GBDuro

[Ming the Merciless]

Angus Young disqualified 🙀

Freehub failed with 120km to go and a random dot watcher lent him a bike to get him to the finish, which the organisers have decided is against the rules. He should have somehow (taxi?) got to a bike shop (where?), got it fixed then returned to the course and then carried on.

That’s very tough. 🙁

All described in Dotwatcher. It was with 222km to go and taxi to Inverness.

 

[chriswoody]

Incredibly cruel luck, there's a bit more here:

https://bikepacking.com/news/angus-young-stage-4-gbduro-freehub-failure/

It does seem to be a harsh decision, especially in light of this passage from the above article:

"The rules are slightly nebulous as many ultra-endurance race events require any support to be “unplanned” or “from commercially available sources.” GBduro’s own race manual states that no support, “from other riders or friends/family or make bookings in advance of the ride; all food, repairs, etc, must be acquired from commercial sources or from the kindness of strangers.” In my opinion, the latter kindness of strangers statement seems to theoretically legitimize it, but organizers are reviewing the facts and will make a decision regarding the legality of a bike swap shortly.

It looks like Jaimi Wilson has grabbed third though, which is fantastic.

Massive respect to everyone who took part this year, it really has been a tough event.

 

[Proto]

Someone told me Angus Young helped write the rules!

 

[neil_merseyside]

I In my opinion, the latter kindness of strangers statement seems to theoretically legitimize it, but organizers are reviewing the facts and will make a decision regarding the legality of a bike swap shortly.

All you'd need is kindly strangers with freshly charged bikes every 50 miles then...

 

[matticus]

@Ming the Merciless but this confuses me:
"For some of the pack they were setting off for the final push to John O’Groats whereas we had our remaining riders cross the border into Scotland ready for the final stretch North."
... which implies that some riders are further up the route. I think!

EDIT: oh hang on - maybe they're talking about riders still in GC, then a separate group who are outside time limits but still riding?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

@Ming the Merciless but this confuses me:
"For some of the pack they were setting off for the final push to John O’Groats whereas we had our remaining riders cross the border into Scotland ready for the final stretch North."
... which implies that some riders are further up the route. I think!

EDIT: oh hang on - maybe they're talking about riders still in GC, then a separate group who are outside time limits but still riding?

Your edit has it. Riders who are outside the time limits and therefore GC. Have decided to continue. But obviously outside of the race by that point.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

These rules can be a bit tough. Some of them seem a bit weird and obsessive to me as an outsider, but I'm sure they make sense to the participants.

Still, Angus Young must be getting on a bit now, AC/DC have been around for ages. So fair play to him.

The self support rules that he fell foul of are an ultra racing thing. Audax is also self supported. Other than what the organiser lays on. But in audax if you borrowed a bike or someone (another rider or random person) gave you an inner tube. As long as you rode the route and pass through controls in time limits you’d be fine. So less strict, but the latter isn’t racing.

Same with accommodation. Pre booking in ultra races is a big no no. But if you want to book accommodation on an audax. Crack on. In fact on a few multi day audax the organisers even suggest where to book a stop.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Yeah, they tend to seem a bit extreme to me. For example your pal texting you "Big storm forecast for tonight" would be a no-no, but you looking at weather.com would be fine. They remind me of Eugene Christophe getting into trouble in the TdF for getting a boy to operate the forge bellows when he fixed his fork. And maybe that's right, as ultra racing is in part going back to the roots of early, self reliant, racing.

But as I'm not an ultra-racer and never will be it's absolutely none of my business, and it's not really important what I think.

I think ultra racing is something I’d have got into if it’d kicked off 20 years ago. GBDURO is just the thing that would have caught my eye in my 30s when I was doing multi day off road mtn bike tours.

As it was, 11 years ago, I found audax in mid 40s as I switched back to road riding.

In my 60s I think I’ll be moving more towards touring with time to divert and proper sleep!

 

[matticus]

Regardless of when it started I don't think I'd ever have had the physical ability to go in for ultra racing. Or, indeed any kind of racing. In my 30s I was plodding round half-marathons with the sole aim of getting to the finish before everyone went home.

If "ChrisX" can complete a "typical" audax, ChrisX can do a bike race. Thing is, you have to pick the right one according to ability!
<deletes long essay talking about 24h TT, 'Cross, velodromes yada yada ... >

ChrisX could ride a 10mile TT. ChrisX might be able to complete an Ultra race inside cut-offs; there is a spectrum out there. GBDuro is NOT at the easy end of that sepctrum, and I know I couldn't complete in GC limits (and that's a year with good weather)!

The faster/fitter* ChrisX is, the more races are available. Of course being at the sharp end is a totally different thing, and isn't even on my radar.

*add in other mental/skills/experience stuff as desired.

 

[Dogtrousers]

We seem to be drifting OT a bit. To come back to GBDuro, I wonder what the legal position is, holding what is essentially a stage race on (or partly on) public highways. I wonder if it falls under the same set of laws/regulations as "ordinary" racing.

 

[GuyBoden]

Well done Mark Beaumont.
Mark Beaumont has won GBDURO21 in 135h 24m
Another success to add to his great cycling achievements.

 

[matticus]

We seem to be drifting OT a bit. To come back to GBDuro, I wonder what the legal position is, holding what is essentially a stage race on (or partly on) public highways. I wonder if it falls under the same set of laws/regulations as "ordinary" racing.

[As no-one else has had a go at this ...]
I think races are acting on precedent here. The laws of "ordinary" racing are focused on bunch racing (very highly regulated), and time trials (less so). Long-distance stuff is ridden a lot less franticaly than TTs, so there's an argument that they need even less regulation.
In the UK, TCR has tested the water with a race of sufficiently high profile that the police can't have failed to notice it (Westminster Bridge start initially, IIRC!)
UK sportives are IMO much higher risk to the public. [dons flameproof suit ... ]

So I don't know any legal details, but I'm confident it's of little concern. Insuring the riders is probably the bigger concern - the TCR people are very diligent around that, much more so that audax bodies.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’d agree with that. The GBDURO riders are typically in their Z1 / Z2 heart rates with Z3 on hills. They are not in bunch sprints, going as fast as possible, mm apart, chasing diminishing gaps on a tight corner.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

They have this in their rules

”Our rides are not races, they are reliability trials for solo riders riding a bicycle without any dedicated assistance. There are no entry fees and no prizes. There are no officiators, no marshals, no ride leaders, no rescue services. There is no support.“

Neither a trial of speed or race. More a test of endurance. Mind with a max fine of £10..🤔

 

[Ming the Merciless]

But the risk in question is mainly one of getting caught for a short while behind a bunch of cyclists and being slowed down a bit.

Hmm, no drafting would sort that. But being caught for a short while behind one or more cyclists doesn’t break any laws I’m aware of.