Gentleman Agreement & Drafting Handbook

1. Ride your own ride.

The published route must be completed under your own power. Navigation, repairs, food, sleep and your personal organisation are fundamentally your responsibility.

2. No private support.

No support crew, no personal support vehicle, no individual equipment depots and no exclusive help on course.

3. Public services are fair game.

Publicly accessible shops, accommodation, food services and workshops may be used as long as they are generally open to everyone.

4. Checkpoints are common ground.

Official checkpoints and the base camp belong to the neutral event infrastructure. Only pre-defined services that are identical for everyone are allowed there, such as water, toilets, short sheltered rest and small event nutrition.

5. Partners support the event, not a rider.

Sponsors may support checkpoints, base camp and community elements, but not favour individual riders.

6. Drafting is not allowed in the solo category.

For solo starters, intentional drafting is not allowed. Everyone should produce their performance independently.

• When riding behind another rider, keep a clear gap. Avoid staying in another rider’s slipstream for an extended period.
• If you overtake, do it efficiently and ride clearly away afterwards.
• If you are overtaken, let the gap open again and do not latch onto the rear wheel.
• Short-term proximity in towns, at lights, at checkpoints, for navigation or for safety is acceptable as long as it is not turned into a deliberate performance advantage.

7. Exception for official pairs / duos.

Officially registered pair or duo starters may ride together and use drafting within their own team. This exception only applies inside the registered team.

• Solo riders may not attach themselves to a duo.
• Duos may not form a drafting group with solo riders.
• If a duo becomes permanently separated or one partner abandons, the organiser will later define how that affects classification. For this working draft, the duo remains a duo as long as the shared idea of the start is still recognisable.

8. Safety beats the result.

In an emergency, helping a person matters more than placing. Anyone assisting in a genuine emergency acts in the spirit of the event.

9. Respect everyone.

Shores & Switchbacks is open to people from different backgrounds and realities. Discrimination, harassment and hateful behaviour have no place here.