I would say our biggest challenge is trying to keep costs down to make the entry fee more affordable,” says Green. “That being said, you can’t compromise on food, trails and a great race village.” 

Rademeyer concurs: “The challenge right now is to keep the entry fee down, with the spiralling costs going up.” 

David Bellairs of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, which organises the Cape Town Cycle Tour and Double Century, says there are challenges on multiple fronts for road races, the biggest being the shrinking of the entire road cycling ecosystem.

Photo: Old Mutual Wealth Double Century

“A few years ago, there were fun rides every other weekend, all offering various distances. This allowed a variety of people to get into the sport. Sadly, many of these events have fallen by the wayside.”

Bellairs adds that the cost of hosting road events on public roads has also ramped up since 2010. “The requirements to host an event on public roads since the passing of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act 2 of 2010 have become onerous, which makes hosting an event on open roads very expensive. This leads to higher entry fees, which means people don’t enter, leading to events becoming unprofitable and ultimately falling off the calendar.” 

Glen Haw, founder of sani2c and co-founder of the Wild Ride, sums up the perfect storm of challenges that all events organisers face: “The numbers are just not there at the moment. We’re not getting the same number of entrants that we used to get, which has a knock-on effect because the numbers aren’t there to cover the costs; then the sponsors aren’t really enticed, due to low rider turnout. But even the sponsors don’t have the same amount of cash that they used to.” 

The innovations

Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak believes the secret to success is simple: “People want an adventure,” he says. “They don’t want to do the same thing over and over.” 

From turning an event that sounded ludicrous on paper into the world’s biggest mountain-bike stage race, and ultimately part of a global series with the Cape Epic as the pinnacle, Vermaak certainly understands what riders want.

“How are you innovating? What are you doing to make sure the rider keeps coming back? Look at the Cape Epic: innovation is baked into the very concept of the race. We created an event that changes every year, and it has enduring appeal because of [that] change. It’s easy to start an event; but to endure is very hard.”

Photo by Sam Clark/Cape Epic

Still, South Africa’s top cycling events can hardly be accused of resting on their laurels. As standards over the years have improved in accommodation, food, trails and rider experience, organisers have constantly upgraded and evolved to attract new riders and ensure their loyal fans return. (If you ever spent a night in one of those ghastly crêpe-paper tents that previously plagued stage races, you’ll know how far we’ve come…) The post-Covid revival, and the challenges outlined above, have forced events companies to innovate. 

You can get everything right; but if your route isn’t exciting, you won’t be successful.

Glen Haw says that sani2c has always tried to change things up to keep riders interested, but for them, the route is king. “We’ve introduced dual track and floating bridges, we’ve improved the race villages, sani2c started those evening presentations with highlights of the day… But the route is always our big attraction. You can get everything right; but if your route isn’t exciting, you won’t be successful.” 

Photo: KAP sani2c

For Dryland, being innovative means adapting to market demands. “Cape Pioneer is a good example of this,” says Henco Rademeyer. “In the past it was seven stages. We’ve dropped it to five, for a few reasons: people don’t have the time for a whole week off work; training for a five-day event is slightly easier, and more cost-effective; plus, we can drop the fee. I think Pioneer is a good example of how we’ve adapted to current market conditions and the demand from the cycling fraternity.” 

We offer exceptional experiences and great value to participants.

Fritz Pienaar of Faces says that putting the rider first is vital if you want to stand out from the crowd. “It’s all about the rider experience,” he says. “We offer exceptional experiences and great value to participants. Our value offering currently includes free photos to participants at all our cycling events, and quality merchandise at our gravel events.”

What about the smaller events? Jeremy Crowder, passionate cyclist and the man behind the fast-growing Stanford 100 and idiosyncratic Tanqua Kuru Bicycle Race, is of a similar opinion when it comes to rider satisfaction.

“We treat riders as customers rather than participants,” he says. “When you truly understand what that means, it becomes quite easy to create something memorable and valuable. All of our events are showstoppers – one of a kind. We do this to show value to our customers. We want them back, year after year. 

