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Sportive entry costs

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  • December 28, 2011 at 1:41 pm #14679
    joeegg

    Afer many years mountainbiking i’ve turned to road cycling and so far enjoying it.
    Friends of mine take part in sportives so i thought i’d give it a go next year.
    Looking at a couple of sportives in my area,the north east,i was amazed at the entry prices.One was £50 and the other £61.I know that other sportives are not these prices but does anyone actually think these sort of entry fees are reasonable.
    I’ll be sticking with the club rides next year !

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  • December 29, 2011 at 4:31 pm #659641
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    Simon E

    dave_atkinson wrote:Gonna try

    dave_atkinson wrote:
    Gonna try for a 400km this year…

    ^^ there be a proper headcase.

    Something like the Irish Mail would be a good one, but I’m not sure it will be on this year. He is running the 300 km Elenydd from Shropshire into mid-Wales (a terrific area for cycling):
    http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-748/

    I don’t wish to condemn every event as a ripoff, some organisers try hard to provide a good day out. The answer to a finding a decent sportive event is to look at the popular forums (Bikeradar, for example) and find out which ones are consistently well rated and go from there. For instance, Epic Cycles’ events in Worcestershire are always popular and ones like the Spud Riley and Anthony Maynard always get glowing feedback. As in all things in life, some do a job properly and some don’t.

    Spend wisely and hopefully your £30 will give you a good day out (in the scheme of things it’s not a great deal of money). Conversely, a poorly organised event with dodgy food and poor signage might lead you to feel it was poor value.

    A starting point for next year:
    http://www.sportivescene.co.uk/2012-cycle-sportive-calendar/

    December 29, 2011 at 3:23 pm #659639
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    Stumps

    If your in the North East try
    If your in the North East try the Northern Rock Cyclone in June 2012 – entry cost is £25. Well worth every penny (i did it last year and met a load of the Sky team as the British Champs were on the same weekend).

    December 29, 2011 at 2:49 pm #659637
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    PeteH

    @monty – do you reckon the
    @monty – do you reckon the sportive organisers don’t need to bother with getting the event insured then? The sportives I have entered, they don’t make any kind of pre-condition that individual entrants have to have their own insurance, I had always kind of assumed that I’d be covered in some kind of event insurance…. but there again maybe not. (For me it doesn’t really matter in any case since I am insured through BC.)

    @joeegg – “cycling just for the affluent 50 somethings?”. Well the experiences brought out in this thread certainly seem to be suggesting “sportives just for the affluent 50 somethings”, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying “cycling”.

    December 29, 2011 at 1:37 pm #659635
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    joeegg

    I totally agree with you
    I totally agree with you monty dog.
    There was an article on road cc about the current fashion of Argyle patterns on cycle clothing.
    It was claimed its because ” cycling is the new golf “.
    Cycling just for the affluent 50 somethings.
    Lets hope not.

    December 29, 2011 at 11:20 am #659633
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    monty dog

    There are lots of events in
    There are lots of events in Europe for 20 Euros and the only reason for UK fees is profiteering and too many gullible people prepared to put up with it. Insurance is spurious as you can get a years membership to BC, CTC which includes 12 months third party insurance for less than an entry fee. If I want to ride 150 mies in a day I can work out my own route with friends and have a slap- up lunch at a cafe of my choice. If I want to ride hard, I enter a race and know that most other riders are competent too and that marshalls keep traffic off the course.

    December 29, 2011 at 10:47 am #659631
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    the_mikey

    I enter a few sportives, but
    I enter a few sportives, but the sportives I enjoy most are ones that aren’t in my local area, cycling around countryside I would not normally ride on. I am not a member of a club, most of the clubs local to me expect a lot more than I can give, when I can only attend a sunday club run perhaps one or two weekends a month,I’ve tried audax but that’s really not for me.

    December 29, 2011 at 9:37 am #659629
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    PeteH

    okay, so basically when we’re
    okay, so basically when we’re talking about paying £60plus for a UK sportive we’re expecting an experience on a par if not better than the Etape du Tour?

