Frequently Asked Questions
We are really excited to be in a position to run this National Trophy event, but as I’m sure you can all understand, things will have to be a bit different from ‘normal’ National Trophy events. We have prepared this list of FAQs to help you understand what measures we are required to put in place in order to safely run the event. Please let us know if you have any other questions and we will add them to the list!
What are my obligations if I have Coronavirus symptoms or live within a local lockdown area?
By choosing to attend the event, every competitors is confirming:
(a) That they have not developed any Covid-19 symptoms (fever, continuous cough or loss of taste and smell) in the run-up to the event;
(b) That they have not been advised to self-isolate due to any possible contact with another individual who has developed symptoms, or having returned from countries on the current restricted list; and
(c) That they are not resident within one of the areas subject to a local lockdown on the day of the event.
Every competitor and supporter travelling to the event should undertake a self-assessment based on these three criteria and only attend if the answer to all questions is ‘No’.
How will you know who is on site for Track & Trace purposes?
We will need to confirm all the people in your vehicle for Track & Trace purposes.
For racers, we asked for information when you entered the race – your vehicle registration number, number of occupants of your vehicle and, to avoid on-the-day cash collection, we asked you to pay for parking with your entry and will have issued you with a parking pass for display as you enter the showground (ideally printed and placed on your dashboard, but an electronic version is acceptable). These checks on entry to the venue may take longer than normal, so please leave plenty of time.
What are the arrangements for sign-on?
Queueing for sign-on will need to follow social distancing guidelines (2m gaps), and to facilitate this we will have two areas open for sign-on for each race, as detailed in the race schedule. We will have screens at sign-on to protect our volunteers. Unlike normal BC races, we will not be asking you to physically sign against your name or show your licence. Volunteers will simply tick you off on their list and hand you a sealed race pack containing numbers, timing chip, safety pins and 3 numbered tags. One of these tags should be placed on your wrist, and the other two attached to the bike(s) you intend to race on.
After racing, chips should be removed and placed in the orange buckets just before returning to the pit to pick up your spare bike. PLEASE do not leave the course area with your timing chip.
Will there be pits?
British Cycling has determined that manned pits are not safe under Covid-19 guidelines. We will be providing a BIKE CHANGE AREA that would resemble the old “pits” area – but these will be ‘self-serve’ pits with a central rail that bikes can be hung by the saddle on. Each rider will have an allocated space in the bike change area, which will be 1m wide and accessible from both sides of the course. There will be NO RIDING at all within the bike change area, and ‘Dismount’ and ‘Mount’ lines will be clearly marked on the ground with marshals located reminding riders to dismount. Failure to comply with this rule will be treated as a serious infringement. Racers’ safety is paramount.
The bike change area layout is below – click it to see larger.
To access the bike change area, and the start and finish area, follow signs from the sign-on marquee to the rider only access gate. At the course access point, a marshal will ask to see both your wrist band and the numbered tags on any bikes you take onto the course (maximum 2 – one race bike and one spare). This check will be undertaken every time you pass through this gate with a bike, for your security. Please be as helpful as you can to the volunteer marshals.
It is possible to pass through the course access point several times, if you wish to return to your vehicle between practice and race start for example, especially if you are in the second race in a block. However, once you have exited after your race is finished, no further re-entry will be permitted, so make sure you do not leave anything!
What about bike washing?
For the avoidance of doubt, NO JET WASHES will be allowed anywhere at the venue. Covid-19 likes to attach itself to water droplets. If anyone uses a jet wash, this will jeopardise ALL BC sanctioned Cyclocross for the whole season.
This ‘ban’ includes the car parking area, so you should wash your bikes after the sighting / warm up or after our race with buckets and brushes – at your vehicle – ONLY.
Water taps will NOT be available, so if you are bringing a bucket and brush, please bring water, too.
How will practice sessions work ?
As per the race schedule, there are dedicated, short, practice session. You must keep moving forwards at all times during practice, otherwise congestion will build up.
