Proposed rules, version 0

General

• Proposed
  Helmet. A buckled, approved cycling helmet whenever you are on the bike on course, including neutral sections.
• Proposed
  Visible number. The race number and timing chip as issued, visible and unaltered, on every stage.
• Proposed
  Earbuds. No earbuds or headphones that block your ears. Whether bone-conduction headphones will be allowed is an open question.
• Proposed
  Traffic law. Most of the course is on open public roads. Traffic law applies unless a marshal or officer directs otherwise, and riders keep right on blind corners and descents.
• Proposed
  No drafting vehicles. No drafting behind, or holding onto, any motor vehicle, including race and support vehicles.

Support

• Proposed
  Self-supported between neutral aid. Riders carry what they need between race-run neutral aid stations, which are open to everyone. Riders may help each other with tools and spares.
• Proposed
  Outside help only in crew zones. Help from your own crew is allowed only in designated crew zones. Candidate crew zones are subject to permits and road access. Some high sections will have no crew access.
• Proposed
  Crew conduct is on the rider. Crews follow parking, speed and land-manager rules and marshals' directions. A crew's breach can be penalized against its rider.

Environment

• Proposed
  Littering. Dropping anything on course, including gel tops and wrappers, is penalized, up to disqualification. Use the bins at aid stations.
• Proposed
  Course-cutting. Leaving the marked route, cutting switchbacks or riding off the road surface is penalized, up to disqualification.
• Proposed
  Leave No Trace. The race runs on public land and a private ranch. Stay on the route, leave gates as you find them, and give wildlife and livestock room.
• Proposed
  Human waste. Use the toilets at aid stations and other facilities. Where there are none, pack it out in a WAG bag.

Equipment

Proposed Mandatory kit, carried on every stage, checked at sign-in and subject to spot checks on course:

• A packable waterproof or wind shell and a warm layer. It can snow in July above 12,000 feet.
• Full-finger gloves or spares, and a buff or neck cover for cold descents.
• A self-repair kit: tube, plugs, pump or CO2, multitool, chain link.
• Two bottles or a hydration pack, plus emergency calories.
• A phone and any required tracker, and the printed emergency number card. Cell coverage fails on the passes.
• ID and any critical medical information, carried on the rider.

The reasons are in the medical and safety plan.

• Proposed
  Same frame all week. GC riders finish every stage on the frame they check in with. Wheels, tires and parts can be changed. A frame broken in the race is a race director's decision.
• Under consideration
  E-gravel class rules. Which e-bike classes are allowed, battery swaps, and where e-bikes may ride under land-manager rules are all still being worked out.

Time and classification

• Proposed
  GC is cumulative stage time. Your stage times are added together. The lowest total wins the general classification, with a separate GC for each category.
• Proposed
  Gun time and chip time. Gun time runs from the official start signal for your wave. Chip time runs from when you cross the start mat to when you cross the finish. Cutoffs are measured on gun time, because they are about getting everyone over a pass before the weather. Classification uses chip time, so where you lined up in a wave doesn't cost you.
• Proposed
  Neutralized sections. If a section is neutralized for lightning, a hazard or an incident, time is handled by a rule set before the race and applied to everyone equally. That rule will be published before the first stage.
• Proposed
  Cutoffs. Candidate cutoffs are placed before the high passes, set so riders clear the pass before afternoon storms. Times will be set in the course design with the medical plan.

Missed cutoff or DNF

• Proposed
  Continuing after a missed cutoff or a DNF. Proposed: you leave the overall but may start the next stage as a stage rider if medical staff clear you.
• Under consideration
  A second DNF. Whether a rider who fails to finish a second stage can keep starting is an open question.

Penalties

Proposed The offenses below are proposed. The size of each time penalty is TBD and will be set with the sanctioning body.

Protests

• Proposed
  A protest window after provisional results. Provisional results are posted each evening. A rider can lodge a written protest within a set window after posting; its length is TBD. Results become final once protests are decided. See how results will be published.

Weather and fire

• Proposed
  The race director can hold, shorten, neutralize or cancel a stage. Reasons include lightning, snow or hail, wildfire, smoke and poor air quality (AQI), fire restrictions and closure orders from land managers. Smoke and AQI thresholds will be set with the medical plan. The call is made at the daily go/no-go briefing or on course by radio, and it is final.
• Proposed
  A shortened or cancelled stage. Proposed: a shortened or cancelled stage isn't refunded per stage; the overall is computed on the stages completed. See refunds and transfers.

This page is subject to permits, sanctioning and insurance. Timing and GC edge cases are discussed in the timing and registration playbook.