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Do I have to wear a helmet?

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Yes. It’s obligatory. It must be an approved helmet in good condition and always done up securely! If you’re

not wearing a helmet you will not be allowed into the changeover area, and if you are found not to be

wearing your helmet at any point during the competition you will be disqualified immediately and told to

leave the race.

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Is the event insured?

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Definitely! As required by Italian law, the event has civil responsibility insurance cover. The organisers’

insurance covers the race and its participants in case of malfunction, incorrect mounting or technical

problems. As with all such policies it does not offer cover for pre-existing structures or those which are not

directly run by the event organisers.

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What does that mean at a practical level? What does the insurance cover?

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It covers all the structures put up in the paddock area, including the stage, restaurant tents, race office,
exhibition stands, showers etc… It doesn’t cover anything which is run separately from the event
organisation.
For example, if a spotlight which illuminates the restaurant comes down and falls on your head, the
insurance will reimburse you for the total cost of the damage, including medical costs etc… If the wind
dislodges a tree branch and it falls on your head, the insurance will not apply. The insurance covers
malfunction, incorrect mounting or something involving the organisers. Thus it does not cover any situation
in which there has been no negligence on the part of the organisation and/or which has happened for reasons
which cannot be held to be attributable to the event organisers.
For example if you are in the shower and the shower head comes off, falling on your head, this is held to be
a problem resulting from the incorrect installation of the structure, and in this case the insurance would
reimburse you for any damage, medical bills etc…
If, instead, you are in the shower and you slip and fall over, this is held to be an accident and unforseeable,
which can’t be linked to any action by the organisers, and therefore the insurance would not pay out.
The concept of injury due to accidental causes not attributable to the race organisation is very important.
Especially when we are talking about the race course. The course is a track which is completely off-road on
which trees, roots, stones, dips and bumps are naturally occurring obstacles which are a normal part of
mountain biking. So if, for example, a rider slips accidentally off the bike because they have miscalculated a
corner, this is NOT the fault of the organisers. For this reason, damage resulting from falls on the course are
outside the event’s insurance cover.
With reference to the course, it is the duty of the organisers to draw up regulations which are aimed at
avoiding accidents (such as the mandatory wearing of helmets, using a one-way system etc) and to put in
place security measures for use in case of accident; it is still the duty of participants to take responsibility for
the risks of the sport which are a part of mountain biking and above all to approach the course appropriately
given their riding skills and physical limitations.
Sporting risk is a very important concept which must be accepted by all participants and which should
encourage all riders to anticipate problems, rather than looking for excuses after an incident. In the same
way as a boxer understands the risks of their sport, a cyclist who rides mountain bikes must understand the
risks.
And in the same way as a boxer does not ask for compensation if a punch ruptures his nasal septum, a cyclist
cannot make a claim if they fall off on a track. For this reason it is fundamental that every biker at the event
does a realistic risk assessment of the potential problems in the light of their degree of technical expertise.
The assessment of a biker’s riding ability is subjective and therefore cannot be judged by anyone apart from
the biker concerned.
For that reason, the organisers require all participants to sign a liability indemnity form in cases where there
are accidents whose causes cannot be attributed to the organisation itself. In the light of this, we advise every
participant to get their own personal insurance which offers suitable cover for unforseen accidents which
may happen during the event.

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Why do you advise me to get personal insurance?

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It’s not obligatory, but it is strongly advised. Everyone who rides a mountain bike takes on a personal risk by

undertaking that sport – the so-called sporting risk. This means taking responsibility, whether it is for harm to

oneself or to a third person.

By way of example, if a rider causes an accident which also involves other participants, in addition to not

receiving any compensation from the event organisers, they risk legal action being brought by other victims

of the accident who seek compensation for their injuries. In this case, instead of having to go before a judge

to resolve the issue, a simple third party insurance policy would protect everyone involved, compensating all

parties. In Italy, every sports club affiliated to an organisation which is recognised by CONI (the Italian

National Olympic Committee) can offer this type of insurance. Please ask your local club for similar

information. You can also ask the event organisers about a policy.

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Why do I have to sign an indemnity form?

