Rules & Regulations
1 - DEFINITION
The ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE (ABC) is a stage race available to all participants older than 18 years of age no matter his nationality or gender. It is a stage race in line race hosted in the historical city of Tavira on the coastline and it will cross some of the best trails of barrocal and Serra do Caldeirão and comes back to Tavira.
The riders race in teams of two on a compulsory predefined ground track. They are not allowed to use or be helped in any way by motorized means.
All the teams race simultaneously against each other aiming to spend the minimum amount of time to reach the finishing line each day. The winner is the team who accumulates the shortest total time.
ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE 2014 is composed of 2 stages and a Prologue totaling approximately 170 km. The race starts on the 28th March 2013 and finishes on the 30th March 2014.
The Race is organized by ASSOCIAÇÃO CLUBE BTT CONCEIÇÂO DE FARO.
2 – REGISTRATION
The total number of teams participating in the ABC 2014 is limited to 150.
Registration opens online in race's webpage at 00:00h on the 1st June 2013 and closes on the 1rd March 2014.
In order to become effective, a registration must be validated by the Organization who reserves the right to refuse a registration. In this case the Organizers will inform the team of their decision by sending an email within a week. The refused entry, if already paid, will be reimbursed in full. This decision is irrevocable and The Organizers are not obliged to justify their decision.
Any registration will only be considered valid after payment of the total bth Team rider's entry fee has been received.
A Registration will only be validated after the receiving of the Wire Transferr proof by mail to abc2014@algarvebikechallenge.com. The wire transfer payment to:
Associacao clube BCF
IBAN: PT50 0035 0205 00011916 930 73
Swift code: CGDIPTPL
3 – PARTICIPATION
In the ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE there aren’t age groups or categories. All teams competing will be listed in one only classification.
MOBILE PHONES
All participants are required to carry a cell phone that must be switched on and operational at all times whilst they are racing.
HELMETS
The use of a helmet specific to the activity the competitor is undertaking is mandatory during all the stages. Any competitor who fails to comply with this rule will be suspended from the race.
RACE NUMBERS
All competitors must display their race number, facing forwards so as to be visible to anyone positioned in their line of movement. Failing to comply with this rule the team will be suspended from the race.
Modifications to the size of the number plates have to be previously allowed by the Organizers. Modifications to the design or graphics of the race number plates are not allowed. These numbers plates have designated spaces for the official race sponsors and these spaces cannot be tampered with in any way or form.
Any exhibition of graphics anywhere on the athlete or equipment that are considered obscene will be sanctioned by the offending competitor’s suspension from the race.
There are no categories or classes of racers and all athletes are competing in a single category.
4 – Bonus System
In order to provide an equal opportunity to all participants in the race, regardless of age or gender, we have introduced a system of allowances that grants discounts in time. These are showed as percentages of the nominal stage time, as established by the organization.
These calculations give time intervals for each team and for each stage that are defined in the form of an Advance Start Time relative to the Official Start Time (the time at which all athletes with no bonus start).
The total racing time of a stage is calculated for all participants in the same manner, that is, from the Official Start Time until the time the participant crosses the finishing line.
Athletes that are attributed these bonuses:
All female participants = 15%.
All participants over the age of 40, according to the following table:
=>40 =<45 - 3%
=>46 =<50 - 6%
=>51 =<55 - 9%
=>56 =<60 - 12%
=>61 =<65 - 15%
=>66 - 20%
These bonusses are cumulative when each racers allowance is calculated.
5 - THE ROUTE
The route of the ABC 2014 Starts in the mystic and historical city of Tavira in eastern Algarve facing northwest to Algarve´s inland crossing the barrocal and Serra do caldeirão coming back to Tavira. On the second stage riders will race north and east covering all the Tavira council. The ABC is 95% raced in gravel roads, trails and single traks.
The race track crosses many roads and offroads as well as villages along the way. This presents an increased security risk for the racers not only due to lack of visibility, but also because of the speed of the vehicles travelling on those roads. In order to promote the racers’ security in these situations all the dangerous zones will be signaled by the Organization. Please note that on both stages the traffic will not be closed and the riders must respect the traffic regulations.
It is mandatory to follow the race track with a high degree of precision. Penalties will be applied to those athletes shortcutting or bypassing any part of the race track. The race track is hereby defined as a 80 meter wide corridor in which the track is the middle line. Each fault will be penalized by 20 minutes for every kilometer missed out of the race track. In these calculations fractions of a kilometer will be considered as full kilometers.
The race track will not be marked or indicated beside dangerous areas. Before the Race start the organization will send to all participant's email adress the Gps track and maps and each team must upload the file to their devices personally.
The Organization will be on Friday 28th March 2014 in Tavira to give all the assistance in this matter.
The Organization will not be available to upload file on team's devices in the stage days.
The competitors are fully responsible for the good operation and functionality of their GPS receivers and for the integrity of the data stored in them.
6 - THE START
Every stage start time for every competitor with a time allowance will be made according to the start time schedule issued specifically for that stage, informed on the race book provided at ABC registration day or online in the official website.
The prologue will start at 08:00pm. Teams will race individually and depart minute by minute.
The Official Start Time of the stages (the start time of all competitors without time allowances) is the one that appears in the official race program.
