Flèche
Pacifique
The 24 hour Randonneur
Team Event
This popular randonneur team event is patterned
after the Flèche Velocio in France (Flèche is the
French word for arrow), which takes place each year on Easter
weekend. Teams cycle a minimum of 360 km to a common meeting
place in southern France. A new town is chosen as the gathering
point each year.
In Canada, we are permitted to hold this
event up to 50 days after Easter. The Flèche Pacifique
is typically held in mid May, between the Lower Mainland Spring
300 and 400 kms brevets, and the gathering point is Harrison
Hot Springs.
There are three trophies which honour achievement
in the Flèche Pacifique. The Gordon Bisaro Memorial Trophy
is awarded to the team that covers the most distance in 24 hours.
There are also two other trophies that are awarded on the basis
of point systems that take into consideration combinations of
distance and age. Randonneurs should bear in mind that a successfully
completed Flèche ride is a necessary component in a rider's
quest for a Randonneur 5000 medal. (Flèche distances cannot
be used towards a rider's Super Randonneur award tally.)
In 2010 and "Trace Pacifique" was added as an option in BC. It is similarly based on a French ACP event: "Trace Pascales". The minimum distance is 201 km over 16 hours. |