£150 for medical certificate for Etape d'Tour - discuss !!!

usedtobefast

Hi All,

Went to the quacks today to enquire about getting my medical certificate for this years Etape sorted out, and was told they wanted £150 to do this javascript:emoticon(':shock:')!!!!

B*****y hell I thought, I'm being mugged by a GP. I know the deficit's a problem but I wasn't expecting to have to pay it off on my own.

Now I realise that something like this shouldn't be provided by the NHS, but I would have thought some sort of admin fee, say £30 to £50, would have been more appropriate. I would imagine for £150 I could get a full sports work up (VO2 max etc) and I can't imagine my GP has the knowledge or equipment to do this, so I reckon for £150 I'd get the basic "New Patient" check up.

I'm interested to hear what experience others have had around getting an Etape medical certificate, and for any ideas of where I could go instead of the GP's.

Cheers

P.

ugo.santalucia

if you want to balance real pros and cons, you'll end up with one conclusion only: forge it!

The Sportive insurance does not cover anything you need to be covered, hence there is no reason to have a real certificate

usedtobefast

Not quiet sure of your point here (unless I've missed something), it's nothing to do with insurance. I need the medical certificate to complete the entry process.

Etape --> no medical = no ride

Scrumple

Fake it

BigR

If it was the receptionist quoting a flat fee it may be worth speaking to your GP and explaining what you need. If you have no medical problems and it is a 3 liner then £150 is having a laugh.

cougie

I've raced ironman France - that wanted a medical certificate to enter it. I got a doctor friend to do a standard letter. If I was you I'd just get a rubber stamp made up for a fiver and do it yourself. Unless you are worried about your health in which case cough up for the full inspection ECG etc...

They're processing 1000s of entries - they dont check - same deal with the Paris Marathon.

slow_step

had a similar issue a few year back, had to pay my GP £100 for a 5 min assessment before I got the form signed. Last year even harder as the local doctors surgeries where I live now were putting up so many barriers for me to register with them in the first place that I gave up. Ended up going to the medicentre which I booked with 30 minutes notice, got it signed for £60.

not doing the etape this year as opted for the marmotte instead. Have heard a rumour that a race license can be used instead of a medcal certificate.

ugo.santalucia

usedtobefast wrote:

Not quiet sure of your point here (unless I've missed something), it's nothing to do with insurance. I need the medical certificate to complete the entry process.

Etape --> no medical = no ride

In fact I said forge it, fake it... it's the only sensible thing to do. See it like this: Any money you spend on it is wasted... so see how much you can afford to waste and if it's not worth it, then make a pretty fake

UpTheWall

They're taking the p1ss.

My GP charged a £10 admin fee to do the certificate, but I did this as part of a visit about another issue - he just asked me a few questions like: are you fit, have you trained, then said he thought I sounded like I knew what I was doing.

It's BS anyway. This was for the marmotte a few years back and the only reason they wanted it was to say that they would publish my result in the local paper or something.

I realised it was pointless and I could have entered anyway - I have a bike computer so I can time myself anyway!

cougie

They're just covering their arses. They dont want you to sue them if you drop down dead on the ride - so it makes sense from the organisers point of view.

From your point of view though - anything less than a full expensive checkup wouldnt detect anything wrong anyway - and you'd prob have popped your clogs in training already if you had a problem.

Boleynboy

Quite an important point being made here, I like many others I presume, have entered the Etape as a privateer (i.e without using the rip-off specialist travel companies) and I do not want to turn up for registration with the wrong piece of paper!
Two years ago I entered the Gimondi Fondo who also requested a medical certificate, I just got my doctor to sign a piece of paper with the surgeries details on it, she was supposed to charge me £15 but did not bother! They were accepting race licences as well, and this would be my preferred method because I hold a bronze British Cycling membershio/race licence which only costs £13.50 a year and obviously comes with extra benefits.
Can anyone shine some light on this issue?

usedtobefast

So from all the input so far I think the strategy for this is

#1 - Talk to GP directly to see if a more reasonable figure can be agreed.

#2 - Locate a different doctor to fill in the certificate with stamp

#3 - Pay for online service (about £50)

#4 - Fake it

Don't think I've missed anything.

johnny2legs

150 quid sounds way too much. I paid £15 for the doctor's certificate for last year's Etape.

Maybe it was a typo or the receptionist read it wrong

narbs

I had one done a few years ago by my GP who didn't charge me. Every year since I've just pasted over the last date with this year's, scanned as a pdf and sent it off. No problem.

As someone said above they get so many that they never validate them, I think it's just a case of certificate? yes? move on.

BC race licence is certainly valid for the Marmotte.

de_sisti

I got a friend in our club who's a GP to do the Marmotte certificate. He's not a bad rider too.
He's a <7hr 15 mins man for the Marmotte and top 200 finisher for the Gran Fondo Campag.
If that would have failed, I could always have got my Bro in Law, who's consultant surgeon
to knock one up for me. £150 though? Just type one up yourself and get a rubber stamp made
up for a tenner.

ugo.santalucia

De Sisti wrote:

I got a friend in our club who's a GP to do the Marmotte certificate. He's not a bad rider too.
He's a <7hr 15 mins man for the Marmotte and top 200 finisher for the Gran Fondo Campag.
If that would have failed, I could always have got my Bro in Law, who's consultant surgeon
to knock one up for me. £150 though? Just type one up yourself and get a rubber stamp made
up for a tenner.

