top 20 protected only race the final.I'm not 100% sure about the format, but this is what I gather:
Saturday: Open registration, UCI Class 2 race, 200+ racers, 30 qualify for Sunday small final, not sure if top 20 protected pros compete, if they do they are cruising since they are protected?
Sunday: Small final for top 30, 10 qualify for Sunday Final not sure about UCI accreditation, not sure if top 20 protected pros compete.
Sunday: Final, top 20 protected pros + 10 qualifiers from small final, not sure about UCI accreditation, big purse.
I could be way off...
from the interview with ray posted earlier:
It's been reported that you'll protect the top twenty riders for the final. Does that mean that only 10 riders who are outside that group are able to qualify for each final?
Indeed. The top 20 riders are protected, as are top players on a tennis tournament. These riders can do training runs while others have to qualify to make it in the top 10 of the small final on the Sunday morning. These 10 riders are then part of the main final on Sunday afternoon.
Why protect the top 20 rather than having a free-for-all?
We want to protect the top 20 riders because we anticipate that those are world cup riders. We want them to focus on performing on one run rather than having to go through a qualification process. That will mean less stress for the world cup riders and hopefully will make racing DH1 even more compatible with racing the world cup.