Rose Bikes British Downhill Series Round #2 – Fort William – Preview
We’re onto round #2 of the BDS and we are at racers favourite – Fort William. Find out all you need to know here.
British Cycling’s National Downhill Mountain Bike Series Round 2 at Nevis Range on Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of May 2015.
SOLD OUT – NO SPACES LEFT – NO RESERVE LIST.
The Venue: Nevis Range, Torlundy, Fort Willliam, Inverness-shire. PH33 6SQ. Scotland.
Telephone: 01397 705 825, e-mail: info@nevisrange.co.uk
Located on the A82 between Fort William and Spean Bridge, the venue will be well sign posted.
Aberdeen Distance: 154.1 miles / Time: 3 hr 31 min.
Birmingham: Distance: 399.8 miles / Time: 7 hr 24 min.
Bristol Distance: 481.5 miles / Time: 8 hr 41 min.
Edinburgh Distance: 138.7 miles / Time: 3 hr 8 min.
Glasgow Distance: 113.2 miles / Time: 2 hr 35 min.
Liverpool Distance: 328.7 miles / Time: 6 hr 11 min.
London Distance: 514.1 miles / Time: 9 hr 32 min.
Sheffield Distance: 366.6 miles / Time: 7 hr 2 min.
Nearest Train Station: Tom-na-Faire. Station Square, Fort William. Highland PH33 6TQ.
Nearest Ferry Port: Stranraer. Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. DG9 7RA.
Nearest Airport: Inverness Airport (INV / EGPE) Dalcross, Inverness IV2 7JB.
Another major airport is Glasgow International Airport (GLA / EGPF), which is in Glasgow, Scotland and is 70 miles from Fort William. Edinburgh Airport (EDI / EGPH) is in Edinburgh, Scotland and is 89 miles from Fort William.
Parking: Please look at the event map here: Nevis Range Round 2 Pit Map.
Parking is free as is spectating. Please note their is a fee for spectators to use the Gondola service, tickets are available at Nevis Range directly to purchase on the day. No advance booking is required.
Camping: Apologies to say that there is no camping or over night stays permitted at Nevis Range Fort William for round 2. The car park at Nevis Range was never intended as a camp site and we must thank them for their flexibility in the past to allow us the use of their facilities overnight at past BDS events. We still have to share the car park with a high number of Nevis Range customers such as the tourists using the gondola, hikers, climbers, MTB trail riders and the high wire thrill seekers. We are a victim of our own success with ever increasing pit space required and a full allocation of race entrants means last year we were very close to capacity in the car park. Now add in the correct camping procedures of having 4 meter gaps between each pitch and an 8 meter drive way allowing for emergency access and you can easily see why this decision has been forced upon us. Various camp sites are around the area, most favourable is the Glen Nevis Camp site.
E-Zee Ups and Team pits may be left erected over night as long as they are firmly secured. Just note the ground surface is very hard, straight steel pegs/pins are advised to secure your pitch.
Security: Will be onsite both Friday and Saturday night of the event. You are advised to lock away all of your possessions.
The Course: The course is probably the toughest on the World Cup circuit and will be physically and technically challenging. The finish arena is large in size and will be surrounded by crowd barriers. Riders are advised to wear suitable protection that they think suitable, walk the course prior to riding and ride within their own ability level.
Start Line Grid Reference: NN 17178 77356
Finish Line Grid Reference: NN 18645 75559
Length – 2.82km.
Start altitude – 658 m.
Finish altitude – 104 m.
Vertical descent – 554m.
Fastest time 4:50 minutes.
Course rating (1-5 with 5 being very technical): Rating 4.
Phone Signal: The signal for making phone calls across all networks maybe intermittent. 3G and 4G signals are not available.
Medical: Rescue Medics will provide full medical cover:
Medical base at finish:
1 x Doctor/Paramedic
1 x Nurse
On the course we will have medics covering each of the following areas:
1. Start to Tower 13
2. Tower 13 to Slabs
3. Slabs to Deer Fence
4. Deer Fence to Intake Road
5. Intake Road to Puggy Line
6. Puggy Line to Off-Beat Wall
7. One Floating with 4×4 ambulance
There will also be a 4×4 ambulance positioned at the Intake Road.
Public Announcements: A PA system will be on site with announcements throughout the day. Toby Parodi, the voice of the BDS will be on hand all weekend. A Notice Board will also be on display in the Race Office/Rider Registration area for displaying information regarding the event.
Catering: Onsite Catering providing fresh hot and cold food and refreshments from 09:00 to 18:00 on Friday, 08:00 to 23:00 on Saturday, 07:00 to 17:00 on Sunday. Nevis Range have two cafes, one at the base station (which has free wireless) and one at the top of the hill by the start line. The mobile cafe will be open by the finish line.
