Johannesburg – The prologue and final stage of the Cape Epic will be broadcast live in seven countries, event organisers announced on Tuesday.
Television stations in the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary and Switzerland will take live feeds for two hours on the final stage.
In South Africa, the prologue and the final stage seven will be shown live for more than four hours each day.
“This is the first time it has been shown live beyond South Africa and we are obviously very pleased that our race and country are being shown off to so many international viewers,” Epic founder Kevin Vermaak said in a statement.
“When we introduced the daily highlights show back in 2007, it was a challenge for our production teams.
“We were the first mountain bike race in South Africa to try this back then, but now it is a common feature for many races.”
The Epic prologue was first televised live in 2011 on South Africa's SuperSport channel. In 2012 the same channel broadcast both the prologue and the final stage.
The Cape Epic is still the only mountain bike stage race in the world broadcast live.
“Our investment in television over the years is starting to pay off, which would not have been possible without great partners and suppliers.
“In 2013 the Cape Epic was broadcast for more than 6 000 hours internationally, the bulk of that from highlights.”
The Epic will also host live streaming on its website, in addition to television products. – Sapa