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BC Bike Race and Kali Protectives join forces

  • Ron 

Kali Protectives and the BC Bike Race have partnered to create a comprehensive concussion protocol for the race and also the company is also creating a special edition of their Interceptor helmet.

British Columbia boasts some of the best singletrack in the world, and what many BC riders call XC, most other people call extreme. The BC Bike Race was the first multi-day mountain bike stage race to set the precedent for the most amount of gnarly singletrack in an XC race, truly blurring the lines between what is regarded as cross country in British Columbia, and what is considered aggressive trail riding by the rest of the world. Racers come from around the globe to experience BC singletrack, and quickly discover they are often in over their heads – sometimes actually landing on their heads.

Consequently, the BCBR has developed an extensive and comprehensive concussion protocol and medical team. In the event of an incident, racer care response is quick and decisive and fully understood by all members of the medical team to ensure the racer received the necessary care as soon as possible.

“BC Bike Race is an epic adventure and it happens over seven big, technical days. The body gets tired, the energy lags and people make mistakes—coming out the other side unscathed isn’t likely. Putting the assets together to facilitate 600 racer’s expectations and a finish line smile, that’s the secret. Key ingredients like mechanical support, food, water, massage—every bit of the BCBR experience is built by design to ensure rider success. The equipment people use needs to be up to the challenge and we are proud to partner with Kali and to showcase a powerful asset we actually hope people won’t need!”
— Andreas Hestler, BCBR

For 2017, BC Bike Race has taken this new protocol to heart and partnered with Kali Protectives, a company known for its deep commitment to rider safety through innovation. Kali Protectives has spent over a decade engineering the most advanced helmets, perfectly suited to protect riders who choose to take on the rigors of the BCBR or whatever ribbon of loam that lays before them. Kali will provide BCBR with the most advanced helmet on the market—the Interceptor.

In celebration of this new sponsorship, Kali and BCBR have created a limited number of custom BCBR Edition Interceptors that will be available for purchase in the BC Bike Race store, on the Kali website and on location at basecamp during race week. The design prominently features the iconic BCBR B.O.B. (Bear on Bike) on the helmet.

“The BC Bike Race is on every serious rider’s bucket list. For Kali to be able to support such an acclaimed event is a huge opportunity, and an ideal setting to prove how advanced the helmets we make really are. The BCBR is leading the way in terms of on-site medical support and concussion awareness and for us, that’s a perfect match.”
— Julian Coffey, Kali Protectives

The new BCBR Concussion Protocol

Gregory Clark, MD, CCFP-EM is the Associate Chief for the Department of Emergency Medicine MUHC at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal—he is also the Medical Director for BC Bike Race. Dr. Clark, along with Safety Director, Brooks Hogya, developed the concussion protocol that is implemented for racer safety during the event. The protocol is based on the SCAT3 exam and the entire medical team (approximately nine people on the course and ten at basecamp) is given information on how to use the tool prior to the event. If a rider has a suspected concussion corroborated by an SCAT3 showing a high likelihood, Dr. Clark will administer the exam a second time before pulling them from the race. This extra step is two-fold. One, while everyone on the medical team is competent to administer the exam not everyone has the same amount of training with it, and two, he understands that disqualifying a rider from the remainder of the race is not something to be taken lightly. As he says, “It is a big deal to tell someone who has trained long and hard that their week of racing is over.”

BC Bike Race, BCBR

If a rider breaks their helmet but the SCAT3 isn’t indicative of a concussion, the rider must still liaise with Dr. Clark—and replace their helmet before racing the following day. In order to enforce this rule, the attending medics will remove the rider’s race plate. The plate and attached timing chip are returned to the rider when they have been medically cleared. During this step in the protocol, the racer will be put through a progressive series of activities to see if they elicit any concussion symptoms. If they do, they will be pulled from the race. If they do not they will be allowed to return to play.

“In recent years research on concussions has grown and the long-term effects we are seeing of these injuries are alarming. Having Kali on board, not only in providing a custom helmet for retail but also to outfit our team on-course, is an important addition to the BC Bike Race’s commitment to safety.”
— Danielle Baker, BCBR

Kali Protectives bike helmets are also backed by their Lifetime Crash Replacement guarantee. It’s that easy – ‘If you have damaged your Kali helmet in a crash, we’ve got you covered. Send us your helmet and proof of purchase and we’ll send you a brand new replacement.’

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