Toilets: Both indoor men’s and women’s toilets are available both at the base station and the top of the hill near the start. 8x Mobile Toilets will also be provided.
Skips: One 14 yard skip will be onsite. This is for rubbish items used at the event. Anyone arriving onsite and dumping in the skip will be withdrawn from the event and invoiced accordingly. Please ensure all BBQ’s are cold before disposing of in the skip. A fire will result in you being invoiced in full for any damage.
Nearest Hospital: Belford Hospital, Belford Road, Fort William.
Nearest Police Station: High Street, Fort William. PH33 6EE.
Nearest Showers: There are showers onsite at Nevis Range at £1.00 for 3minutes and will be open when the cafe is open.
Drinking Water: Drinking water is available onsite.
Bike Wash: A bike wash is available onsite and is located at the rear of the gondola hall courtesy of Duck Smart.
Midges: They can be a nightmare! The BDS team uses Avon Skin So Soft. If it’s raining, windy/breezy or hot and sunny you will not see any. If it’s a damp day with no wind and little rain they may appear, be warned.
Organisation: BDS Events. British Cycling Club Registration Number 11280.
Event Director: Simon Paton
British Cycling Licence Number 405398.
Email: si@pinkbike.com
Mobile: 07968 229 359.
BDS Team:
Race Director: Colin Olden.
Commercial Manager: Krien Dawson.
Event Village Manager – Tony Standish.
Head Marshal: Paul Tunnell.
Race Registration/Start Line: Anne Brewin.
Track Maintenance: TBC.
Photographer: Alex Gann, Grip Media.
Videographers: GBB Media.
2015 Event Schedule:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday directly before the BDS, the track is open for anyone to ride, please pay Nevis Range directly.
Friday
09:00 Venue open for team pits and parking.
10:30 – 13:45 The track is open for anyone to ride, please pay Nevis Range onsite, no need to book.
16:00 Commissaire course walk. We reserve the right to change the course at any time through the event.
18:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. If you wish to use the gondola please pay Nevis Range.
18:00 – 20:00 Race registration, please bring your valid 2015 BC/UCI Race Licence.
23:00 Venue closed, no overnight camping is permitted.
Saturday
07:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted.
08:00 – 11:00 Race registration, please bring your valid 2015 BC/UCI Race Licence.
09.10 Uplift opens for all riders.
09:30 Open practice for all riders.
17:30 Last uplift.
18:00 Course Closed.
18:05 Riders meeting.
18:30 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted.
21:00 Venue closed, please vacate the site and note no overnight camping is permitted.
Sunday
08:00 Uplift opens.
08:30 Open Practice for all.
10:15 Last Uplift Leaves.
10:16 First Uplift for racing.
10:45 Course Closed.
11:00 Timed Seeding Run followed by one timed race run.
17:30 Podium for top five in each category.
Event Entry: The race is pre-entry only via the British Cycling Website.
Race entry is £75.00 and you will need 100 British Cycling points from your 2014 season to enter on January 3rd 2015. Then is spaces are available those with 1 British Cycling point or more can enter on February 1st 2015.
Racer numbers will be available at the race office where all riders must sign on and present their valid National Federations race licence and membership. Failure to do so will result in a £10.00 fine payable to British Cycling. Once paid, the rider can then complete registration and compete in the event.
Riders will be given one front number board for the series. It is your responsibility to look after the number board. A lost front number board will mean an immediate £5.00 cash charge for a replacement. The same £5.00 fee applies if you modify your front number board and it needs replacing.
Riders racing in the following categories will receive a rear number board for UCi events only (Nevis Range and Llangollen): Women, Elite Women, Junior, Senior, Expert and Elite Men. It is your responsibility to look after the rear number board. A lost rear number board will mean an immediate £3.00 cash charge for a replacement. The same £3.00 fee applies if you modify your rear number board and it needs replacing. We will supply you with four safety pins to attach your rear number board at race registration. You may attach your rear number board using tape (supplied by yourself). Please note you must ensure you do not cover up any logos with said tape. Plus the whole of the rear number board must be clearly displayed.
The front number board must be displayed on the front of your bike at all times whilst on track. The rear number board is only required to be displayed during timed runs such as qualifying and race runs.
The number boards remain the property of BDS Events until the end of your race season. Please note no deposit is required.
Rider Registration opens: Friday from 18:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 08:00 to 11:00.
Note: For series overall positions, five out of six rounds count, including seeding points.
