Rules

The Race

  1. Riders must complete the entire distance of the race and the responsibility for following the official course lies with the rider.
  2. A rider is not permitted to take any shortcuts or to omit a circuit or take other advantage of a similar nature against opponents.
  3. If a rider exits the course for any reason, he/she must return to the course at the exact same point from which he/she exited.
  4. A rider cannot seek and receive any technical assistance along the course from anybody including competitors. (Technical assistance is permitted between riders competing in the same team).
  5. A rider must not use offensive or abusive language, act in an anti-sporting manner, be disrespectful to the officials or ignore the race regulations.
  6. A rider must act in a polite manner at all times and permit any faster rider to overtake without obstructing.
  7. Riders must respect the countryside and ride only on the official course. The rider must avoid polluting the area and must not leave any waste or litter (ie. energy gel wrappers).

Practice

  1. Pre-riding of the course is only permitted within the time period designated by the race organisers. Riders must not practice on the course while other races are in progress.

Equipment

  1. All bicycles used in all forms of mountain bike competition must be powered by human power alone. It is forbidden to use metal screws or spikes in the tyres of the bicycle. Bikes must use a wheel on both front and back that is no bigger than 29 inches.
  2. Any bicycle used in competition must be capable of safely and efficiently completing the task and must, as a minimum, be mechanically sound, have efficient brakes on all wheels and all reasonable steps must be taken to ensure the safety of the rider and others. As part of the latter, bar plugs are compulsory.
  3. If, in the opinion of a scrutineer and/or commissaire, a bicycle fails to meet the above criteria the rider must take immediate steps to ensure the necessary steps are taken to remedy the shortcomings and ensure the scrutineers/commissaires requests are met. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the competition.

Technical Assistance

  1. Authorized technical assistance during a race consists of repairs to or the replacement of any part of the bicycle other than the frame. Bike changes are not permitted and the rider must cross the finishing line with the same handlebar number plate that he had at the start.
  2. Technical assistance shall only be given in the feed/technical assistance zones.
  3. Spare equipment and tools for repairs must be kept in the zones. Repairs and equipment changes can be carried out by the rider himself or with the help of a team-mate, team mechanic or neutral technical assistance.
  4. In addition to technical assistance in feed zones, technical assistance is permitted outside these zones only between riders who are members of the same MTB team, national team or club team.
  5. Riders may carry tools and spare parts provided that these do not involve any danger to the rider himself or the other competitors.

Competition

  1. Riders that withdraw from their race prior to being verified by the Commissaire as a lapped rider or an official finisher, are classed as “Did Not Finish (DNF)”, and will lose all benefits, such as a placing, competition points and ranking points.
  2. Lapped riders can be pulled out of the competition by the Commissaire. Lapped riders should complete the lap on which they were lapped and then exit the competition in a designated finish lane set prior to the start of the finish straight. They will be listed in the results in order of finish plus number of laps down.

Protests

  1. Any rider who considers he has been prejudiced by any action during the competition may submit a protest to the Chief/Race Commissaire after he/she has crossed the finish line. The rider must submit his/her protest in writing and it must be signed and presented within 15 minutes of the end of his/her race along with a fee of 40 Euro to the Chief/Race Commissaire. The Chief/Race Commissaire will send any funds collected in the form of fines and protests to Cycling Ireland headquarters together with their race report.
  2. A protest against results must be submitted in writing and it must be signed and presented within15 minutes of posting of results along with a fee of 40 Euro.
  3. If a protest involves one of the top five finishers, the awards ceremony will be delayed until the decision is reached.
  4. The decisions of the College of Commissaires/Chief Commissaire on the day in relation to the interpretation of the Technical Regulations; necessary disciplinary action and upon any protests received in accordance with the above, will be final.
  5. Ignorance of the regulations is not admitted as an excuse.

See www.cyclingireland.ie under About, Documents for the most recent technical guide.