British Cycling National Rd 1 Combe Sydenham on Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th of April 2013.
The Venue: Combe Sydenham country park is situated on the eastern edge of the Exmoor National Park. The venue is well signposted from every direction, just follow the brown tourist signs. The venue is accessed off the B3188, between Elworthy and Monksilver The nearest Motorway junction is J25 of the M5 Taunton.
Postcode: TA4 4JG
Combe Sydenham finish arena is limited in space and will only be for spectators. A secondary area is available for the marquee, catering and registration. A pro pits field is ideally located close to the finish arena. There is a third area that is a large field that is ideal for camping and spectating parking. The fee will be £5.00per vehicle that will cover camping and parking, a one off charge. Racers will not have to pay this charge. The charge will apply for non racers and will go directly to the land owner for hire of his additional field. Spectating will be free.
Nearest Train Station: Minehead Station Warren Road, Minehead TA24 5BG 01643 704 996
The nearest Ferry Port is: Brittany Ferries, Millbay, Plymouth, Devon, England, PL1 3EW. 0871 244 0744
The nearest Airport is: Bristol Airport Bristol BS48 3DY 0871 334 4444
Nearest Hospital: Taunton & Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton Somerset TA1 5DA 01823 333 444
Nearest Police Station: Townsend Road, Minehead, Somerset TA24 5RJ.
Nearest Showers: West Somerset Leisure Centre Bircham Road Alcombe Minehead Somerset TA24 6AY 01643 708 815
Organisation: BDS Events
Race Director: Simon Paton: si@descent-gear.com  Mobile 07968 229 359 Race Web Site: www.britishdownhillseries.com https://www.facebook.com/BritishDownhillSeries
2013 Race Schedule: Friday 13:00 Venue open for team pits, parking and camping. 15:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted. 15:00 Commissaire course walk. 18:00 - 20:00 Race registration, please bring your valid 2013 BC/UCI Race Licence.
Saturday 07:00 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted. 08:00 - 11:00 Race registration, please bring your valid 2013 BC/UCI Race Licence. 09.00 Uplift opens for all riders 09:30 Open practice for all riders. 18:00 Course Closed. 18:05 Riders meeting. 18:30 Course open for on foot inspection only. No transport to the top is provided or permitted. 19.30 Evening video.
Sunday 08:00 Uplift opens. 08:30 Open Practice for all. 10:10 Last Uplift Leaves. 10:15 First Uplift for racing. 10:45 Course Closed. 11:00 Timed Seeding Run followed by one timed race run. 17:30 Podium.
Entry procedure, distribution of identification numbers: The race is pre-entry only, though if spaces remain, we will accept very limited entries on the day. Enter via the British Cycling website from December 1st 2012. Please make sure you have a valid British Cycling Membership (Silver or Gold) and a Race Licence. Race entry is £70.00 plus a £0.60 booking fee.
Entries for riders with one B.C point obtained in 2012 can enter from December 1st 2012 onwards. Riders that gain points from races in 2013 can enter the series once they have been awarded at least one B.C point. If by March 1st there are spaces available at any of the five BDS rounds we will open entries to those with a B.C membership, race licence and zero points.
Foreign riders please e-mail me directly at si@descent-gear.com with the following information: First name Surname *** Category Date of Birth Age on December 31st 2013 Full Address Emergency contact name and address e-mail address UCI Code
Racer numbers will be available at the race office (large white  marquee) where all riders must sign on and present their valid racing licence. Failure to produce a valid racing licence will mean an instant £10.00 cash administration charge that will go straight to British Cycling. Once paid the rider can then complete registration and compete in the event.
Riders will be given one number board for the series. It is their responsibility to look after it. A lost number board will mean a £15.00 charge for a replacement as will a number board that has a modified shape and sponsors' logos removed. No defacing of number boards. The number boards remain the property of BDS Events until the end of your race season at the BDS (£15.00 to replace your number board).
Rider Registration is open: Friday from 18:00 to 20:00 Saturday 08:00 to 11:00
Race Categories and running order for both seeding and race run: Open Juvenile - Youth - Veteran - Master - Women - Elite Women -Schwalbe Junior - Senior - Expert - Elite - Schwalbe
Juvenile - Riders must be in the year of their 13th or 14th birthday. Youth - Riders in the year of their 15th or 16th birthdays. Junior - Riders in the year of their 17th or 18th birthdays. Senior - Riders in the year of their 19th birthday then the Senior category is the appropriate aged based category. See below for how riders can attain Expert or Elite status. Master - For riders aged 30 to 39.   Veteran - For riders aged 40 to 49. Grand Veteran - For riders aged over 50
Prize Money: The fastest 8 riders overall from the Male Junior, Senior, Expert and Elite will receive prize money and UCI points in accordance with the UCI rule book. The fastest 4 riders overall from the Female Junior, Senior and Elite will receive prize money and UCI points in accordance with the UCI rule book.
All prize money will be paid directly by British Cycling to the riders. Mens UCI cat 2 1st 300 euros 2nd 230 euros 3rd 165 euros 4th 130 euros 5th 105 euros 6th 90 euros 7th 80 euros 8th 65 euros
Womens UCI Cat 2 1st 265 euros 2nd 200 euros 3rd 130 euros 4th 65 euros
Race Regulations: The event will run under BC and UCI Regulations and Penalties. Please make sure you aware of the rules. The BDS has the best safety record in the history of mountain bike racing in the U.K. Friday 16:00 we will hold a course inspection with the UCI Commissaire, Chief BC Commissaire, Head Marshal, Head of Course Maintenance and myself. Any recommendations will be implemented immediately.
