British Cycling drop enduro

rockmonkeysc

British Cycling have announced that they are not going to support or insure enduro events. The only real reason given in their announcement is that it will take resources away from downhill which they have committed to supporting.
Seems odd to drop the fastest growing form of mountain bike racing.

lostboysaint

And one of the more accessible. Bizarre!

peter413

Here's the email they sent if anyone hasn't seen it elsewhere:

From: Commissaire Matters <commissairematters@britishcycling.org.uk>
Subject: Enduro Events
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 10:11:48 +0000

British Cycling has undertaken a detailed review of MTB Enduro events over the past season, including consulting people within the discipline to better understand the structure, event format, process for delivery and the audience. Following this review, we have decided that we are not in a position to insure MTB Enduro events for the moment.

This is not a decision which has been taken lightly – those involved in MTB Enduro deserve a great deal of credit for the work they have put into an evolving area of the sport which attracts a variety of new and existing participants.

However, the discipline format does present challenges for event organisation and the officials. From a British Cycling perspective, any requirements or regulations that we would need to put in place may have a negative impact on the future sustainability of events and could also impact on resources we devote to other parts of the sport, particularly MTB Downhill as the two disciplines are closely linked.

MTB Downhill and its future development and sustainability is something that we are committed to. It is an area that requires continued and substantial support and through that support we aim to raise standards and in doing that improving the quality of the racing environment for all. We will continue to engage with those involved in MTB Enduro and support them as the discipline develops.

With that in mind, we’d like to remind all commissaires that if you are approached by any organisers to officiate at an Enduro event then please be aware that any role you may agree to will be performed outside of your capacity as a British Cycling commissaire.

Please be aware that this policy concerns only those events termed “Enduro” in the currently accepted sense – a series of time sections joined by linking stages. Some organisers still use “Enduro” to denote a mass start endurance/marathon style event, and such races are unaffected.

Kind regards,
Officials Education
British Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester, M11 4DQ
Telephone: +44 (0)161 274 2026 | Mobile: +44 (0) 7940 738361 | britishcycling.org.uk<http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/&gt;

I'm not really sure what to think of all this. On the one hand it might make organising events harder without the support of BC but on the other it means organisers should be free to make their own rules for their own races (thinking specifically full faces here).

I can't say I'm all that surprised to see this happen but it's still an odd move. What are these regulations they would have to put in place? They've already been involved in events without these regulations negatively impacting them so why would they now absolutely have to put them in place? I imagine different organisations having different attitudes towards enduro hasn't helped things but that shouldn't be something that can't be overcome since the same could be said of downhill events although they probably aren't quite so differing in their approach. Enduro events are obviously harder to control but so long as everyone involved stays on the ball it doesn't cause any issues.

rockmonkeysc

Personally I like a more relaxed race, which you don't really get at BC events but if UK riders are to compete internationally they need to be racing regularly in a national series with the same rules as the international series.
I know BC is mostly run by roadies who don't understand mountain bike racing, maybe they are afraid of the unknown. I'm sure the liability risks are no worse than the events the run and insure on open roads.

The Northern Monkey

http://wideopenmag.co.uk/news/24219/bre ... ro-in-2015

IMO, I'm not too surprised.

There was a thread on PB a few weeks ago (will try and find it) around the rules of "Enduro" and how vague/open to interpretation they were and how events were vastly different from each other in terms of the type of route/riding.

A lot of people (including pro's) have differing views of what the linking sections should be.
Some mentioning they are difficult/long XC sections which don't suit the type of bike used for the timed sections, others complain that the cut off time between linking and timed sections don't seem to be based on the actual terrain of the linking section and that more times than not, there just isn't enough time allowed.

