Applications to race open with plenty of notice through our social media accounts, at dedicated times throughout the year for our three races. During the two week application window the application forms become available as soon as the applicant has registered and created a profile at lostdot.cc. Applications are open for 2 weeks to allow plenty of time for riders to get their application in without favouring any particular nationalities. The application process consists of completing the registration stage, downloading and reading the Race Manual (available after registration and a few legal questions) and completing the application form - which will give us an idea of your knowledge regarding the concerns and methods of route planning, an understanding of the the basic requirements of the race and an idea of your experience to date.
There are no qualification requirements however we expect applicants to have gained relevant, multi-day, long distance expedition experience either alone or as part of a small group.
Completion and payment will be available to those riders who are offered a place. Riders should get to know if they have been offered a place early in the new year. The entry allocations procedure remains the same as usual; there will be a mixture of pre-selected applicants and a ballot.
Lost Dot aim to operate Transcontinental Race at capacity. We do not operate a waiting list, instead we offer slightly more places than we can accommodate in the knowledge that some people will withdraw their entry. Since we now have so many veterans returning to race we can no longer accept all riders of previous races as we have in the past.
There will be a number of pre-selection quotas to encourage and reward certain applicants. If the number of applicants in these categories exceeds the quota then they will be selected in a ballot. If a rider is not successful in the pre-selection ballot then they will be put into the main ballot. Exact quota numbers will be determined proportionally and be dependent on the demographics of the entries as a whole.
Pre-selection will be made for the following:
Volunteers - those who have given a significant contribution to a Lost Dot race as a volunteer in the last race will be prioritised. There will not be a quota on volunteer places.
Veterans - In the past most if not all veteran racers got a place, however there are now too many veterans to make that possible and so there is a quota and a pre-selection ballot for these applicants.
Under-represented applicants - namely women and under-represented nationalities may have a quota. Read our diversity and inclusion statement here.
All solo riders unsuccessful in the quota ballots or not eligible for pre-selection will go into the main ballot. It is not the purpose of the allocation process to delete entries from the process as not good enough. We may contact applicants if we believe there has been a gross misunderstanding of the event's demands or that the applicant may be a liability to their own safety or that of the event. We do reserve the right to refuse entries but this we generally reserve for those that are made as obviously non-serious, abusive or containing false information. There may be other circumstances but you get the idea.
There will be a separate quota for pairs riders. Riders who apply as a pair will only be eligible for a pairs place, if unsuccessful they will not be entered into the main ballot. Riders must firmly decide and commit to which category they are entering and enter only one. Duplicate registrations will be removed. Pairs entry cannot be back door mechanism to a solo start. Riders should assume that selection is only made for the category of the application and they will not necessarily be able to transfer from one category to another at a later date.
