Following this morning’s racing at Mavic® Trans-Provence 2013 six riders received penalties for deliberately cutting corners for time advantage on Special Stage 5 (the first Special Stage of Day 2).

The riders were Afonso Ferreira, Alex Stock, François Dola, Mikko Kupiainen, Todd Seplavy and Vadim Savelyev.

We are aware that there have been some discussions on various social networks and websites as to the fairness or validity of the penalties. Ash Smith (Mavic® Trans-Provence 2013 organiser and race director) felt that a statement was needed to explain and clarify today’s events.

“Today during Special Stage1 at Mavic® Trans-Provence 2013, six riders were each given a 35 second penalty for cutting corners. The incidents were seen by myself personally. They were not reported by another competitor or any second party.

“We cannot be at every corner to check that riders are obeying the rules. I believe that the ‘random testing’ approach that we take – monitoring parts of Special Stages where there’s a very clear choice to be made between riding the line or cutting corners – combined with the knowledge that riders will and have been caught and duly penalised will encourage riders to conduct themselves within the spirit of the event (namely, with a sense of sportsmanship, not to mention our joint obligation to protect the trails so that others may enjoy them for generations to come.)”

“I hope this clarifies the situation. We’re pleased there’s so much interest in the event and rules, so thanks for all of the comments across the ‘net. Enduro as a sport is in now in the limelight. It’s my belief that by having simple rules now about expected behaviour will only help the sport grow.”

Ash Smith

DSC_4447 DSC_4392 DSC_4286 DSC_3736 DSC_3626 DSC_3538 Results Trans Provence Day2

For Stage Results for Day 1: Clamensane to Digne-les-Bains on 29-sept.-2013 klick here!

Text & Photos: Mavic® Trans-Provence 2013


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About the author

Max-Philip Schmitt

Max is all about the business side of things, developing strategies and the company vision with a keen eye for what matters most. Together with his brother Robin, he is one of the founders of 41 Publishing and its magazines. While the rest of the team just spends money, Max makes sure that some comes back in. Even though he isn't involved as an editor himself, he still rides his bike as often as he can and is the first to invite others on a lunch ride.