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Must a club promote racing on the road?

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  • July 12, 2012 at 9:10 am #16304
    Farky

    Ive recently discovered a very negative attitude towards racing on the roads in my local club which is based around the financial impacts of running races and pondered the question……

    How important is it, for a cycling club, to promote racing on the open roads?

    Finances always make running races an issue with varying degrees of sucess from club to club with many issues affecting this success ranging from location, race category, race route and permitted rider numbers to things like club marketing attitude and ability to attract sponsors.

    All this aside though, is running sportives and closed road circuits enough to promote the sport in full, givin the recent high profile backing of securing the roads for the use of cyclists?

    Ive no doubt that most people starting out, feel more comfortible off the roads and away from traffic especially those joing at a mature age. Parents also feel happier their children learn in this safe enviroment also. But when do you actually gain experience of riding on the roads to allow you benefit fully from the sport of cycling if even just to commute to work on open roads?

    If every club used closed roads/racing tracks etc, how would future generations ever feel comfortible on the roads or gain that experience?

    To me, its vital that clubs run open road events and sportives fulfil that role in part, at least in an organised and supported way.

    Sportives attract possibly higher numbers than races and larger entry fees also especially with more commercial partners interested in backing an event than a road race as their product is directly linked.

    Are Sportives now the future of club activities then and if so, what will happen to road racing, is it for the elite only and where will this elite come from in 10 years?

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  • July 12, 2012 at 10:12 pm #691083
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    russyparkin

    my club is vigourously
    my club is vigourously against any competition. but there are 2 others nearby that are very race training orientated. depends what you want and what the club advertises themselves as i suppose.

    July 12, 2012 at 1:05 pm #691081
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    Raleigh

    That’s why I think Time
    That’s why I think Time Trials should be better advertised.

    Anyone can do them, on any bike, pretty much.

    July 12, 2012 at 11:01 am #691079
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    notfastenough

    Interesting points. I was
    Interesting points. I was mulling over yesterday how, if I was into another sport, like Football say, I could probably find a local pub team or something that would suit me, without needing to be much good at it, and take part in competitions/leagues etc. With cycling though, the entry level for racing (it seems to me) consists of guys with a much higher level of fitness than normal. So unless you commit to such levels of training, then in terms of bunch riding, you are a bit confined to sportives and club runs.

    Then again, even if you could introduce a lower level (cat 5?) of racing, aimed at average guys and girls who ride a couple of times a week, the sheer risks of riding in a group that generally lacks experience would likely result in more crashes than usual, so you probably wouldn’t want to be on the open road.

    I’m with a small club, so we enter sportives etc and a few race, but we don’t hold our own events – we just don’t have the numbers or a sufficiently high profile to be honest.

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