Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions form the basis of your contract with Tour de Force Cycling Limited (a company registered in England and Wales with company number 07834337 whose registered office is c/o Wates, Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SW) (“we”/”us”) which is organising and running Le Loop on behalf of the William Wates Memorial Trust (WWMT) (a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 1011213) to raise money for the Trust. These terms set out our respective rights and obligations and you should therefore read them carefully before booking your place on Le Loop.

These terms and conditions apply to the exclusion of any other terms and conditions unless they are agreed by you and us in writing.

Allocation of places

All places allocated to participants on Le Loop are entirely at our discretion. We reserve the right to allocate, withdraw or refuse your place on the tour without giving our reasons.

Registration/Booking

Your place on the Le Loop will not be confirmed until you have completed the online booking form and paid a non-refundable booking fee. This is deductible from your total participant cost. Once this deposit is paid, your place will be held. However, the registration process will not be complete until we have received a medical form complete with your doctor’s signature confirming that you are fit to take part.  All bookings are subject to availability.

Cycling Multiple Loops

It is possible to sign up for two different Loops on the condition that i. you commit to a fundraising target of the larger amount plus 50% of the lower amount. ii. The combined number of stages cycled does not exceed 14.

Changes to published itinerary

Road cycling inherently requires a degree of flexibility. We rely on decent weather conditions, mountain passes being open, roads being in a suitable condition for road cycling etc. Therefore there may be changes to the planned itinerary. You accept that we may modify the itinerary at any time (including after commencement of the tour) for safety or logistical reasons or for any other reason which we consider necessary.

Arrival/Departure from the tour

It is your responsibility to get to the start point at the correct time. We will provide assistance in the form of suggested airports/train stations. Please note that flights and other products you purchase separately do not form part of your holiday package with us. Whilst we will endeavour to ensure the accuracy of any guidance we provide, this guidance should not be relied upon and must be checked by you. Our responsibility does not commence until the appointed time at the designated meeting point. If you fail to arrive there at the appointed time for whatever reason, we will not be responsible for any additional expenses incurred by you in order to meet up with the group.

Insurance

To take part in Le Loop you must hold suitable insurance cover. It is your responsibility to obtain travel insurance which must include adequate cover for baggage, medical expenses, medical repatriation and the activity (road cycling) you will be taking part in. We are not insured against loss or damage to your bicycles: It is your responsibility to obtain insurance cover for your bicycle if required (including during transit). If you are an EU resident, you should also take a European Health Insurance Card  or UK Global Health Insurance Card with you.

We strongly suggest that you take out insurance at the time of booking but in any event you must provide us with details of your insurance policy at the time of your arrival briefing. If you fail to provide us with any of the information we require regarding your insurance or if we are reasonably of the view that the insurance arrangements you have made are not adequate, we may ask you to purchase appropriate cover or take it that you have cancelled your place on the tour and cancellation charges will apply in accordance with our Cancellation Policy set out below.

Payment

Participants pay their accommodation, transport and other event costs to Le Loop. These monies are separate to the sponsorship that is being raised for WWMT. Payments are made online and processed via Square. If you would like to pay via bank transfer or cheque, that is also possible; please get in touch. A non-refundable deposit is paid at the time of registration. *60% of your participant cost is due by 30th January in the year of your participation and 100% of the participant cost must be paid by 31st March in the year of your participation. In the event of dishonour of any cheque, or of late payment of more than 3 days, we will charge £30.00 to cover our administration costs and we will require cleared payment within the next seven days.

If you fail to pay the participant cost or any other amounts payable under your contract with us by the due date for payment, we may take it that you have cancelled your place on the tour and cancellation charges will apply in accordance with our Cancellation Policy set out below.

Cancellation Policy

If it becomes necessary to cancel your place on the tour, please let us know immediately in writing (this may be by email). Upon receipt of your cancellation and the issue of any acknowledgement by us, your cancellation will take effect. *The following conditions and charges apply to cancellations:

• Cancellation at any time: your £250 (£500 for Grand Loop) deposit will not be refunded;
• Cancellation before 31st March: you will receive a refund of the participant cost paid in excess of your deposit;
• Cancellation between 1st April and 30th April (inclusive): we will retain 60% of your participant cost;
• Cancellation between 1st May and 31st May: we will retain 80% of your participant cost;
• Cancellation after 31st May: we will retain 100% of your participant cost.

All dates refer to the year of your participation in Le Loop.

In the event that any payments due from you have not been paid at the time of cancellation, these may be recovered from you as a debt due and payable.

Cancellation by us, postponement or delay: We reserve the right to cancel Le Loop prior to the departure date, in which case you will be given a full refund of the participant cost paid by you.

You acknowledge that we may cancel, postpone or delay the tour or any aspect of the tour or withdraw your place on the tour if we are prevented directly or indirectly from running the tour or from performing any of our obligations under our contract with you by reason of an act of God, inclement weather, strikes, trade disputes, industrial action, fire, breakdowns, government or political action, acts or threats of war or terrorism, interruption of transport, congestion, technical problems or acts or omissions of third parties or for any other reason of whatever nature beyond our reasonable control and you acknowledge that in these circumstances you will have no right to a refund of your deposit or the participant cost either in whole or in part.

In the event that we cancel, postpone, delay or change the itinerary for the tour or withdraw your place on the tour for whatever reason, you will not be entitled to claim against us (or against the William Wates Memorial Trust) for any amounts (other than for any refund which is expressly stated to be payable in accordance with these terms) or to seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses, damage (either direct or consequential) or for any loss of time or inconvenience which may result from such cancellation, postponement, delay, change or withdrawal (including but not limited to visa or passport charges, gear purchases, transport costs, airport or airline taxes). Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability (or the liability of the Williams Wates Memorial Trust) for death or personal injury arising from our negligence.

