Is there a danger the Cyclo Sportiv Bubble will Burst soon?

Toks

I've been talking to quite a few people that want to get out and do sportivs which is great. However I've also spoke to a few who having done them in the past are now not keen at all. What d'ya guys think?

shazzz

Well, the Etape du Dales sold 650 places at £30 a shot in twelve hours or so. The White Horse classic is also full and White Rose almost there. Will be interesting to see how quickly the Fred Whitton fills up.

I suspect that some of the less well known events may struggle - entries for the Devil Ride seem to be rather slow at the moment.

I expect that those who thought the growth of sportives would be akin to the Chinese economy will be proved wrong, but there is no sign of the core group of sportive riders losing interest. If anything, more and more people in my club are entering these events, although tending to favour those that are close enough to drive to on the day rather than having to B&B it.

I don;t think the bubble has burst, but it may not get much bigger this year.

parisct

Cant see that happening, there are many events on the cyclosport.org website to choose from if the most popular ones fill up fast.

The Tour of Ireland looks a good one on 9th May, what do others think?

Ive never done a multi day event before!

andy_wrx

Well I hope it does burst if it prevents people coming-in simply to make money, or prevents existing events shoving the prices up too far.

SteveR_100Milers

andy_wrx wrote:

Well I hope it does burst if it prevents people coming-in simply to make money, or prevents existing events shoving the prices up too far.

I don't entirely agree , since if they are run as a business, i.e. to make money, chances are that eventually the market price and expectation from the customer will stabilise, which just might be at a more slickly organised event than some are cxurrently. You might pay more for them, but then they might be better value, in which case based upon the sheer numbers taking part at the moment suggests there is a strong demand for this type of event. There are I guess valid arguments for both the amatuer organised event vs a professionally organised event. Personally, I wouldn't invest many many hours of my time, and suffer the inevitable complaints afterwards unless I was going to make a return on that effort. I think most people would soon figure out if I was ripping them off and it wouldn't be long before it would stop making money.

APIII

Personally, the rise in popularity of sportives in the last few years has a) given a lot of non-racing cyclists something to aim for during the year and b)tempted them to expand their horizons and hop across the channel to tackle some of the bigger closed road sportives on the conitnent. The number of Brits on the start line of the Etape is testament to that.
There are a lot of good sportives around - well thought out courses, well organised, etc. and there are also a lot that aren't. Certainly there were times last year when I thought, I've paid £20-£30 for what exactly? Even so, I can't really see the bubble bursting, at least not for a while. Cyclists are a discerning bunch - not all Sportives are popular, and I would expect places in the big events to continue to be sought afterr, and so long as they are oversubscribed, there'll be plenty of mediocre ones around to absorb the overflow.

gavintc

I do not think the bubble is anywhere near bursting. There is demand and an appetite for the Sportive type of event. As far as I am concerned - a great concept. There is nothing comparable to burst the bubble and club cyclists want a challenge.

andyp

It depends if you think it's a bubble or not. I think there is a noticeable trend for, and I can't think of a better phrase, the richer groups in society taking an interest in healthier choices, both in leisure and in what they eat.

So you see a growth in organic food consumption, farmers markets, gym membership, etc. and cycling is benefiting from this. Road racing in the UK has a very high barrier to entry due to the small number of people involved which means that you have to train a lot just to be able to finish. Cyclosportives offer a more achievable challenge and usually offer some quiet roads and decent scenery so it's a good day out too so as long as there are more people coming into the sport then I'd expect cyclosportives to continue to be popular.

skavanagh.bikeradar

I postulated a while ago that sportives could do for cycling what marathon running did for erm running in the 70's and 80's - popularised it and brought hard, endurance events to the masses. I'm not thinking long and hard but I don't think the bubble will burst because:

- there are large numbers of older cyclists (35+) who have an increasing amount of leisure time as time spent with kids and careers level out.
- these same people probably (judging by the bikes I see) have a good wedge of disposable income
- There are, I suspect, a lot of people who have an interest in pro-cycling, watch the Tour and have never been a member of a club who enter sportives for the challenge
- these people then probably affiliate with clubs - everyone wins!
- For some the 'gym boom' means going out on your bike instead of paying David Lloyd £70 month.
- As sportives grow in popularity more and more club riders enter them, swelling number a bit more

The Tour of Wessex is trying to 'do a London marathon' and have an elite and amateur event on the same course on the same day. I first did a sportive in 2004 and in 3 years it has gone ballistic. There were only a handful of events back then - it's chalk and cheese. I suspect there will be a sort out as the best organised events come to the fore and some of the less well organised disappear. I guess Sportives fill the gap between Audax and Racing perfectly and that is where their mass appeal is - they are more accessible than both and combine the best bits of both too.