Race Categories and running order for both seeding and race run. Race numbers shown in brackets:
Juvenile – DMR 13-14 years (900-925)
Youth – Marzocchi 15-16 years (800-899)
Grand Veteran – Hookit Products 50 and over (780-799)
Veteran – Dainese 40-49 years (700-774)
Master – NS Bikes 30-39 years (600-699)
Junior Women – Rachel Atherton 13-18 years (130-149)
Women – Flare Clothing 13 and over (160-199)
Elite Women – Schwalbe Tires 19 and over (100-125)
Junior – Spank 17-18 years (500-599)
Senior – Shimano – 19-29 years (300-399)
Expert – X-Fusion 19 and over (200-299)
Elite – Schwalbe Tires – 19 and over (1-99)
Juvenile – Riders must be in the year of their 13th or 14th birthday.
Youth – Riders in the year of their 15th or 16th birthdays.
Junior – Riders in the year of their 17th or 18th birthdays.
Senior – Riders in the year of their 19th birthday then the Senior category is the appropriate aged based category. See below for how riders can attain Expert or Elite status.
Master – For riders aged 30 to 39.
Veteran – For riders aged 40 to 49.
Grand Veteran – For riders aged over 50
Prize Money: The fastest riders overall from the Male Junior, Senior, Expert and Elite will receive prize money and UCI points in accordance with the UCI rule book.
The fastest riders overall from the Female Junior, Senior and Elite will receive prize money and UCI points in accordance with the UCI rule book. All prize money will be paid directly by the race organiser to the riders by bank transfer. You will be contacted within 48 hours of the event with a request for your bank details and will then be paid within 48 hours. Please note there is no series overall prize money.
Men and Women’s UCI cat 1
1st 600 euros
2nd 500 euros
3rd 400 euros
4th 300 euros
5th 250 euros
6th 200 euros
7th 150 euros
8th 125 euros
9th 100 euros
10th 50 euros
UCi Cat 1 Points
1st – 60
2nd – 40
3rd – 30
4th – 25
5th – 20
6th – 18
7th – 16
8th – 14
9th – 12
10th – 10
11th – 8
12th – 6
13th – 4
14th – 2
15th – 1
For each remaining race category the top five will be invited onto the podium and will win a voucher to cash in at the end of the series after the last round. The race organiser will e-mail each winner directly within a week of the final event stating exactly how much you have won and put you in touch directly with your category sponsor to claim your prize. If you have won for example £100.00 worth of vouchers you can purchase a £120.00 item and pay the difference yourself. If you purchase an item worth £90.00, you can not be refunded the difference.
You must claim your prizes by 18:00GMT on Friday 30th October 2015 or you will loose your prize.
Prize breakdown for each category*.
£100 for 1st place.
£80.00 for 2nd place.
£60.00 for 3rd place.
£40.00 for 4th place.
£20.00 for 5th place.
*This excludes the Elite Male and Female categories. The Grand Veterans will receive vouchers for the top three at each round (£75, £50, £25) and for the top three overall (£100, £75, £50). The Junior Women will receive vouchers for the top three at each round (£100, £60, £40) and for the top three overall (A prize money can’t buy).
Rose Bikes Biggest Winning Margin £100.00
The rider who beats the rest of the field in their category during their race run by the biggest winning margin (There must be 10 or more in the category). In the event of a tie, the rider with the fastest race time will be declared the winner. Prize money will be paid directly by the race organiser.
The Mud Hugger Fastest Time of the Day £100.00
The rider who records the fastest time of the day in their race run. In the event of a tie, the rider with the fastest race time in seeding will be declared the winner. Prize money will be paid directly by The Mud Hugger.
Works Components Fastest Speed Through the Speed Trap £100.00
The rider who records the fastest speed of the day in their race run. In the event of a tie, the rider with the fastest overall race time will be declared the winner. Prize money will be paid directly by the race organiser.
Ride Portugal the official riding holiday partner of the 2015 BDS. A fully inclusive holiday providing flights, accommodation and two square meals a day to one lucky category winner at each round of the BDS; Round 1 Women, Round 2 Senior, Round 3 Master, Round 4 Veteran, Round 5 Grand Veteran, Round 6 Expert.
Head/Chest Cam Footage: This will be made available for all to view by being posted online through all the various media channels.
Podium: The award ceremony will take place five minutes after the last rider has completed their race run. The podium will be located in the finish arena.
Instant Pop Up Shelters are kindly supplied by Surf & Turf who are supporting the BDS with Instant Pop Up Shelters at every round.
http://www.surfturf.co.uk/
Uplift Procedure: Gondolas will transport both riders and bikes. Bikes will hang from their seats outside of the gondola, please ensure your seat and seat post are tight and up to the job. Please fill every hook on each gondola, failure to do so will result in longer queues. We will provide an uplift marshal at the pick up point. We aim to lift at least 200 riders per hour. The route is a circular uplift so the gondola has no need to stop.
