Shimano BDS - British Cycling National Rd 5 at Bike Park Wales on Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th of September 2014. 

Ranking of event:
BC National Single Points.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/mtb/article/mtbst_National-MTB-Ranking-Points-Explained

The Venue: Nearest postcode: CF48 4TT.
Grid Ref: SO050035. GPS Coordinates: 51.718074, -3.361611

From Aberdeen Distance: 523.1 miles / Time: 9 hr 38 min
From Birmingham Distance: 105.2 miles / Time: 2 hr 14 min
From Bristol Distance: 59.8 miles / Time: 1 hr 11 min
From Edinburgh Distance: 392.6 miles / Time: 7 hr 9 min
From Fort William Distance: 494.3 miles / Time: 9 hr 4 min
From Glasgow Distance: 390.2 miles / Time: 6 hr 46 min
From Liverpool Distance: 158.9 miles / Time: 3 hr 32 min
From London Distance: 167.8 miles / Time: 3 hr 16 min
From Sheffield Distance: 197.3 miles / Time: 3 hr 38 min

From the M4 Take Junction 32 on the M4 (Cardiff/Merthyr Tydfil), at the roundabout take the A470 North towards Merthyr Tydfil/Pontypridd). Merge onto the A470 Go PAST Pontypridd (DO NOT take ANY exits)  Go STRAIGHT OVER the first roundabout Continue for 5 miles  Turn LEFT at the NEXT roundabout 1st Exit, and turn right into the venue The Venue is signposted GETHIN WOODLAND PARK on a big brown FE road sign. 

From the West on the A465 / Heads of the Valleys Road  Follow signs for Merthyr Tydfil/Cardiff/M4 At the roundabout take the 3rd exit onto the A470 towards Cardiff/Merthyr Tydfil Go STRAIGHT OVER the next TWO roundabouts Turn RIGHT at the NEXT roundabout 3rd Exit, and turn right into the venue.

From the East on the A465 / Heads of the Valleys Road  Follow signs for Cardiff/Town Centre on the A4060, turn LEFT at the roundabout 1st Exit onto the A4060 Go STRAIGHT OVER the next TWO roundabouts Turn LEFT at the NEXT roundabout 1st Exit, over a flyover Go STRAIGHT OVER the NEXT roundabout 2nd Exit, and turn right into the venue.

The £5.00 per vehicle charge will cover camping and parking. Racers will not have to pay this charge. The charge will apply for non racers and will go directly to the land owner for hire of his additional field, additional toilets, skips and litter pickers. Spectating will be free.

The Course: Man made obstacles are in abundance along the whole length of the course with several large jumps and berms. 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.

Length - km. 
Start altitude - m.
Finish altitude - m. 
Vertical descent - m. 
Fastest time mins,  secs.
Course rating (1-5 with 5 being very technical): Rating 4.

Nearest Train Station: Pentre-Bach. Postcode: CF48 4BD. 

Nearest Ferry Port: Swansea Ferry Port, King's Dock. Swansea, Wales SA1 1SF.

Nearest Airport: Cardiff (CWL), Vale of Glamorgan. CF62 3BD.

Medical: Medical: www.remotemedicalservices.co.uk will provide full medical cover both on course (In a 4x4 vehicle) and from an identifiable Base Station with an ambulance in the event arena. Five medical personnel ranging from one doctor to five paramedics. 

Camping: Camping will be available onsite for racers at no charge. 

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 20:00 on Friday, 07:30 to 222:00 on Saturday and 07:30 to 18:00 on Sunday. 

Toilets: Toilets will be provided, including disabled, urinal and women-only facilities. All will be serviced on Saturday evening and re-stocked throughout the weekend.

Skips: One 14 yard skip will be onsite.

Nearest Hospital: Prince Charles Hospital, Gurnos Road, Merthyr Tydfil. CF47 9DT.

Nearest Police Station: Troedyrhiw. CF48 4TT.

Nearest Showers: Are located on site and will offer male and female showers and changing facilities.

Drinking Water: Drinking water is available onsite.

Bike Wash: A bike wash is available onsite.

Organisation:  BDS Events. Race Director: Simon Paton. Email: si@descent-gear.com 
Mobile: 07968 229 359. Website: www.britishdownhillseries.com  
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/BritishDownhillSeries 

2014 Race Schedule:
Friday
13:00 Venue open for team pits, parking and camping. 
16:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted.
16:00 Commissaire course walk.
18:00 20:00 Race registration, please bring your valid 2014 BC/UCI Race Licence.

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 2014 BC/UCI Race Licence.
09.00 Uplift opens for all riders
09:30 Open practice for all riders.
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
08:30 Open Practice for all
10:10 Last Uplift Leaves
10:15 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 £72.00 and you will need 100 British Cycling points from your 2013 season to enter on January 4th 2014. Then is spaces are available those with 1 British Cycling point or more can enter on February 1st 2014.

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 number board for the series. It is your responsibility to look after the number board. A lost number board will mean an immediate £5.00 cash charge for a replacement. As will a number board that has a modified shape, sponsors logos removed or both.  No defacing of number boards is allowed. The number boards remain the property of BDS Events until the end of your race season.

Note: For series overall positions, four out of five 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 (975-999)
Youth - NS Bikes 15-16 years (900-974)
Grand Veteran   - Nuflex 50 and over (800-806)
Veteran - Dainese 40-49 years (700-749)
Master - Marzocchi 30-39 years (600-699)
Women - Flare Clothing 13 and over (525-549)
Elite Women - Schwalbe 19 and over (500-524)
Junior - Outdoor Tech 17-18 years (400-499)
Senior - Spank 19-29 years (200-399)
Expert - X-Fusion 19 and over (100-199)
Elite    - Schwalbe - 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 three riders in Elite Male and Elite Female will receive prize money.
All prize money will be paid directly by British Cycling to the riders.
Please note there is no series overall prize money.

Elite Men         
1st    £300      
2nd    £200   
3rd    £100      

Elite Women
1st    £200
2nd    £125
3rd    £75

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.

Ethic Watches 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.

Works Components Fastest Time Through the Speed Trap £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 overall race time will be declared the winner.

Podium: The award ceremony will take place ten minutes after the last rider has completed their race run.  The podium will be located in the finish arena.

Uplift Procedure: 8x Mini Buses and Trailers will be used to transport riders and bikes up the hill. Riders will be separated from their bikes. We will provide an uplift marshal at the pickup point.  We aim to lift at least 200 riders per hour. The uplift route at no time crosses the race track.

Race Timing: www.sportstimingsystems.co.uk  the UK distributor for Tag Heuer.
Results will be posted in the main arena on completion of each event and online 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:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/british-downhill-series/bds-rules-and-marshal-brief/10151412384255119

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 £12.00 administration charge per round cancelled. Refunds will be credited back to the card on which you originally paid within 28 days of your notice in writing to si@descent-gear.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 15:00 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 15:00 on the Friday of the race weekend.
The above policies are not dependant on circumstances and are final.
Please email si@descent-gear.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.

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.

Officials:
British Cycling Commissaires: TBC

Course Marshals: 17x 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.  

The marshal briefing will be carried out by the organiser and Chief Commissaire at 08:00 on the Saturday morning at the registration tent and then on Sunday morning at 07:30.


Insurance Document:
tbc

Course Map:
tbc

Info for Riders

This event is now full and entries are closed.