The Start Control gate closes 15 minutes after the Official Start Time. Any competitors that start the stage after the Official Start Time will not be penalized as long as they do it before the closure of this start control time.
Any competitor who crosses the start line after the closure of the Start Control gate time will not be considered as racing, therefore they will not be timed for that stage.
The race official time is the GPS time, and the Time Zone is Western Europe (London, Lisbon)
7 - CHECKPOINTS (CP)
The Organization will set up Checkpoints along the length of the route. The competitors may not be informed where all these CPs are, which are there exclusively for security reasons, to ascertain that the competitors are following the race track. If any team fails to be checked at any of the CPs, they will be desclassified from the race.
The CPs may or may not be manned by someone from the organization. When a staff member is present they will register each team’s passage by recording race number and time of passage.
Some CPs will close at a predetermined time.
All competitors who reach a CP after its closing time are obliged to stop and will either be transported to the Finishing line by the Organization or receive instructions on how to safely get there.
Each stage’s CP closing times will be informed on the Race Book.
8 - THE FINISH
The location of the Finish Control Gate will be announced to the competitors and will be marked on the gps data and maps provided. A Team finishes their stage the moment they cross the finishing line.
The Finish Control Gate closing time, will be defined by the Organization and will be announced on the Race Book.
If a team is not qualified in any given stage, it will be assigned the maximum time allowed for that stage. In the General Classification, the Team will come after all those without disqualifications and will be positioned according to number of km done amongst those with the same number of qualified stages.
All teams crossing the finishing line in each stage will be requested to hand their GPS receivers to the designated staff member immediately after crossing the finishing line. Their stage track log will be screened to check whether or not there are any faults to be accounted for.
In the Algarve Bike Challenge the GPS device is a key piece in the team´s participation in the race and they have to carry it switched on and logging his motion at all times whilst racing.
If a team refuses or cannot hand over their GPS device to the organization immediately after crossing the finishing line, the stage will not be validated and will be assigned with the maximum time allowed for that stage.
Close to the finishing line on each stage the organization will set up a Recovery zone area where competitors will have available several beverages, fresh fruit and snacks. This service is included in the race package.
9 - WITHDRAWALS FROM THE RACE
If any competitor decides to withdraw from the race for whatever reason, they must immediately inform the organization. This can be done at any CheckPoint or by phone directly to the race coordination office. A special card with important phone numbers will be handed out to all competitors before the start of the race. If a competitor fails to inform the organization in case of their withdrawal, they will be responsible for the expenses incurred by the organization due to unnecessary search and rescue operations that will be set up. These costs will have to be supported by the competitor who failed to inform the organization of his or her withdrawal.
10 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT
At the end of each stage the organization provide technical support to participants bicycles if required. In all cases parts and accessories must be paid for by the rider.
11 - MASSAGES
will be available daily massage service. However, there will a limited number of massages possible every day.
Booking for massages will always be subject to availability.
12 – ACCOMODATION
The registration on ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE includes accomodation on 28th and 29th March 2014 at the Vila Galé Albacora 4 Star Hotel grew out of the renovation od a typical, old tuna fish market. Thanks to its origins, the Albacora hotel has unique architectural and cultural features set right in the middle of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa in a spectacular spot just in front of Tavira.
13 – COMPULSORY DISQUALIFICATION
The race director has the power to disqualify or not allow any participant to start racing if, in the director’s judgment, they configure anyone of the following cases:
* Health related concerns;
*Abusive or premeditated violation of the race rules;
* Unsportsmanlike conduct;
* Suspected ingestion of alcohol or signs of hallucinogenic drugs;
* Disrespect of the local laws, religions or costumes;
* Disrespect for the environment (energy bars wrappers thrown out on the trails are included)
* Disrespect of traffic rules.
14 – CLASSIFICATIONS
The ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE 2014 will be won by the team who accumulates the minimum total time at the end of both stages.
There will be one single classification.
The classification will be sorted first by the number of completed stages and then by total time. Those teams not classified in all stages will be sorted primarily by the number of stages, then by number of valid raced kms and finally by the relative time taken.
The organization will produce 2 sets of classifications each day, one showing the results of that day’s stage and the other showing the General Classification after that stage. These classifications will also show penalties and time differences between competitors. For the classifications team’s times will be measured in the units of hours, minutes and seconds.
15 – PRIZES
There will be prizes for the first 3 places in the General Classification.
The main prizes will be:
1st prize – Trophy + 400 euros
2nd prize – Trophy + 250 euros
3rd prize – Trophy + 150 euros
These monetary prizes will only be distributed if there are more than 50 participants at the Start of the race.
All teams competing will receive:
- A race pack
- The GPS tracks for all stages.
- 2 Feed Zones per stage.
- One recovery drink zone per stage at the finish.
- An official jersey of the ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE.
- Exclusive race Insurance
16 – OTHER MATTERS
The jury will also decide, if necessary, on all issues that are not addressed by the present document or on all misunderstandings that this document may create. Furthermore, the jury is empowered to decide upon the application of penalties related to issues that are not properly covered by this document.
These Race Rules may be altered without previous warning if omissions, errors or text leading to misinterpretations are posteriorly found.