Organiser: Eoghan Barry (Audax Ireland)
Start Time: 12:00 Thursday, April 5th – 10:00 Saturday April 7th, 2012.
Finishing Point – Stephen Roche Monument, Dundrum, Dublin 14.
Entry Fee: €20 per team. CI license required.
Flèches are unique in audax terms in that they are ridden as a team event, and each team devises its own route. They are 24-hour rides and it follows from the standard audax time limits that the distance can be anywhere from the minimum of 360km to a maximum of 720km. They are modelled on the Flèche Vélocio, administered by Audax Club Parisien. Traditionally they take place over the Easter weekend, except in far northern countries where there is likely to still be snow on the ground at that time of year. Traditionally also the routes of the flèche in a given country or region meet at a common finishing point, the flèches (arrows) aiming at a single target. 2010 saw the inaugural running of the Flèche in Ireland, with Dublin as the finishing point. We will aim to rotate the finishing point in future years. The rules of the Flèche follow (as my French is minimal, I have largely ripped these off from the rules on the RUSA and YACF websites.)
1. Teams consist of 3 to 5 machines (i.e. tandems count as one member of a team, not that I’ve seen one on a brevet in Ireland.)
2. The start time may be any time between noon on Thursday and 10 am on Saturday. If more than one team wishes to start from the same location, their start times must be staggered by a minimum of one hour.
3. The minimum distance is 360km, measured as the shortest distance by road (excluding motorways) between the specified control points. The route should be point-to-point. A loop is acceptable but an out-and-back route is not. No segment of road may be used more than once travelling in the same direction.
4. Each team member should carry their own brevet card. Time and distance should be noted on the card at each control point, and proof of passage obtained (e.g. shop or ATM receipt with date, location and time, stamp from a garda station etc). At the end of the 22nd hour of the ride, proof of passage must be obtained and the location and time noted on the card. Likewise at the nearest available location at the end of the 24th hour – at least 25km must be travelled in the final two hours. During the ride the team may not stop at any location for more than two hours.
5. Teams may not receive assistance from anyone else except in the event of medical emergency, and team members may only draft behind members of their own team.
6. In the event of road closure or similar unforeseen circumstance detours are permissible but proof of passage must be obtained at the furthest point of the detour.
7. A minimum of three members of the team must finish the ride together and declare the same distance for the fleche to be validated. Nor will the fleche be validated if the actual distance covered exceeds the distance specified in the proposed route by more than 15% or proves to be more than 20% less.
It seems complex but essentially involves devising a route that’s comfortably more than 360km long including control points at appropriate locations, and submitting it to Eoghan for his approval (he may suggest revisions, additional control points etc) along with a proposed start time. On the ride, note time, distance and location at every control point, at 22 hours and at 24 hours, and obtain proof of passage at these points. Provided three ride and finish the flèche together, the team is awarded the distance travelled by those three. Note that you do not have to complete the entire route submitted, just as much of it as you can manage.
