Etape du Tour - BC Licenses

NlEDERMEYER

ASO have just announced that they will no longer be accepting foriegn (to France) licenses for the Etape (someone must have toipped them off that you don't need a medical in the UK)

Also they are tightening up on the wording of doctor's letters, suggesting that the easiest thing to do is just to get them to stamp the form.

Likely that Sportcommunication (Marmotte) will follow suit, which effectively means no on the line entry for Brits.

Thought you might like to know....

ugo.santalucia

Is it difficult to get the form stamped by your GP?

Bronzie

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Is it difficult to get the form stamped by your GP?

Some GPs charge for this - my friend told me his wanted £125 to sign the form.

ugo.santalucia

Bronzie wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Is it difficult to get the form stamped by your GP?

Some GPs charge for this - my friend told me his wanted £125 to sign the form.

I would rather forge the signature than pay that money...

avoidingmyphd

it should cost £15, and many (all in my experience) will waive the fee. See BMA guidance here.

http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/no ... ,fees,form

So Bronzie your mate is a liar. He probably read it on an internet forum,
And everyone else, please try not to file this "fact" away in your brain with all the other nonsense about GP's you''ve heard recently.

Kléber

It depends on what you ask for. If you say something like "a race organiser needs to know for his liability insurance that I've been medically declared OK to take part in a competitive endurance race", your doctor is going to think very hard before signing any paper, in case he's sued if you blacked out, got ill or even died during the event and the medic would want a series of tests, like ECG exams and more.

If you say, "I need a letter that says "based on my medical records, there's no reason why I can't ride", that's a lot simpler.

NlEDERMEYER

The form for the etape says 'I know of no reason why the patient should not take part in competitive cycling'

This give some GP's the jitters - and they may decide this does not come under a standard heading as described in the BMA guidance (but thanks for posting the link anyway, it may be handy for thrusting under the doc's nose)

guv001

avoidingmyphd wrote:

So Bronzie your mate is a liar. He probably read it on an internet forum,

Thats a bit harsh mate you don't even know his friend...

portuguese mike

I wish i'd known that for this year - i got had (fairly basic) medical done then got the doc to stamp the entry form. Still i only got charged £25 not £125

andy_wrx

Needed one for the Paris marathon.

Took the form into the doc when I went for an appt about something else, so it wasn't just taking up an appt for this.
I said the wording I wanted was just that he knew of no reason why I shouldn't do it, but said it needed to be on surgery notepaper and signed.
He had a quick look on his PC, said yes you seem healthy I've hardly had you in the surgery, can't see any reason why you shouldn't do it.
I explained it would be 4th marathon and not died on any yet.
He laughed, told me that exercise was good for me and that as a doctor he should encourage it.
Told me to let his secretary know the wording I wanted, he'd sign it and I could pick it up in a couple of days.
A tenner - but I kinda felt that was as much for his secretary to type-up a letter as for him to sign it, and certainly no medical exam needed or done, just a cursory look at my notes on his PC

Chopster

NlEDERMEYER wrote:

ASO have just announced that they will no longer be accepting foriegn (to France) licenses for the Etape (someone must have toipped them off that you don't need a medical in the UK)

Also they are tightening up on the wording of doctor's letters, suggesting that the easiest thing to do is just to get them to stamp the form.

Likely that Sportcommunication (Marmotte) will follow suit, which effectively means no on the line entry for Brits.

Thought you might like to know....

When and where did they announce this?

There is no mention of it on the official EDT website.

niedermeyer

Chopster wrote:

NlEDERMEYER wrote:

ASO have just announced that they will no longer be accepting foriegn (to France) licenses for the Etape (someone must have toipped them off that you don't need a medical in the UK)

Also they are tightening up on the wording of doctor's letters, suggesting that the easiest thing to do is just to get them to stamp the form.

Likely that Sportcommunication (Marmotte) will follow suit, which effectively means no on the line entry for Brits.

Thought you might like to know....

When and where did they announce this?

There is no mention of it on the official EDT website.

Communicated yesterday by e-mail to tour organisers. No need for them to put it on the website as overseas riders are directed to tour companies. (the existing arrangement for UCI sanctioned licenses was an informal one anyway)

Le Commentateur

Should British Cycling bite the bullet and make taking a medical exam a pre-requisite to obtaining a race license, like other countries do?