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The indemnity from liability form is a very important document, and if riders don’t agree to sign it, they will

not be able to participate in the event. This indemnity form protects the organisation in the case of accidents

and/or other problems which do not fall under its direct responsibility.

In the same way as the event organisers take proper responsibility for everything that they organise, manage

and run, putting in place everything possible to prevent problems and to provide trained staff to help where

needed, everyone attending the event must take responsibility for their behaviour and choices.

The indemnity form covers a range of issues:

− Paying attention to event security

− Declaration of biker’s level of technical skill

− Declaration of responsibility for sporting risk

− The duty not to cause damage

− Indemnity against rider’s responsibility

− Declaration of accident and third party insurance

− A release form for use of your image

− Privacy

PAYING ATTENTION TO EVENT SECURITY

The organisation, in addition to displaying suitable signs on the course, has made a rule related to the

dynamics of the event which is aimed at preventing accidents or, if that fails, that as little damage as possible

is done.

There is also general information about risks, a document on assessing risks and how to deal with them and

a well-founded and detailed security plan. All of these documents can be consulted in order to have a clear

vision of how the organisation has done everything possible to lessen the risk of accidents and to inform

users of such risks.

DECLARATION OF BIKER’S LEVEL OF TECHNICAL SKILL

The participant must have enough experience to know whether they are capable of riding this event. Clearly,

anyone who decides to ride must do so in the knowledge that they are in good health and without exposing

themselves to risks beyond their technical ability.

DECLARATION OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR SPORTING RISK

By virtue of mountain biking being a risky sport, every participant must understand that they are exposing

themselves to an inevitable degree of risk (the so-called sporting risk), which, although minimal, is the

rider’s own individual responsibility.

THE DUTY NOT TO CAUSE DAMAGE

Every participant, taking responsibility for their own actions, must not make choices or do things which can

bring harm to themselves or a third party.

INDEMNITY AGAINST RIDER’S RESPONSIBILITY

By virtue of the responsibility taken by each athlete, they must indemnify the organisation against

responsibility

linked to an accidents or injury caused by them.

DECLARATION OF ACCIDENT AND THIRD PARTY INSURANCE

With reference to the declaration in the previous section about indemnity, this section asks whether the rider

has chosen to have their own personal insurance.

A RELEASE FORM FOR USE OF YOUR IMAGE

There are many journalists at the event, including photographers, video reporters and communications

agencies. Each of them produces video and photographs which they will use in or on their media, and also

online on social networks. The organisation may have access to some of this material and may use it on its

own media channels. Every participant in the event and any member of the public (around 7,000 people) is

free to take photos or make videos at any time and anywhere. Given the complexity of managing all these

images, we ask all participants to agree to appearing in these photos and videos.

PRIVACY

Under the privacy law, the organisers have some of your personal data and they ask for permission to use it

for the normal running of the event.

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Do you have a security plan in case there is an accident?

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Definitely! It has been approved by the emergency medical service 118.

Our security plan has been written in co-operation with people who are experienced in running sporting

events, engineers, doctors, nurses and emergency rescue workers so that we have a comprehensive and clear

document.

The Security Plan continues to evolve to take in legal changes and alterations to the event programme.

Here you can take a look at our general security arrangements and the emergency plan.

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What will happen in the case of bad weather and danger to the riders?

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Fortunately Finale has a perfect climate for doing outdoor activities all year round. With 300 days of

sunshine a year, it is the perfect place for going mountain biking. That said, you must realise that there can

be weather conditions which are hard to deal with during a mountain bike race. In the event of rain, wind,

hail or snow the event programme may change.

In general we adopt the principle that mountain biking, like outdoor activities in general, can be done on

snowy or rainy days, so the event is never changed a priori, but only after confirming that the situation is

truly dangerous and could put the safety of participants at risk.

The objectivity we employ to confirm the situation is based first on analysis of official bulletins issued by

the civil protection service, which give a regular, consistent report on the level of alert and the details

involved.

If the alert level remains low, apart from in special circumstances, the event will not be changed and the race

will continue uninterrupted.

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24H OF FINALE: SPONSOR

 
 

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