Breaking news: British Cycling Drops Enduro for 2015
A worrying email was sent out to race organizers across the UK this morning, outlining British Cycling’s plan to distance themselves from enduro in 2015. Many had seen it coming, but it was still a shock as British Cycling have announced that they will no longer be insuring Enduro events for the foreseeable future. What does this mean for the future of the sport in the UK, will events have to become more expensive to source alternative insurance, and what about first aid provision on site?
From British Cycling
British Cycling has undertaken a detailed review of MTB Enduro events over the past season, including consulting people within the discipline to better understand the structure, event format, process for delivery and the audience. Following this review, we have decided that we are not in a position to insure MTB Enduro events for the moment.
This is not a decision which has been taken lightly – those involved in MTB Enduro deserve a great deal of credit for the work they have put into an evolving area of the sport which attracts a variety of new and existing participants.
However, the discipline format does present challenges for event organisation and the officials. From a British Cycling perspective, any requirements or regulations that we would need to put in place may have a negative impact on the future sustainability of events and could also impact on resources we devote to other parts of the sport, particularly MTB Downhill as the two disciplines are closely linked.
MTB Downhill and its future development and sustainability is something that we are committed to. It is an area that requires continued and substantial support and through that support we aim to raise standards and in doing that improving the quality of the racing environment for all. We will continue to engage with those involved in MTB Enduro and support them as the discipline develops.
With that in mind, we’d like to remind all commissaires that if you are approached by any organisers to officiate at an Enduro event then please be aware that any role you may agree to will be performed outside of your capacity as a British Cycling commissaire.
Please be aware that this policy concerns only those events termed “Enduro” in the currently accepted sense – a series of time sections joined by linking stages. Some organisers still use “Enduro” to denote a mass start endurance/marathon style event, and such races are unaffected.
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