Yes, the French love bureaucratic complexity, but on the other hand taking a proper medical could alert you to a previously undiagnosed problem.

The current BC membership/license system is a glorified golf club membership of perks (Gold, Silver Bronze).

garyspain

The current BC membership/license system is a glorified golf club membership of perks (Gold, Silver Bronze).

Lol I agree it always hurts paying for a bc license and then the same again for your local road race license + entry etc and not a medical in sight. Over here in Spain we have a ciclosportive license which allows you to take part in all but real race events, but if you go for the full race license you get a full medical included, power output, V02, the lot for €68 and races starting at €2.50. Hope this makes you feel better Lol

mrushton

http://www.cyclosport.org/article.aspx?id=953

Le Commentateur

garyspain wrote:

The current BC membership/license system is a glorified golf club membership of perks (Gold, Silver Bronze).

Lol I agree it always hurts paying for a bc license and then the same again for your local road race license + entry etc and not a medical in sight. Over here in Spain we have a ciclosportive license which allows you to take part in all but real race events, but if you go for the full race license you get a full medical included, power output, V02, the lot for €68 and races starting at €2.50. Hope this makes you feel better Lol

Interesting... the more I hear about what other countries do, the more I feel we're just being milked by BC. They should do more to promote health checks IMO. .

garyspain

I don't want to rub it in but the whole cycling culture is different over here as you know.
This year if we rode 14 club rides we got our shirt, bib shorts, gloves and socks for €20
Our sponsors pay €250 a year to be on our shirts, about 6 sponsors
My club payed my membership this year from event profits
Most local town halls have money available for sports clubs of any kind
We have a club car !!!!
Most sportives we attend are around €30 euros and include food during and after [massive paella] cycling shirt, goody bag etc

Tom Butcher

avoidingmyphd wrote:

it should cost £15, and many (all in my experience) will waive the fee. See BMA guidance here.

http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/no ... ,fees,form

So Bronzie your mate is a liar. He probably read it on an internet forum,
And everyone else, please try not to file this "fact" away in your brain with all the other nonsense about GP's you''ve heard recently.

I don't think it's true that they only charge £15 tops. I was asked to get a form signed saying I was fit to do a work placement (in the NHS too) and they wanted £50 without even seeing me - just to confirm there was nothing on my medical records that would preclude me. I did refuse and because it was for the NHS they did end up signing it after a bit of arguing with the receptionist - but if it had been for a sports event I'd have been paying the £50 - and this was a few years ago too.

Bronzie

avoidingmyphd wrote:

So Bronzie your mate is a liar. He probably read it on an internet forum,

I don't think so - he's not the sort to make a story like that up.

He was told by his GP in Luton that he wouldn't sign the form without giving him a full medical which would cost £125, and even then he couldn't guarantee he would pass him as being fit. My mate resorted to faking a signature. Think this was a few years ago, so things may well have changed.

benningj

Unfortunately not I've just received my entry form and phoned to get an appt with my local GP so I could get a signature, turns out that I have to attend one of the Doctors clinics (which are handily placed in the middle of the day) and that a medical will be either £60 or £120 depending on the nature of the what needs to be signed off. I was told that the latter was for insurance claims etc and thus a bit more thorough.

This is winding me up as yes I can't wait for the etape, but this year having booked tour, operator, flight etc it's just another exorbitant cost.

benningj

Unfortunately not I've just received my entry form and phoned to get an appt with my local GP so I could get a signature, turns out that I have to attend one of the Doctors clinics (which are handily placed in the middle of the day) and that a medical will be either £60 or £120 depending on the nature of the what needs to be signed off. I was told that the latter was for insurance claims etc and thus a bit more thorough.

This is winding me up as yes I can't wait for the etape, but this year having booked tour, operator, flight etc it's just another exorbitant cost.

Bronzie

Cyclosport.com are now offering a medical certificate for £40 in most cases - you fill in a fairly detailed questionnaire online, and if there are any question marks you have to book to see a medic for further appraisal. Not sure how well it works in practice, but may be worth a go as a cheaper alternative.

lochindaal

I took my form into my local GP, signed and stamped in 2 minutes and back out again for free. Seems like it is pot luck where you are

benningj

Might be better placed taking the form in and pleading for a bit of xmas spirit, but we'll see. Thanks for responses