    Does that match with the reality?

    (I’m assuming here that the Etape du Tour is well organised.)

    Have to say, I looked at the audax uk website last night and it does look kind of interesting. I’ve done a few 100k+ summer rides but to see rides that are 200k+ is pretty jaw-dropping. I wish I were 20 years younger…

    December 28, 2011 at 11:59 pm #659627
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    Gkam84

    Depending on how you enter
    Depending on how you enter Etape du tour it can range from £80-200 plus you add in the cost of getting there and somewhere to stay

    For instance some charity’s have got a team onto Act 1 and 2 next year, entry with them is only £99 but then you pay for everything yourself and also raise some cash for them

    http://www.getkidsgoing.com/letape_du_tour.htm

    Where as, if you go for a whole package, If you wanted to do Act 1 and 2 with the 3 nights half board and everything else, your talking the best part of £1500

    http://www.frenchcyclingholidays.com/sport/etape.html

    December 28, 2011 at 10:24 pm #659625
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    dave atkinson

    Etape du tour is around
    Etape du tour is around €100.

    Audax is great, BTW. less than a tenner a go and generally organised and ridden by experienced, friendly and helpful folk. Gonna try for a 400km this year…

    December 28, 2011 at 8:12 pm #659623
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    _SiD_

    As mentioned above, it’s
    As mentioned above, it’s merely symptomatic of cycling’s popularity.

    You could argue that a well run sportive, say £50-60 is no more extortionate than a Rapha jersey at £150 or carbon bike, wheels and components at £5000. You pays your money.

    Most sportives have their origins in club runs/events and have been struggling to cope with the huge demand in recent years, I suspect this is why the private event companies have been moving in recently. Lots of local councils and tourism authorities have also been keen to jump on the bandwagon – which I fear marks the beginning of the end.

    They can be hugely expensive to organise both time and money. You also must be very thick skinned to take one on – keeping a few thousand people happy and more importantly safe for the best part of a day over a huge geographical area is a huge undertaking and not to be taken lightly.

    I hope the good, well run events with their hearts and roots in the right places do become established as those on the continent have.

    December 28, 2011 at 7:43 pm #659621
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    PeteH

    Gkam, you mention insurance
    Gkam, you mention insurance and that’s a good point. As an individual I took out some public liability insurance which specifically excluded racing. if I wanted to race they would insure me but at a higher premium

    The sportives I’ve entered, the organisers clearly point out that it is a sportive, not a race. (This despite them offering different medals depending on finish time.) One assumes that they’re not pointing this out for the fun of it, but as a condition of their insurance.

    Incidentally when I queried the cost of the Etape earlier I meant the Etape du Tour. I have no knowledge whatsoever of continental events, does anyone know how the prices stack up against uk events?

    December 28, 2011 at 7:37 pm #659619
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    joeegg

    Marketing companies “create”
    Marketing companies “create” demand.
    A friend in the bike club mentioned Audax events that they did this year so being a Yorkshire tight wad this may be my low cost alternative.

    December 28, 2011 at 7:29 pm #659617
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    Simon E

    Sportive organisers are only
    Sportive organisers are only responding to demand.

    My suggestion:

    Audax.

    December 28, 2011 at 6:38 pm #659615
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    Gkam84

    The Etape Cymru 2012 costs
    The Etape Cymru 2012 costs £55 as far as i know, The Etape Caledonia is £61 this year

    There is one thing i think some people are missing, these things cost a bit to organise as they need certain permission’s/insurance and license’s to run them, I dont know how much they cost

    The reason i only enter a few here and there is not based on money, but my ability to run upright for a certain time, I don’t do sportive’s over 50-70 miles as i’d not be able to complete unless its on my recumbent

    December 28, 2011 at 5:35 pm #659613
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    PeteH

    I agree, but things are sold
    I agree, but things are sold on how much people will pay, not based on how much they cost. That’s capitalism for you. That’s why people who sell mobile phone ringtones are multi-millionaires.

    If you can sell a sportive at £60 and it sells out, the two messages are (a) organise another one, and (b) charge more!

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