Audax: Completion is the pace of the “race”

As a non-competitive, time-limited, long-distance cycling platform, Audax is not considered a race. Audax events are undertaken with success measured by completion rather than speed. That’s why Audax randonneurs race against the clock rather than against their peers.

The time limits required to complete Audax events are quite generous—eliciting appeal to a wide variety of cyclists from touring, racing, recreational, or commuting background. This enables Audax randonneurs to set and achieve riding goals with a group of like-minded riders, consequently bridging close-knit community ties among participants.

So whether the ride calls for 200km, 300km, 400km, 600km—the classic Audax distances—the challenge of Audax lies not in racing, but in pushing one’s own boundaries and experiencing great personal achievements.

Audax cut-off times:  13.5 hours for the 200km distance, 20 hours for the 300km distance, 27 hours for the 400km distance and 40 hours for the 600km distance.

Bold. Courageous. Enduring.

Audax embodies its revered history. Its name means “bold” or “courageous” in Latin. And it has its origins in Italian endurance sports of the late nineteenth century.

Cycling from Rome to Tour de France:
A free-pace journey to randonneuring

In 1897 a group of Italian cyclists rode 200 km from Rome to Naples, and became known as les Audacieux. However, it was only in 1904 when the Audax regulations were formalized by Henri Desgrange, the father of the Tour de France.

Currently, there are two forms of audax. In the original form, referred to as the Euraudax, participants ride in group at a steady pace set by a road captain. The group aims to cycle at 22.5km/h between designated stopping points and have all group members finish together within the time limit. While this form of audax still exists in Europe, it has been less popular than the later free-paced form known as randonneuring where participants can ride at their own pace either individually or in a group. The common thing though in both forms is that each participant carries a brevet card which is stamped at checkpoints along the route. This card acts as a type of passport and serves to certify that a cyclist has completed every section of the ride within the designated time limits.

The official organisation for the original audax style is the Union des Audax, while the official organisation for randonneuring is the Audax Club Parisien. Both governing bodies are based in France.

Cooperation, Orienteering, & Self-sufficiency

The randonneur spirit is ideally characterized by cooperation over competition. Even so, randonneés or brevets, the term for any randonneuring event, are run under the clock, with riders expected to complete the event within a prescribed time and pass through all control points, some of which may be secret. The sport also incorporates an element of orienteering, as riders are required to follow a 'cue sheet' of the prepared route. Furthermore, riders are expected to be fully self-sufficient, carrying their own food, water, spare clothing, and tools.

Everyone’s Welcome at Every Randoneé

Is there a good randonneuring bicycle? There is: any bicycle on which the rider is comfortable. Brevets are like a melting pot, where riders of all background and ability, and cycling gears of any age and design, are all welcome to join. No specialized equipment is needed, nor is there a “randonneuring bicycle.” Hence, no cyclist should be deterred from participating in brevets.

Setting Global Records

Brevets organized by duly recognized randonneuring clubs worldwide are registered with the Audax Club Parisien, which records the brevet results. Cyclists who complete a basic series of 200, 300, 400, and 600 kilometer brevets within a designated audax season are awarded the Super Randonneur medal by the Audax Club Parisien. This basic series also represents the qualification for riders wishing to enter the quadrennial, 1200 kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris—the most prestigious of all brevets.

The majority of brevets are relatively small and locally organized, making for a busy calendar of events for enthusiasts. However, there are also some particularly well-known and prestigious events which attract participants from all over the world, and the most prestigious among these is perhaps the Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP).

Sometimes referred to as the Blue Riband randonnée, the PBP is an approximately 1,200 kilometers event held on an out-and-back course between Paris and Brest every four years. It started in 1891 as a race and was regarded as the precursor to the Tour de France. In 1931, riders in the PBP were separated into three categories: a professional category of cyclists who were in it for the competition, and two non-professional categories, one of which were audax cyclists riding as a group and maintaining a steady pace, and the other being allure libre (free-paced) cyclists who were riding individually in the spirit of self-sufficiency. As interest in long distance cycling had waned in favor of stage events like the Tour de France, the professional race part of the PBP was lost in 1951, leaving only the randonneuring part of the event. However, in 1975 the audax and the allure libre groups split up and formed two different PBP events. Today, the Audax Club Parisien runs the event every four years in their allure libre format, while the Union des Audax runs it every five years in their audax format.

The most recent Paris-Brest-Paris was held in 2015 and was attended by more than 6,000 participants from more than 50 countries. Ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 80,and more than a hundred different cycling machines – including recumbents, elliptigos, rowing bikes, and fixies – were seen during the event.

For more information about Paris-Brest-Paris, they may refer to the official link. www.paris-brest-paris.org

All Audax finisher medals are standard across all accredited Audax organising countries and are all sourced from France.

We understand that they are not cheap that is why Audax Randonneurs Philippines has made this optional and did not embed it with the registration fees.