“We threw out the rule book, and put together races that we wanted to ride. We’re not different for the sake of being different; rather, we believe that our events can be far more than just a bicycle race.”

Gary Green from Berg & Bush agrees that you can’t stop innovating: “You have to move with the times. You have to continue improving and offer better, more luxurious accommodation. The race village must have Wi-Fi, the routes must be exciting, you need to keep improving the route, you need to offer great food and a good race village vibe… These are all the things we do at Berg & Bush to ensure riders are getting value for their entry fee.” 

Even a behemoth like the Cape Town Cycle Tour, an event with an incredible history and iconic route, has started to change things up. “There’s no denying that the wider market has shrunk,” says David Bellairs. “We’ve been relying on the traditional market; but we need to reach new people. 

“To that end, we introduced the shorter Cycle Tour route a few years ago, because we realised that 109km was just beyond some people. The shorter route allows new riders to sample the Cycle Tour, and acts as a bridge to the main event.”

Cape Town Cycle Tour

Bellairs says the Cycle Tour has also started to redefine how it views itself. “The modern rider is very discerning. People are looking for experiences, looking for value for money. The Cape Town Cycle Tour is actually very unique. It’s one of the few events to take place on fully closed roads – on a great route, with incredible scenery. 

“That’s the experience right there. We now see the Cycle Tour as a ‘cycling event’ and not a ‘road race’. More and more, we’re saying to riders, ‘Come and experience the Cycle Tour.’” 

The future of cycling events in South Africa

If you’re an enthusiastic cyclist in South Africa right now, you’re spoilt for choice. 

From Berg & Bush to Race to the Sea to the Double Century – and many other outstanding events – you can pick and choose your pedalling poison. Competition among events for rider numbers is healthy, and riders are clearly responding to the innovations introduced by event organisers, albeit not in the vast numbers of the 2000s. 

All of this might explain why so many organisers have a relatively buoyant outlook on the next few years ahead. 

“Like any sport, mountain biking experiences waves of popularity. We’re currently on the lower end of the curve; but the level of participation, especially locally, is still significant,” says the Ironman Group’s Christo Toua. “We believe the mountain-biking industry will remain stable, especially with new players entering the market. This growth is exciting for us, as more events lead to increased trail development and offer additional platforms for sponsors and pro teams, helping to build a sustainable industry.” 

Sani2c’s Glen Haw shares similar sentiments. “I’m positive,” he says. “Everything has a ‘cycle’. Look at something like the Comrades – it was battling about 10 years ago, and now it’s booming. Yes, our entries don’t fly like they did before the pandemic, but you have these ups and downs. Just like in farming!” 

Haw adds that as events look to the future, the focus needs to be on younger participants. “I think mountain-bike stage races need to attract the younger riders; our average age is getting much older. We need to get new riders into stage racing. We won’t be going smaller or more intimate. 

“Our whole model is to create opportunities for people in our community. We support 26 schools along our route; I would say more than half of them wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t for sani2c.” 

To attract a new audience, Haw and his team will soon launch a new event aimed at younger, budget-conscious riders. “It’s very exciting for us. We’ll be based in one place, to help keep the costs down, and I think the price and type of event will be very appealing.” 

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is also focusing on the next generation of riders. “Our biggest focus is on youth, and growing youth participation,” says Bellairs. “We need to reach into the youth market. With our shorter route, we’re hoping younger riders will start to gravitate towards the Cycle Tour.” 

The Faces group has seen growth at their events in the last few years, coming off a low post-Covid base, and they’re optimistic that more growth will follow in the years to come. “Our mountain-bike events are family-friendly, they cater to everyone from novices to elites, and they offer great value, so we receive good support,” says Fritz Pienaar. “The growth in school cycling is also encouraging, and we’re seeing good support from the youth.” 

Road cycling throws up more challenges than off-road events, but Faces continues to innovate in that space, too. “We believe that road cycling will grow if riders feel comfortable and safe while training. It’s for this reason that we created the Train Joburg initiative, which facilitates safe training opportunities in the months leading up to Ride Joburg. We’re seeing positive results in Gauteng, with many new riders entering the sport. We don’t expect to see more road races, but events with full road closure should still receive good support.” 