Those who have purchased a ticket to ride on the Friday can use that ticket in the afternoon as an uplift to walk down the track, after 15:15.
If you just want to purchase a gondola ticket on the Friday afternoon as an uplift for you to walk the course then your best bet is to get 12 people together at the same time with one person making the payment having collected cash from the others. This would give you a group rate of £9.50 per person.
Gondola pricing and opening times for the week before the event, including the Friday. Just note the DH race track as used for the BDS will be closed at 15:15.
http://bike.nevisrange.co.uk/gondola-prices.asp
Gondola pricing and opening times for spectators:
http://www.nevisrange.co.uk/gondola_times_and_prices.asp
Race Timing: www.sportstimingsystems.co
Results will be posted in the main arena on completion of each event and on line by Sunday 21:00.
Wireless communications will be used. The riders will start from a covered area and will cross a laser beam to start the timing. The finish line will use laser beams again to capture the rider crossing the finish line. A large T.V screen will show the results live at the finish line. Live split timing will be provided. Provisional results from each category will be printed and displayed within five minutes of the category finishing.
Race Regulations: The event will run under BC and UCI Regulations and Penalties. Please make sure you aware of the additional BDS rules:
Protection: Juvenile and Youth are required to wear the following body armour:
Full Spine, Elbow pads and Knee pads.
Refunds, Transfers and Cancellation of the Event: Refunds and Transfers:
If you wish to cancel a booking please note the following cancellation conditions:
29+ days notice: Entry fee minus a £15.00 administration charge per round cancelled. Refunds will be credited to your bank account. Please contact the Event Director stating which round you want to be withdrawn from and what category you are in. Also your bank account sort code and account number to si@pinkbike.com.
28 days or less, no refund.
Transfer requests with 29 days notice are applicable for any remaining events in the BDS series that year.
Transfer requests 28 days or less notice are not applicable.
Please note you can not swap your entry with another rider.
The race weekend starts from 16:00 on Friday (Course open for inspection) therefore the timescales above mean all e-mails must be received by our deadline which is 4 weeks before the 16:00 on the Friday of the race weekend.
The above policies are not dependant on circumstances and are final. Please email si@pinkbike.com please note we will not deal with any cancellations over the phone, by text or Facebook. Inform us of your full name, category racing and which rounds of the BDS we are dealing with.
UCi Elite Team managers, please inform the Event Director Si Paton by e-mail: si@pinkbike.com within 72 hours of the event (Friday 16:00GMT) if an Elite Team rider can not make the event. Failure to do this will result in a £75.00 fine. Payment must be paid in full before the next event, failure to comply will result in the team being unable to sign on for the next event until payment is made.
Force Majeure: If the BDS is prevented (directly or indirectly) from performing any of its obligations under the entry agreement by reasons of act of God, strikes, trade disputes, breakdowns, government or political action, interruption of transport, acts of war or terrorism, acts of omissions by a third party for any other reasons whatsoever outside of the BDS control, then the BDS will be under no liability whatsoever to you and may as its option, cancel the event.
If a BDS event is cancelled we will not be liable for costs of travel fares, hotels, or any other expenses that may be incurred.
It is your responsibility to ensure the race is going ahead before travelling. We will do our best to inform you if the race has to be cancelled but we do not accept liability if we are unable to contact you. We strongly advise that you check before making travel and accommodation arrangements.
If the event is cancelled we are unable to refund or part refund any entry fee, we are also unable to transfer your entry to another event.
Please follow the British Downhill Series on Facebook to ensure you are kept up to date.
Media Manager: Our Media Manager will manage the media and provide all our sponsors and media with photographs from the weekend.
Officials: UCI Commissaire: Sergio Sbrillio.
British Cycling Commissaires: Adrian Walls, Andrea Lockhart, Digby Sym and David Hamilton.
Course Marshals: 30x marshals will be in place on course both Saturday and Sunday. Each marshal will be easily identifiable by wearing a high visibility vest. Marshals will also be supplied with a working two way radio, a whistle, a red and yellow flag and refreshments. We aim to ensure all our marshals are aged 21 or over and fit and able.
Rider 999 Richard Davidson is the rolling marshal during practice.
The marshal briefing will be carried out by the BDS Team and Chief Commissaire at 08:00 on the Saturday morning at the registration tent and then on Sunday morning at 07:30.
Insurance Document: British Cycling have issued the insurance document and this has been forwarded to all Commissaires and will be on display at race registration.
Course Map: Will be presented to the Commissaires, Medics and Head Marshal on the Friday evening of the event. The map will also be displayed at race registration.