Fundraising

By registering for the Le Loop, you are promising to raise a pre-determined minimum sponsorship for the William Wates Memorial Trust as set out on the website. All fundraising monies are paid by sponsors direct to the WWMT and, where applicable, can be tax effective. Note that Gift Aid is not included in your target, but is claimed where eligible by WWMT and is considered by them to be a bonus. We will help you with this by giving you fundraising ideas and information about of how to set up a sponsorship page. By 30th April (in the year of your participation) you need to have raised 80% of your minimum sponsorship. If you fail to do this, we may take it that you have cancelled your place on the tour and cancellation charges will apply in accordance with our Cancellation Policy set out above.

For cyclists taking on two Loops (only possible by arrangement and subject to availability), the fundraising target will be the higher target plus 50% of the lower target.

Funds raised between July in the year prior to your participation, and August in the year of participation, are applied to the fundraising target of your year of participation only and cannot be allocated to a future year of participation. In cases where a rider raises funds over the minimum target required, WWMT is extremely grateful and will ensure that those funds are spent very wisely via grants to the charities we support. We regret that they cannot be allocated to a future year of Le Loop participation.

Age Limits

To participate in Le Loop you must be 18 or over.

Conduct During Event

As organisers of Le Loop we expect all participants to behave respectfully during the tour. We reserve the right to ask participants to leave the tour if we believe that their conduct or behaviour is detrimental to the spirit or safety of the event.

Medical Requirements

Good physical and mental health are essential to the enjoyment and safety of this event. By filling out the medical form and obtaining your doctor’s signature, you are certifying that you do not have any physical or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for you or any other participants. It is essential that any known medical conditions are communicated to us in advance of the event.

Passport/Visa

A valid passport is required with an expiry date of at least six months after your return. Visas are not required for EU citizens but if you are not a resident of an EU country, you are responsible for verifying your own status and obtaining the necessary visa.

Cycling Ability

You are responsible for your own level of fitness and cycling ability. If you do not have an adequate level of fitness or ability, we reserve the right to stop you cycling in order to maintain the safety and operational viability of the event. We have a recommended speed for some of the longer Loops and the Grand Loop: more information here.

Whilst we have back up vehicles for injured or exhausted cyclists, this is intended as just that: a back-up plan should something go wrong. If there is a reason why you cannot complete one or two stages (injury, illness, one-off extreme fatigue), we will of course help you and try to offer you space in a support vehicle. But if you are not able to cycle full stages without medical or equivalent reason, we will have to ask you to take public transport or find alternative arrangements to travel between stage starts and finishes.

E-Bikes and non-standard bikes

We do not accept cyclists with e-bikes or non-standard bikes on Le Loop without prior agreement. Each year we nominate one Loop for non-standard bike participation and cyclists are able to join us with a e-bike or non-standard bike for that Loop, as long as they have prior agreement from us.

In rare situations (and/or with medical guidance), we may be able to relax this rule but only by prior arrangement. Anyone who would like to ride an e-bike or non-standard bike should contact us and participation will be at our discretion and only with our agreement.

Safety and Security

Your personal belongings are your own responsibility during your time with us on the event. You are required to wear a cycling helmet at all times when you are cycling, whether you are on private property or not. You are also required to follow all additional safety advice given to you.

Acceptance of Risk

Please be assured that we will do the utmost to ensure your safety and well-being when on the event. However, you accept that there are some inherent risks on the event that cannot be eliminated by us. By registering to take part in Le Loop, you are accepting those risks which are outside of our reasonable control.

Equipment and Accommodation

You are expected to use the equipment and facilities provided to you with care. We reserve the right to charge you for any extra cleaning, missing items or damage. You are responsible for ensuring that your bicycle is adequately maintained and insured at all times. We will take all reasonable care when transporting equipment, bicycles and luggage. However, we are not responsible for any damage caused during transportation or caused by a third party either during the event or in transit.

Data protection

By registering your interest in Le Loop, subscribing to our newsletter or signing up to participate in Le Loop, you are accepting our terms and conditions relating to data protection.

We take data protection very seriously. We use your data in order to communicate with you specifically regarding the Le Loop event and the work of the William Wates Memorial Trust. We will never give your details to a commercial 3^rd party without your consent. It is possible that we may, on rare occasions, communicate with you on behalf of a partner organisation (but will not release your data to them).

If you are a signed up cyclist, from time to time, there may be a reason to share your email address with other Le Loop participants (for example to enable you to coordinate arrival/departure transfers on tour). It is your responsibility to inform us, by email to info@rideleloop.org if you do not wish us to share your email address with other riders. When a participant asks for another rider’s contact details, we will always request your permission to do so before sharing.

You have the right to request what information we hold on you as well as to ask to us to remove all information about you from our records. Please email info@rideleloop.org in either instance.

While we require all participants to complete a medical form in order to participate in Le Loop, all medical data is destroyed after 3 years, in line with standard medical guidelines. The data is stored securely and only made available to tour medics and staff where we deem it necessary for the safety of the participant.

If you have unsubscribed from our mailchimp-generated newsletters, but then receive a further email directly from Le Loop or WWMT, please advise and we will review immediately.

By signing up for Le Loop, your email address and name will be added to a WWMT mailchimp account in addition to a Le Loop mailchimp account. You can unsubscribe from these charity newsletters (which are separate from Le Loop communications) at any time.

Should you have any questions regarding your data protection, please do not hesitate to contact us: info@rideleloop.org or 0131 3000796.

Governing law

These terms and conditions and your contract with us are subject to English law and the jurisdiction of the English courts.