You must not leave or rejoin the course to practice specific sections, as access to the course is only from the Pit area, start and finish lines.
You must not attempt to access the course at any other time and if marshals or commissaires observe any deviation from these instructions, commissaires are entitled to disqualify you, to delay the start of a race or cancel a specific race as required.
Will gazebos etc be allowed anywhere on site?
In the car park, each vehicle will be allocated a space sufficiently spread out to allow gazebos to be set up adjacent to vehicles for warming up whilst still providing social distancing. Please be considerate of your neighbours. If you are directed to a specific space by parking marshals, please respect and follow their instructions.
Can we stay overnight?
The event organisers cannot provide any overnight stays this year for camper vans, caravans etc. There are local camping places available – please use a search engine. We apologise for this, but to provide overnight accommodation is not possible within the current COVID-19 restrictions and it’s something that is best left to specialist local businesses to do this.
Will there be toilets, showers and catering at the venue?
Toilets will be provided on site, and queueing must follow social distancing guidelines. Each toilet will have a separate queue and hand sanitising station. We request that hands are sanitised both before and after using the facilities. There will be some toilets provided close to the gridding area for use by riders only pre-race.
We are unable to make showers available this year. Please make allowances for that in your preparation of your kit bag.
We are hoping to have some traders and catering on site and these will all have their own social distancing arrangements.
Please follow all instructions you are given.
How will call-up, gridding and the race start work?
Gridding will be in line with social distancing guidelines. This means that there will be more rows of riders spread out over a wider area. Each row will be 6 metres wide, with one rider per metre in width. This should mean the field spreads itself out more quickly. Face masks are optional, but are recommended during gridding. If additional layers of clothing are required during gridding, riders should bring a bag to place clothing in. This can then be left by the side of the course, where marshals wearing face masks and gloves will collect bags from and move them to the Kit Drop Gazebo (K on the map) where riders can collect post-race. Alternatively, bags can be dropped directly in the gazebo on the way to gridding. Under no circumstances will supporters be allowed near the start line.
Is the 80% rule going to be used for races?
As a National event, the Commissaires will decide – at the event – whether the 80% rule will be used to withdraw riders if there’s a risk that the front of the race could be compromised. This, if at all, will be applied on SUNDAY only, and riders will be told at the event start if the 80% rule will be applied.
How do riders access the bike change area, call-up and gridding area?
Please see the map below of the course access gate, route to bike change area, gridding, start and finish – click it to see full size.
We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with all the bike change area details and call-up area to minimise stress!
Between every race, the pit area must be fully vacated before we can allow riders from the next race to enter the bike change area to rack their spare bikes before proceeding either (a) onto the course for practice (first race in each block of two), or (b) to gridding (second race in each block of two). All riders must return immediately to the bike change area after completing their race, dropping your timing chip into the bins adjacent to bike change area entry, pick up spare bike, and exit through the course access gate. The only exception to this is riders required for podium presentations, if we are able to proceed with these.
Are spectators and supporters permitted at the venue?
Spectators and supporters will be allowed at the event, and we are asking them to strictly observe social distancing rules. Crossing points will be the highest risk areas for spectators, so access there involves one-way crossing points with a queueing system, where they ae at their busiest.
This will require patience so if your supporters want to be somewhere at a specific time, leave plenty of time to get on to and off the course spectator areas! We won’t insist that face coverings are worn as this is an outdoors venue, so using them is at an individual’s discretion, unless clearly signposted. We would all be happier and safer if people decided to wear their face masks for extra safety.
Will there be podium / prize-giving?
We are hoping to run socially distanced podium presentations. Riders on the podium will be required to wear face masks, and will work like F1 and other ceremonies are currently working. Minimal spectators are encouraged, and podium ceremonies are more for the benefit of getting photographs for ours and your hard-working sponsors.
Because Coronavirus loves airborne droplets, there will be no ‘Champagne’ as part of the ceremonies. Sorry.