So, I disagree that the 'bubble' will burst, and I rather hope it doesn't if it is attracting more and more people to get on their bikes!

le_patron

parisct wrote:

Cant see that happening, there are many events on the cyclosport.org website to choose from if the most popular ones fill up fast.

The Tour of Ireland looks a good one on 9th May, what do others think?

Ive never done a multi day event before!

Go for it. I did it last year. If you are really into cycling and fancy four days of cruising/pseudo racing (near the finishes) with police escorts and likeminded people etc, it is great.

Anonymous

shazzz wrote:

Well, the Etape du Dales sold 650 places at £30 a shot in twelve hours or so. The White Horse classic is also full and White Rose almost there. Will be interesting to see how quickly the Fred Whitton fills up.

I suspect that some of the less well known events may struggle - entries for the Devil Ride seem to be rather slow at the moment.

.

NO...The Devil Ride is not filling slowly...its not even officially open yet...its goes live through the website tomorrow...the people who have already signed up went through a 'backdoor', So the organiser hasnt even advertised its even open yet...I reckon it will go very fast when it opens as its a sportive from the same organisers of the Autumn Epic...one is most renowned sportives on the amrket and always sells out fast.

The Bealach Challenge sold out in 4 hours...The Etape Du Dales shut entries so far at 650 after 6 hours....

If the FWC was online entry it would sell out in 5 mins and the servers would blow up trying to cope....but you can bet you bottom dollar that once the Post arrives at Paul Loftus's house tomorrow then the entries will be shut off...

There are numerous sportifs now which represent near all our mainland now...its great for guys like me....who love a real challenge but not near good enough to race...just a great feeling finishing these things nevermind get a great time...and it also allows me to see many other parts of the country...I'm from Scotland but even this year I'll be seeing parts of the Yorkshire Dales I've never seen before, I'll be in the Lake District, I'll be in Mid and North Wales...so its great for local comminuties aswell....lots of B & B's and restuarants prosper aswell. And I suppose whats more important is that we raise some cash for well worthy causes.

I think there maybe could be one or 2 more sportifs in Scotland and maybe a couple of Island adventures but I honestly reckon that the calendar is near full up now...my fear is that they become so many that they all suffer number losses...as I said I think most of the country is well represented.

leghurty

andy_wrx wrote:

Well I hope it does burst if it prevents people coming-in simply to make money, or prevents existing events shoving the prices up too far.

I don't think there are any/many who come just to make money. Anyone would be a fool to attempt to do so. However there are several cyclosportive rides run by people whith no cycling/organisational experience whatsoever though. Is this what you mean Andy wrx? If so this is just an elitist attitude and I think that any new idea which gets people out on bikes is simply fantastic. Input from people outside cycling should be welcomed.

Anyway, what''s wrong with any of this? Don't you go to work to make money? Do you worry as much about Michelin or Continental making money out of you when you buy a tyre?

I don't think the bubble will burst, far from it.

le_patron

I have ridden many of these events, as in the past they were straightforward to enter and didn't cost too much.

This season I am one of the many trying to get a place on the FWC which is ridiculously oversubscribed and I am shocked at how much some of these events now cost to enter. Many are more expensive that the awesome Italian fondos. Supply will feed demand, but I am having to think twice about entering the Cheshire Cat (£27 !) and I would be shelling out hundreds if I did as many as I have done in the past. I wouldn't mind if I was climbing famous cols in the sunshine, but Cheshire in March not quite the same.

The overwhelming popularity of the FWC must mean that if someone put a similar event on in the lakes, closed the roads (mmm...not sure that will ever happen) and opened it up to thousands (Italian style), ...the organisers would be raking it in.

I can't see this bubble bursting any time soon, unless they get too expensive.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Given the FWC entry closed on the day it opened inside 5 hours with a slightly hassle unfree postal entry system (I don't mind it) I think we can say the bubble isn't about to burst with some confidence. I'd also say that if this event is oversubscribed that there is a gap in the market for another event on the same day somewhere else - there are already events in Dartmoor, Sussex and Scotland on that day but clearly there is scope for an event to hoover up FWC rejects.

bahzob

Roughly twice as many riders in our club plan to do sportives this year compared to last and those who tried a local one are now planning to go a bit further afield.

So think bubble will continue a bit further yet especially if organisers listen to and respond to feedback.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Good. Long may it flourish. I'm certain that the accessibility of these events are their selling point - you don't need a racing licence, you don't need to have mudgaurads and a brookes saddle and you don't need to know the code name for a stretch of the A40 and it's relevant telegraph pole numbers.

Bronzie

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

you don't need a racing licence

............and more importantly, you don't have to be stupidly fit just to hang in at the back of the bunch :roll:

skavanagh.bikeradar

True! Although I'm inclined to think that if I could hang on to the back of a relatively quick group I'd go a lot faster. There's an incentive in there somewhere.....