The course will be covered by marshals all i21 years of age or older. They will have red and yellow flags, radio communications and be briefed each morning.
BDS rules incorporate those laid out in the current BC and UCI handbook of 2013.
Under suspicion of theft, the police will be called and you will be detained until their arrival. Anti-social behaviour, vandalsim, riding mini-bikes, motorbikes, driving recklessly at the event (Disqualified). Acts of violence, intimidation or vandalism will receive a lifetime ban.
Juvenile and Youth you must wear the following body armour: Full Spine Elbow pads Knee pads For riders that do not wear them (Disqualified)
Uplift Procedure: Tractors and trailers will be used to transport riders and bikes up the hill. Riders will be separated from their bikes and will be required to wear their helmet on their head at all times. We will provide an uplift marshal at the pick up point. We aim to lift at least 200 riders per hour.
Race Timing: Race Timing will be carried out by Sports Timing Systems. Results will be posted in the main arena on completion of each event and online by Monday 12:00 after the event. Wireless communications will be used. The riders will start from a covered area with hand rail and will cross a laser beam to start the timing. The finish line will use laser beams again to capture the rider crossing the line. Live split timing will be provided at the step down section into the open field. Provisional results from each category will be printed and displayed within five minutes of the category finishing.
Medical: Full Medical Cover will be provided, both on course and from an identifiable Base Station in the event arena.
Camping: Camping will be available onsite in a separate Camping area.
PA System: A full Public Announcement Facility will be on site with announcements throughout the day. Toby Parodi the voice of the BDS will be on hand all weekend. A Notice Board will also be on display in the Race Office/Rider Registration area for displaying information regarding the event.
Catering: There will be onsite Catering providing fresh hot and cold food and refreshments from 18:00 on Friday.
Toilets: This will also include disabled, urinal and women-only facilities. All will be serviced on Saturday evening and re-stocked throughout the weekend.
Mechanics: tbc
Refunds and Transfers: If you wish to cancel a booking please note the following cancellation conditions: 29+ days notice: £60.00 paid back. 15-28 days notice: £35.00 paid back. 14 days or less notice: no refund.
Transfer requests 14 days or less notice are not applicable. Please note you cannot swap your entry with a new rider. Please note the race weekend starts from 13:00 on Friday therefore the timescales above mean all e-mails must be received by our deadline which is 13:00 on the Friday.
Please email si@descent-gear.com. Please note we will not deal with any cancellations over the phone, by text or Facebook. BDS Events reserves the right to modify or cancel any event if circumstances beyond the control of the organiser should arise. This includes cancellation of event due to extreme weather, actscts of God, violence, civil disobedience and war. If a BDS event is cancelled we will not be liable for costs of travel fares, hotels, or any other expenses that may be incurred. It is your responsibility to ensure the race is going ahead before travelling. We will do our best to inform you if the race has to be cancelled but we do not accept liability if we are unable to contact you. We strongly advise that you check before making travel and accommodation arrangements. If the event is cancelled we are unable to refund or part refund any entry fee. We are also unable to transfer your entry to another event.
Please follow the British Downhill Series on Facebook to ensure you are kept up to date.
Media: The BDS aims to be the most technically advanced downhill mountain bike race series in the World: Video streamed live and confirmed to Pinkbike.com, B.C, Dirt, Wideopenmag, Ride.i.o, BDS website and BDS Facebook pages. Will shall also include live feed from the commentator, from 13:00 to close of podiums with a wide range of interviews, pit chat, bike checks and helmet cams of the track as well as the timed race runs for all categories.
There will be an e-mail/sms system to update riders at 15:00 on Saturday with Sunday's seeding times and on Sunday afternoon your race time. Plus the result and the overall results and a short message on Sunday evening.
Facebook/Twitter uploads are available as we now have an I-Pad with built in 3G allowing us to upload trackside with all the latest news.
All results posted online by Sunday 18:00 of the race.
Media Manager: Ian Cross will manage the media and provide all our sponsors and media with photographs from the weekend. If you are looking for media accreditation please e-mail him directly: pics4all@btinternet.com
Current media outlets agreed to post up race report: Pinkbike.com, British Cycling, Wideopen, Ride.io, Cycling News, Factory Jackson, Trail Guru, Singletrack, Moredirt, IMBA and more to follow..
Facebook and Twitter will be fully utilized and our stats are impressive and unrivalled. We also work with the Roots and Rain website which regularly can see 10,000 images from a BDS event downloaded. The owner of the site, Seb Frost, is part of our registration team and we utilize his stats for seeding that he compiles for us.
The award ceremony will take place ten minutes after the last rider has completed their race run and will be located in the finish arena area. Race office, press conference and race meetings will be located in the large marquee.
The BDS team is tried and tested ensuring a seamless race and event. We also hold the best safety record with British Cycling as organisers.
UCI Commissaires: tbc British Cycling Commissaires: tbc
Dave Liggins and Mitch Collins – Course Maintenance. Jonathon Wragg and Conrad Hackett – Runners.

Info for Riders

To register in December, riders must have at least 100 Downhill British Cycling ranking points from 2012. Registration and sign on Friday 18:00-20:00 and Saturday 08:00-11:00