Audax Ireland calendar events are run in accordance with the rules of the Brevets Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM) as laid down by Audax Club Parisien. You can find the full rules on ACP’s website – this is a brief summary of the key points.

1. Events are open to any cyclist, provided they are covered by liability insurance.  Riders below the age of 18 must have parental consent. In Ireland, riders must have an Annual or One-Event Licence from Cycling Ireland.

2. During an event, each rider is considered to be on a private excursion and must obey all traffic regulations.

3. For night riding front and back lights are mandatory.  Riders must also wear a reflective vest, Sam Browne sash or similar.  This applies to ALL events of 300kms or more, at any time of year. It can also apply to 200km events in poor weather, or darkness.

4. Each rider must be self-sufficient – following vehicles are prohibited and personal support may only be received at controls.

5. At the start of the ride, each rider will receive a brevet card and a GPS route. They may also be given a physical routesheet.  Riders must follow the route, and if they deviate off-route, they should return to the point where they left it before continuing.  There may be secret controls along the route.

6. Riders must get “proof of passage” at each control along the route. This used to mean getting their brevet cards stamped and/or signed at controls, or for controls which are not manned by the organiser, proof of passage can be obtained from a local establishment (e.g. shop receipt with place, date and time), or demonstrated by answering a question about a local landmark (i.e. info controls). In many cases now, the event organiser will set up a WhatsApp group for the event, and riders are invited to post a “selfie” at each control as proof.

7. The time limits for each distance are as follows:

200km – 13hrs 30m

300km – 20hrs

400km – 27hrs

600km – 40hrs

1000km – 75hrs

8. At the finish, riders normally retain their Brevet Card, and the organiser will e-mail the Homologation Numbers later, which can then be added to the card by the rider.

Although it is not explicitly stated in that set of ACP rules, the opening of control points is determined by the maximum allowed average pace of 30kph, and the closing of controls by the minimum average pace of 15kph (Minimum speed is lower for brevets longer than 600km e.g. 13.3kph for a 1000km brevet).

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