Exactly... "Picchio"

cougie

There's no way they can check certificates from round the world - all they want is something plausible to cover their arse. They want you to have a declaration that you are fit enough - that's all.

The varying costs of doctors letters probably reflect the difference in what your doctor does for you. Some will just sign what you want and others will want to check you over to a greater or lesser extent.

bobhitch

the problem with faking or forging a certificate only comes if something goes wrong .Although the chances may be low, if you get a serious injury or drop dead during the event you can gaurentee that your life/critical illness insurers would soon find out that you had a forged certificate when they contacted the named Gp/practice and this would be their perfect excuse not to pay up.
so weigh up the odds and take your chances , I reckon you could shop around and get a valid bit of paper for less than the ridiculous £150 quoted but imho better to pay up and have one than not.

good luck

Kléber

It's all about the wording. If you drop dead in the event then people might go back to your GP and say "but you said he was ok" and he or she has to say "but I did all the tests required".

Instead if you ask for a letter that says "based on my patient's medical history and discussions with him, I see no current medical conditions that would prevent him from riding a bicycle event". This just means "he looks alright to me" and works a lot better, there's much less liabilty on the GP.

But don't forget GPs are private businesses and some will charge what they can get away with.

usedtobefast

I understand that it's all about people covering their respective arses from a legal perspective and this depends on wording of the document.

The pro forma I was going to use is the one from the Etape website. From those that have ridden the Etape before is this an official form you must use or a suggested format i.e. other medical certificates will be accepted ?

Also are their any doctors's reading this that would be willing (for a small admin fee of course) to provide me with a valid certificate ?

ugo.santalucia

Black market... great!

Rob Somerset

My doctor signed my Etape medical proforma for free. We had a 2 minute chat where we both agreed it was a bit meaningless as its my personal responsibility what I do. It may be a bit different if you have had some medical problems in the past though. I see no reason to charge a fee though. Consultaions and advice are free on the NHS, and presumably you prepare the paperwork so where is the charge incurred???

Boleynboy

Just print off the example given on the official website and get your local quack to sign it. What I want to know is do the Etape organisers want a copy of the certificate sent to them before the race or can you just show it when you go to pick your bib up pre-race? The official website does not make it clear what they want you to do once you have your certificate, some advice would be appreciated.

lochindaal

In previous years you always had to send your form in advance.

My underrtanding is this year you just need to have it with you when you register at the start village to get your bib number

toontra

Paris-Brest-Paris used to ask for a doctor's note. Most people faked it - never any questions asked. This year they are dropping the requirement!

My advice? If you're sure you're fit enough then fake it.

boondog

silly question here folks, where on their site do you need to upload a medical form to ?
I must have missed this when I entered.
p.s my doctor was free for last year, quick chat and that was it.

usedtobefast

Sounds like it's certainately worth talking directly to the GP and not the reception/practive manager/sales bod. As most of you have pointed out I know if I'm capable of the challenge or not, and I just need to get the GP to listen and agree with me.

Boleynboy

boondog wrote:

silly question here folks, where on their site do you need to upload a medical form to ?
I must have missed this when I entered.
p.s my doctor was free for last year, quick chat and that was it.

The medical form can be downloaded from the home page of the Etape website under the Registrations menu.
I am going to send one to the organisers address and keep a copy to take with me to the start village so hopefully that will cover all the bases.
If you look up your name on the runners list (also under the Registrations menu) it will appear with your reference number, name and a missing documents box which in my case is empty.
I am guessing that you have to send in your medical form to get that box ticked?
Nobody really seems to know for sure, and the website just demands that you have a certificate but not what you are supposed to do with it!

twotyred

I needed a certificate for this years Marmotte. I explained to the GP receptionist what I needed and she said I'd have to have a £150 sports examination. I showed her the form and she agreed that a full sports exam was probably excessive and booked me in to see my GP for a well person check (blood pressure, height weight, urine test) and she reckoned the GP would charge me a tenner for signing my form. Saw the GP explained what I was doing, no problems with any of the tests, she asked me if I was going to be doing it for charity and when she found out I was going to be collecting sponsorship waived any fee she might have been thinking of charging.

So to the OP, if medical centre staff are telling you its going to be £150 try and have a word with your GP and they may be more flexible.

gsk82

i don't think the price differences reflect anything otherthn how cheeky the doctors are feeling. i reckon most experienced doctors will just say fine that'll be 25quid or something. i have a BC race licence but will be ringing my doctor on monday to sort an annual scan and will drop it onto him at the end of the appointment, just as he wants rid of me

G-Wiz

Mine cost me a tenner, got it done when I went in for another appointment.

I'd call back and say that you've spoken to a few other people and don't think their charge is comparable. If that fails, call a few other local surgeries, won't they have access to the same NHS records?

From what I remember mine says about the same as Kelber's 2nd paragraph. I've never had anything more extensive then a blood pressure test done by my GP. It's more like "I don't know that he isn't fit" , than "I vouch that he is fit".