Audax is a

cycling sport Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

in which participants attempt to cycle long distances within a pre-defined time limit. Audax is a non-competitive sport: success in an event is measured by its completion. Audax has its origins in Italian endurance sports of the late nineteenth century, and the rules were formalised in France in the early twentieth century. In the present day, there are two forms of Audax: the original group-riding style, Euraudax, governed by Unions des Audax, and the free-paced (''allure libre'') style usually known as Randonneuring, governed by Audax Club Parisien. The original form is mostly popular in France, but also in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Randonneuring is popular in many countries including Malaysia, France, Great Britain, Singapore, Australia, Canada, the USA and China. In the late nineteenth century Italy, day-long "challenge" sports became popular. Participants aimed to cover as much distance as possible and prove themselves ''audax'' ("audacious"). The first recorded audax cycling event took place on June 12, 1897, twelve Italian cyclists attempted the challenge of cycling from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, a distance of 230 km, during daylight hours. Similar events became popular elsewhere, and in 1904 French journalist

Henri Desgrange Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France. ...

produced Audax regulations, which belonged to his ''Auto'' newspaper. Under the Audax regulations, riders rode as a group. Successful riders were awarded a certificate called a Brevet d'Audax. A group of successful audax cyclists formed the Audax Club Parisien (ACP), which took over the organisation of Audax events on Desgrange's behalf. In 1920, there was a disagreement between Desgrange and the ACP. Desgrange withdrew ACP's permission to organise events under his Audax regulations, and ACP created its own allure libre (free-paced) version of the sport, where successful riders were awarded certificates called Brevets des Randonneurs. Desgrange continued to promote the original Audax rules, and on July 14, 1921, the Union of Parisian Audax Cyclistes (UACP) was formed, which became the Union of French Audax in January 1956."Origins and History of Audax UK"
''Audax UK Handbook 2011''
Audax UK. Retrieved 2011-02-20.

Euraudax (original form of audax)

Participants in the original form of audax ride in a group, at a steady pace set by a road captain. The group aims to cycle at 22.5 km/h between stops. The route is planned with designated stopping points. In longer audax events the group may ride between 16 and 20 hours in a day before stopping at a designated sleeping location. The goal of the audax is for all group members to finish within the time limit. A support vehicle is allowed to follow each group of riders.

Randonneuring (allure libre form of audax)

Randonneuring is similar to the original Audax style in that riders attempt to complete long-distance cycling events. However, instead of riding together in a group, participants are free to cycle at their own pace (French:

allure libre Randonneuring (also known as Audax in the UK, Australia and Brazil) is a long-distance cycling sport with its origins in audax cycling. In randonneuring, riders attempt courses of 200 km or more, passing through predetermined "controls" ( ...

), stop or sleep wherever they want and form groups randomly, provided they stay within the time limit. In some countries (e.g. USA), a clear distinction is drawn between 'Audax' and 'Randonneuring'. In others, such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, the original Audax style is relatively unknown, and 'Audax' and 'Randonneuring' are used interchangeably.

Organisations

The official organisation for the original audax style is the

Union des Audax The Union des Audax is the parent organization for the audax style of Randonneuring, a long-distance cycling sport. The other form of randonneuring is the allure libre Randonneuring (also known as Audax in the UK, Australia and Brazil) is a l ...

in France. The official organisation for randonneuring is Audax Club Parisien.

Euraudax (original form of audax)

Randonneuring (allure libre form of audax)

Organisations

References

External links