Pienaar adds that gravel has the potential to be the next big thing on the local racing scene. “We expect to see the biggest growth in gravel, as it’s a newer category with good international growth. We have fantastic gravel roads in South Africa, and our weather is suitable. The safety concerns on roads, and fear of injuries on the mountain bike, are also driving gravel’s growth.” 

Clearly, Dryland also believes this to be the case. In September this year they announced that they’ll be launching the Garden Route Giro – a gravel stage race – in 2026.

“This race has been a long time coming,” says Rademeyer. “Since launching the Prince George 100 Miler, we’ve seen a big jump in gravel racing and in people who own a gravel bike. We’re very positive for this segment of the cycling industry. 

“I think there are a lot of people doing gravel who are ex-roadies – everyone knows that the number of road tours or multi-day road events has plummeted – so I think people are hungry for this type of event. The Garden Route Giro lends itself to tourism, and we have these great, safe gravel roads to ride on. It was a logical step for us to bring people to this area to ride.”

In Rademeyer’s opinion, mountain biking is still here to stay, with road events possibly bearing the brunt of gravel’s growth. “I think mountain biking will always be popular,” he says. “We see that with our mountain-bike events: Attakwas and Tankwa Trek still attract good crowds; for Tankwa this year we had to put a cap on entries. I do think there will be a move towards gravel racing, though. I think gravel will grow, and that will probably eat into road events.” 

The Next Big Thing?

If you need a positive indicator that there’s life in South Africa’s cycling events industry yet, look no further than Kevin Vermaak and his future plans. Since hanging up his all-access Cape Epic lanyard, he’s been plotting something equally grand. 

Enter: the Gravel Burn Similar to Dryland’s Garden Route Giro, the Gravel Burn is a seven-day gravel stage race that will start in Knysna, head into the Karoo and finish at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. It was recently announced that the event will have a $150,000 (R2.8-million) prize purse for its inaugural event, making it the largest single-race prize purse in the history of gravel cycling.

“Right now, I’m immersing myself in Gravel Burn,” Vermaak says. “I wouldn’t be doing what I am if I wasn’t absolutely convinced that it will be bigger than the Cape Epic in the very near future. 

“Gravel racing is an exciting space right now. I think it’s a bigger market: there’s a lower barrier to entry, and there’s a bigger global following than [for] mountain biking. And South Africans are itching for something new.” 

Vermaak is bullish about his new venture, and he believes it will benefit the industry as a whole. “I love the Cape Epic, and I actually see a lot of symbioses between the Epic and the Gravel Burn: both events make South Africa even more palatable as a premium adventure travel destination. International riders are comfortable spending US$10 000 to participate in the Cape Epic or the Gravel Burn, because they trust the quality of events we deliver in South Africa.”

Going forward, Vermaak believes that three major events will be a draw for foreign cyclists: “Currently, I think that there are two races that attract cyclists to South Africa in significant numbers: the Cape Epic and the Cape Town Cycle Tour. I’d definitely fly back to South Africa for a weekend to ride the Cycle Tour with my son on a tandem, and when I ran the Epic we had sufficient demand to fill all entries with international riders. 

“Hopefully the Gravel Burn will become the third race that attracts a major international audience. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

The secret to success 

What do event organisers consider to be their key ingredient?

Christo Toua (Cape Epic/W2W): “Focus on the riders. Our guiding principle is to provide a premium rider experience in every aspect of our events.”

Glen Haw (sani2c): “Under-promise and over-deliver. You also need passion from the people who host the event. You can tell when there’s passion involved and when something is merely a business.” 

Gary Green (Berg & Bush): “Passion. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Make sure you’re a rider yourself, and you enjoy what you do.” 

Jeremy Crowder (Stanford 100/Tanqua Kuru): “Care. We care, and we’re personal. We respect every hard-earned rand that our customers spend with us. It’s our responsibility to give them a memorable time.”

READ MORE ON: events SA Events Special Report