ABSA Cape Epic

CM.com new Headline sponsor of Absa Cape Epic Women’s category  

Press Release / 15.02.2022

The Absa Cape Epic today reached another big milestone in its continued drive for innovative event solutions.
 
CM.com has come on board not only as Official Conversational Commerce Partner, but also as new sponsor of the Women’s category. As a global leader in cloud software for conversational commerce, the company’s philosophies could not be better aligned to The Race That Measures All.
 
CM.com is a multinational corporation with various high-profile clients that offers solutions for ways of connecting people with each other. CM.com views high-quality mobile technology as a means of enabling their customers to be part of people’s lives.
 
“Blending innovation and technology to create world-class rider experiences is a key focal point for the Absa Cape Epic and the Epic Series,” said Absa Cape Epic Founder, Kevin Vermaak, explaining how creating a virtual race office drives both efficiency of interactions and offers increased rider safety.
 
“We have always offered riders the best experience when they are at our events and having CM.com creating a virtual race office, in addition to our Digital Event Guide, are just two ways we are working towards delivering another world-class event in 2022,” he said.
 
A big part of mountain biking and the Absa Cape Epic is the community and for a company such as CM.com it is about going more virtual without losing the human element and the essence of the experience.
 
"The globally recognised Absa Cape Epic is a testament to what humans can achieve through perseverance and hard work,” said James Bayhack, CM.com Director, Sub Saharan Africa. “We quickly noticed that both our organisations share a passion for pushing boundaries and creating amazing experiences and we believe that our partnership with the Absa Cape Epic will allow us to enhance the rider and spectator journey through the enablement of our cloud software solutions.”
 
The new partnership is also a fitting new addition to the highly contested Absa Cape Epic Women’s category, with brand synergies on and off the bike.
 
CM.com plays in a hugely competitive space and in the world of retail, automation can make the difference between success and failure of their clients. In this vein CM.com’s aim is to help grow the stature of the Women’s category, increase participation and inspire more young women to take up the sport.
 
"As the main sponsor behind the Absa Cape Epic Women’s category, we’re excited about setting new standards in women’s mountain biking,” said Lisa Lottering, CM.com Snr Digital Marketing Manager, Sub Saharan Africa.
 
Olympic medalists, current and former World Champions and the world’s top women marathon racers have contested the distinctive orange jersey, including the likes of Ariane Lüthi, Anna van der Breggen, Kate Courtney, and Annika Langvad. The category has gone from strength to strength over the years. UCI points begun being awarded in the Women’s category from 2012 and in 2014 the category prize purse was boosted to equal that of the men. From 2016 UCI Women’s teams would start in a separate batch after the UCI Men, which served once again to sharpen the competition in the category. With this new partnership the category is set to be elevated to a whole new level.
 
From 2022 to 2023, the Women’s category will be known as the CM.com Women’s category and the leaders will be immediately recognisable on the trails and on television screens across the world in the brand-new orange CM.com Women’s category leader jerseys that have been created by Ciovita. The orange jersey represents enthusiasm, determination, attraction to excellence and success.
 
The 2022 Absa Cape Epic is set for 20-27 March and the racing is set to be fast and furious as the world’s top women’s teams make their way from Lourensford Wine Estate to Elandskloof Farm Cottages, then on to Stellenbosch before culminating on the pristine grounds of Val de Vie Estate. Tune in to the Live Broadcast on cape-epic.com to watch the fight for the orange CM.com Women’s jersey.

To learn more about CM.com’s offering, please visit  https://www.cm.com/en-za/