I rode the Picardie in September on my BC Licence fine

...and thats a Grand Trophee event

are the rules restricted to just FFC sanctioned events as there is more than one federation in France?

How come we could ride the Etape this year in July (that does come after April, right?) using only the BC licence? My GP charges £120 for a medical certificate - enough to give you a heart attack! N

This is OK for big events entered in advance like the Etape. However, it might make things complicated for those who wish to enter non FFC events which they happen to come across on holiday, either sportives or road races. There are three federations in France - FFC which is the UCI organisation like the BCF and then FSGT and UFOLEP. I tried to enter an FSGT road race on a day licence but received a firm "no" as soon as the organiser saw my BCF letter stating that I had insurance to compete in France.

Mike
I am a GP and a cyclist
I applaud the help that you are giving cyclists who would like to enter competitions in Europe. On the specific issue of your sample medical certificate to be signed by a cyclist's GP, I wouldn't be comfortable signing it in its present format. The small print at the bottom is the problem. By signing it, implicitly a GP is stating that his/her judgement about fitness is in accord with regulations/guidance that they are unlikely to have read, or to have had time during a busy working day to find, download and read. That is not to say that a GP would not use the benefit of their experience and training to make an appropriate judgement without having to mug up on the rules specified in the small print. I expect that most of us would be happy to use our clinical experience and training to make a judgement for our cycling patients, and some of us wouldn't even charge (I can't speak for everybody!). However, your certificate's small print is chaining us to rules/guidance - why not leave the small print out? Alternatively, why not ask cyclists to provide their (busy!) GP with a copy of the rules/guidance specified in the small print?
Kind regards
Mark

Thanks for all your feedback, we will remove the wording so that this doesn't leave GP's in the position of having to refer to or meet some guidelines that aren't applicable.

We've also added a link to suggested fees sent by a member to us today on the BMA website. Thank you.

I've done a couple since April in France -- the 'Time-Megeve Mont Blanc' (quite a big event) and the 'Lauren Desbiens', both times I was just asked for national federation license. Both were very well organized events and worth doing, btw.

The Etape is a different league, which due to its higher profile attracts a larger proprtion of under-prepared/experienced riders (a bit like the London Marathon).

Forgot to add I think British Cycling are a bit backward with their licenses/membership setup -- there dosn't seem to be any incentive in their various gold/silver/bronze perks-based scheme to actulally get people to have a medical check up or otherwise promote a healthy ifestyle (apart from riding a bike). They're just milking us for £ in other words.

What sort of medical information is needed for a GP to make their judgement? Is it 'simple stuff' like resting heart rate, blood pressure and evidence of taking part in 'competitive or non-competitive cycling' OR more exotic stuff like VO2max? Are there any guidelines on this?

I was told by my GP that the Practice does not sign such forms - any suggestions to overcome this... Can a private GP do it ?