We have some exciting changes to announce for RUSA awards in 2027!
First, a new award! A proposal was submitted for an award celebrating riders who have completed 10 domestic 1200ks. In evaluating this proposal we realized there was a dearth of awards acknowledging similarly difficult rides such as the 1000k, the 8k600, and the SR600. So we are excited to announce a to-be-named award for riders who have completed a combined 12,000 KMs of those rides domestically. Our working title is the RUSA Grand Tour, but we're open to suggestions before finalizing. For those curious about how it will work, it will be automatically awarded and excess KMs will carry over to the next award. It will be retroactive, counting a lifetime of RUSA riding history.
Second, changes to the Rouleur. Even though the routes themselves are much less challenging than Grand Tour events, we've seen that achieving this award can be very difficult. Only 1/3 of our regions have offered a full slate of the requisite events in the past three years, not to mention that it takes 5 rides to complete - more than the SR. A member can't miss any qualifiers, and all rides must be completed within the calendar year. To increase accessibility, we are allowing riders to use Permanents to satisfy the fixed-distance ride requirements, but only after Oct 1 in each calendar year. For the team event, we'll be developing a Permanent-based team event qualifier, again available from Oct 1 onwards. To keep riders connected to local regions at least one qualifying event must be region-calendared. Stay tuned for details! These changes to the Rouleur will take effect in 2027 and will not apply retroactively to prior years.
The Ultra Fleche award will be changed and renamed. Grand Team? Again we are open to suggestions. We felt that we should encourage attendance for more than the ACP Fleche so we are now including all RUSA team events: Arrow, Dart and Dart Pop. The award will be achieved by accumulating 3600 kms in team events. Of course, current Ultra Fleche awardees will automatically have accumulated 3600 kms and receive this award. Like the Grand Tour, it will be retroactive and kms will carry over to the next award. Foreign Fleche completions under ACP rules will count, up to 50% of the kms.
Rationale - Grand Tour
This one is actually pretty easy. A 12,000 km accumulation sweeps in events that are similarly difficult despite little recognition from our domestic awards.
- The SR600 lost a lot of incentive when it was dropped from the ACP R10000 award but these are beautiful routes and we'd like to encourage our members to tackle them.
- The 8k600 is the replacement climbing part of the R10000 and is at least as difficult as the SR600.
- The 1000k is required for ACP R5000 and R10000 and RUSA Cup but is another monster distance that could use some more recognition.
- Counting kms and allowing carryover, vs simply counting number of rides allows for a mix and match and means that members don't have to worry about the order that they rack up their achievements.
- Counting lifetime retro makes everything much easier.
- Do we need this award? - Yes - Awards are all about recognition and personal achievement. This award recognizes those who are really testing themselves. Randonneuring is an endurance sport and the rides that this award recognizes are the pinnacle of endurance.
- Help us - do you have a better name for this award?
Rationale - Rouleur
- The primary purpose of the Rouleur is to provide a goal for entry level and late career riders and bridge them to 200+ km distances. We want everyone who joins RUSA to have a goal that they can immediately pursue and a path for ramping up to traditional rando distances.
- This is an award that we've made very difficult to achieve because of the calendar commitment. It's difficult for the wrong reasons. Miss / DNF one event and you're out of the running. Join / renew with RUSA too late in the year and you're out. Not a member of 1/3 of the regions that offer the rides... tough luck.
- Many RBAs don't have the bandwidth or number of local members, to run a complete Rouleur schedule. With the team ride included, it's more work than putting on a traditional SR series. We cannot ask the Regions to satisfy the demand for an award that the Board created any more than they already do. To satisfy the calendaring needs of its members, a Region would have to offer many of the events multiple times.
- We decided to increase accessibility by including perms but don't want to offload the ridership from the regions who do participate so we have left perm accessibility to the Fall and the prospective Rouleur awardee must ride at least one calendared qualifying event.
- Team rides are special and still included in the award but we are also adding a fallback, an application-based team permanent to substitute for the team event. All three prospective riders already have a team ride? Not applicable. Your region has a team event coming up in the same timeframe? Please reconsider.
- Upon completion, the committee that approved the substitute team perm will validate the results according to the official team event rules for riders.
- Do we need to do this? Yes. The Rouleur has provided incentive ... and fun ... for many riders but hasn't really been available for most new members - our target audience. The numbers are striking - in 2025 we had 958 brand new members of which 7 earned a Rouleur. 2022 through 2024 there were 2,1 and 6. How do we entice more cyclists to join our sport? By providing some early goals for them to achieve. How do we keep long-time members riding more than a couple of 100k's? Give them a goal and that 200k might become their stretch goal. Advertise the award! We want the Rouleur to work for us; it's a great concept but unavailable to the bulk of our regions
- What about Rouleur weeks? These typically have a different audience. Most new members won't block off a week's vacation, travel and stay at a hotel and ride 700 km within a week. Rouleur weeks are a rando-fest and have their own audience.
Rationale - Grand Team
- We want to encourage participation in all RUSA team events - Arrow, Dart and Dart Populaire. The current award only recognizes the Fleche.
- Ultra Fleche was really a misnomer as all of our Ultra awards are for accumulating 10 of an award. The Fleche is an event, not an award, so we want to correct that as we change the award.
- Help us - do you have a better name than our working "Grand Team" name?