July 12, 2012 (Vancouver, BC) – Bike park riding meets high tech racing. On Sunday, July 15, 2012, at the Powerade Gravity Bikefest, the first race of its kind will be unleashed as racers combine skills, speed, and grit in the GPS Gravity Enduro.
1. Quick Summary
The GPS Gravity Enduro stands in stark contrast with “point A to point B” mountain bike races in that there is no finish line. Racers will be turned loose in the Fernie Alpine Resort Bike Park for the whole day, left to determine their own racecourse. Progress will be monitored by Flaik GPS tracking. After time expires, GPS data will be tabulated and the winners determined according to mileage, speed, and Races-Within-the-Race.
2. GPS Gravity Enduro Format
The race begins at the Elk Chairlift with a staggered start. Riders may obtain as much as 4 hours of GPS data (not including time spent in lineup or on the chairlift) while riding as much of the mountain as possible. To prevent racers from simply repeating the same
trail, mandatory checkpoints have been established around the mountain. In order to qualify to win, riders must visit all checkpoints. During the day, racers may check in on their progress via the leader board, hosted on the internet, and at Race HQ.
After last lift at 4pm, results will be tabulated and winners will be named at the awards ceremony and BBQ immediately following the event. After race day, competitors can relive their day via the Flaik website, compare race stats and share results by FaceBook.
3. Races-Within-the-Race
Race Face Downhill – held on the Top Gun trail. Fast, flowy, bermy. Cool RF swag. IceBreaker XC Loop – quick climb followed by a fast descent. Winner gets a jersey. Drift Innovations Speed Zone – highest speed wins an HD helmet cam.
4. Flaik GPS
Each racer will be provided with a Flaik GPS / GSM Tag that will provide real time feedback to race HQ regarding his or her progress on the racecourse.
The Flaik Solution is a sophisticated tracking system that records riders’ position on the course in real-time, and their personal performance statistics such as speed, distance and position relative to other competitors. The custom designed Flaik Tag leverages GPS and GSM cell phone technology to determine the real-time location of the person wearing the Tag and transmits that data to a secure web-based application.
Flaik is a trusted event tracking system that has been involved in many charitable and for-profit events such as The North Shore Overlord, Jane- A-Thon, Hope on the Slopes, 24 Hours of Tremblant, Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle Series and the Aspen Battle in the Bowls. Since their inaugural season in 2008 Flaik has successfully tracked thousands of event participants.
5. Who can race?
The race is open to all ages, and genders. All racers should be familiar with bike park riding, and possess strong mountain biking skills. Categories will be decided by gender and a race-day age split of Youth and Skill vs. Old Age and Treachery.
6. Safety
As this is an endurance race, anyone who wants to win must ride for the full day. One crash could end a racer’s day. Hence, riders have a major incentive to ride safely, and not take risks that may be necessary to compete in a closed course downhill race. Course marshals will be on scene to monitor the competition, and will have authority to disqualify racers in the event of careless or dangerous riding.
7. Volunteers
Course Marshals – We are looking for Course Marshals: expert mountain bikers with a hankering for fair play. Marshals will observe (ride!) the course ensuring a clean contest, and get to ride the bike park for free on race day.
General Help – we’d be glad to have a hand in all aspects of the event.
8. Event Organizer Information