British Downhill Series 2016 – Fort William
We head to the Highlands this weekend for the 2nd round of the British Downhill Series. Lets hope the wind keeps itself under control this year.
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.
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 at the Fort William BDS: The signal for making phone calls across all networks maybe intermittent. 3G and 4G signals are not available.
Medical at the Fort William BDS: 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.
Nearest Hospital for the Fort William BDS: Belford Hospital, Belford Road, Fort William.
Nearest Police Station for the Fort William BDS: 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 Fort William 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:
Commercial Manager: Krien Dawson.
Logistics Manager: Tony Standish.
Head Marshal: Paul Tunnell.
Race Registration/Start Line: Anne Brewin.
Photographer: Yasmeen Green.
Videographers: GBB Media.
Event Schedule
Event Schedule for the Fort William BDS
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday directly before the BDS, the track is open for anyone to ride, please pay Nevis Range directly. Please note there are no BDS medics or marshals present on these days. Contact Nevis Range directly regards any incidents. The gondola will be open to ride from 10:15 for the first uplift until 15:45 for the last uplift. The cost of a multi trip on the gondola with a bike is £32.00.
Please note that on Friday the 13th of May the last uplift for the gondola will be at 14:45. The track must be cleared by 15:30.
Friday
13:00 Venue open for team pits, parking and camping.
16:00 Commissaire course walk. We reserve the right to change the course at any time through the event.
16:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. Please note the course may change during the track walk that starts from the start line.
15:00 – 21:00 Race registration, please bring your valid BC/UCI Race Licence.
Saturday
07:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted.
07:00 – 11:00 Race registration, please bring your valid BC/UCI Race Licence.
09.00 Uplift opens and all riders must have their transponders fitted to use the uplift.
09:30 Open practice for all Juvenile Men, Youth Men, Junior Men, Senior Men, Master Men, Veteran Men, Grand Veteran Men, Junior Women and Women.
10:30 Open practice for all.
16:59 Course closed for all Juvenile Men, Youth Men, Junior Men, Senior Men, Master Men, Veteran Men, Grand Veteran Men, Junior Women and Women.
17:00 Course open for Expert Men and Elite Men and Elite Women Only.
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.
Sunday
08:00 Uplift opens and all riders must have their transponders fitted to use the uplift.
08:30 Open Practice for all.
10:30 Last Uplift Leaves.
10:31 First Uplift for Racing.
10:45 – 11:00 Elite Men Practice only.
11:00 Course Closed.
11:15 Seeding Run followed by one timed Race Run.
17:30 Podium for top five in each category.
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 Men – DMR 13-14 years (900-925)
Youth Men – Super Alloy Springs 15-16 years (800-899)
Grand Veteran Men – Kore 50 and over (780-799)
Veteran Men – Dainese 40-49 years (700-774)
Master Men – NS Bikes 30-39 years (600-699)
Junior Women – Rachel Atherton 13-18 years (130-149)
Women – Uberbike 13 and over (160-199)
Junior Men – Spank 17-18 years (500-599)
Senior Men – PRO Tharsis 19-29 years (300-399)
Expert Men – X-Fusion 19 and over (200-299)
Elite Women – Schwalbe Tires 19 and over (100-125)
Elite Men – 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
Magura 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 race organiser.
The Mud Hugger 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. #Mudhugger @Themudhugger
PRO Tharsis 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. #PROtharsistrail @PRObikegear
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.
POV Footage This will be made available for all to view by being posted on line 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.
@BritishCycling, @RideShimano, @ShimanoMTB, @SchwalbeUK,
@MonsterEnergyUK, @Britishdownhill and @Britishdownhillseries