If the rules of Enduro course timed and linking sections were agreed and more defined, I reckon BC would re-consider.
For instance (taken from UCI rules):

Downhill or "DH"
Should be all downhill
Single track, jeep road, field tracks and rocky tracks
Rapid and technical sections
Little emphasis on pedalling
Minimum course length 1.5km
maximum course length 3.5km

Admittedly, I've not ridden an enduro event so have no idea. I ignored the comments on STW as all the weekend warrior bumboys were complaining the sections were too difficult.... IMO they looked bloody awesome!

peter413

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Personally I like a more relaxed race, which you don't really get at BC events but if UK riders are to compete internationally they need to be racing regularly in a national series with the same rules as the international series.

Nah I wouldn't agree with that. Innerleithen MTB Racing events are both BC events and have a very relaxed atmosphere. There are no start times at each stage, you get a dibber at the start of the day, dib it at the start and end of each stage whenever you like and then hand it back at the end of the day. There are loads of people who ride around in groups and have a great day doing it. At the same time the tracks they pick can be incredibly hard. For instance at the last SES at Innerleithen the first stage was a nightmare to ride for most. Even the pros were coming down saying how difficult it was to ride and there were more than a few tantrums from riders at the bottom.

These events don't have all the same rules as the international ones yet the very quick riders still seem to love them and some that I've talked to have said they like them better than any other enduro events in the UK simply because they always pick tracks that challenge the best. Personally from what I've seen of the Gravity Enduro's, the Scottish Enduro Series is far better and would make a better national series if it wasn't for the fact it was only in Scotland.

rockmonkeysc

I have done several DH races which don't conform to that description.
Last year's Welsh Champs even had a climb! Most tracks are under 1.5km and a lot are very pedaly.

Ferrals

Presumably it's largely a risk averse decision about insurance liability? I have never done, and have no interest in doing an enduro but from the outside it looks like it would be harder to police/make safe than dh or xc?

The Northern Monkey

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have done several DH races which don't conform to that description.
Last year's Welsh Champs even had a climb! Most tracks are under 1.5km and a lot are very pedaly.

admittedly, that was probably world cup? not sure tbh!

rockmonkeysc

The Northern Monkey wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have done several DH races which don't conform to that description.
Last year's Welsh Champs even had a climb! Most tracks are under 1.5km and a lot are very pedaly.

admittedly, that was probably world cup? not sure tbh!

Wels Champs World Cup, same thing.

The Northern Monkey

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have done several DH races which don't conform to that description.
Last year's Welsh Champs even had a climb! Most tracks are under 1.5km and a lot are very pedaly.

admittedly, that was probably world cup? not sure tbh!

Wels Champs World Cup, same thing.

Well no.

World cup was:
Pietermaritzburg
Cairns
Fort William
Leogang
Mont-Saint Anne
Windham
Meribel
Hafjell

rockmonkeysc

I guess by lack of resources to run the events BC are probably refering to needing multiple commissaries because there are often two or more tracks open for racing at the same time.
I have been to more than a couple BC run downhill races this year which haven't had a commissaire at all because there were none available.

danchandler

It's ok, they've binned trials off as well, despite Jack Carthy winning every championship he's eligible for. No support whatsoever for him. Not one bit of help. British cycling are an absolute joke. The whole hierarchy is so blinded by their own importance it's unreal

rockmonkeysc

I have read a bit more about their reasons for dropping enduro and to be honest, it makes sense.
The problem is that as far as legal types and insurance people are concerned, enduro is basically a series of downhill races with a short ride between each one. Some of the stages at some races are even DH race tracks but in enduro safety is a lot more relaxed and it's not practical to have the same number of marshals on three tracks at a time and compulsory full face helmets would be unpopular. Full track taping would be several kilometres of tape so is impractical.
On top of that there are a lot of inconsistencies in rules and no standard format at international level.
BC have said the liability risk is too much, they are committed to downhill so can't afford the risk of enduro as well.

rockmonkeysc

Also racing on DH tracks but with looser rules on protection doesn't help. Speeds may be slightly lower but riders will push to their limit. I would rather not see a mandatory full face rule though.