Sportives??
Gothmeister
Posts: 62
Please excuse the ignorance, but can someone explain what are:
Sportives, TT's, Audaxes et cetera??
Would really appreciate it!
Sportives, TT's, Audaxes et cetera??
Would really appreciate it!
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Comments
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A Sportive is a long distance (60 to 140 miles) ride that is timed, it is not a race but a result sheet will show the times of all the riders so there is an element of competition. If you want you can ride in a group and draft (sit behind) other riders to improve your speed. The riders set of in small groups, there is no mass start as in a race.
A TT is a Time Trial, in this type of event the rider is timed over a set distance (10, 25, 50 & 100 miles), the rider must ride at their own pace and must not follow or draft other riders. A time trial is a competition but again not a race and the riders are sent out at minute intervals.
An Audax event is where the riders cover a long distance course (typically 60 to 200 miles) within set time limits, the rider has a route card which is stamped at various check points along the way. There are no timed results the object is to cover the course within the set time limit.0 -
Cheers LeighB, that's really helpful, thanx!!
When I feel proficient enough, they all sound pretty interesting.0 -
Sportives = fun run
TT's = solo race against the clock
Audaxes = fun run for bearded men
Road race = bike race, similar to those TV images of the Tour de France0 -
I think Sportives are more comparable to marathons and audaxes are the fun runs.
If you ride a Sportive like the Marmotte, Etape, Maratona Dolomiti etc. The guys at the front really race and some aren't far off pro times, some riding are even pros or neo pros on development teams. There are of course the guys coming in at the tail of the field, who just like fun runners, take their time and take things easy.0 -
grimpeur wrote:If you ride a Sportive like the Marmotte, Etape, Maratona Dolomiti etc. The guys at the front really race and some aren't far off pro times,
Continental European Sportives (the ones you mention) are effectively races (and have timelimits) though, whereas UK Sportives are a bit different - they aren't races and have no time limits.
I'd consider sportives more like fun runs - they aren't a race, you can take as long as you want, and sometimes have pathetically short distances as options.
I'd say Audaxes are more serious and more like Marathons than Sportives, they might not be run at breakneck paces, but some of the distances are huge......eg PBP or LEL. (I beleive there are time cutoffs in Audaxes, is there?)0 -
A 5,000 strong bunch, Alpine climbs, Elite (sometimes pro) riders, tactics, attacks, trophies and podiums at stake: it's mental. Of course you can take it at your own pace at the back and most do.redddraggon wrote:Continental European Sportives (the ones you mention) are effectively races (and have timelimits) though, whereas UK Sportives are a bit different - they aren't races and have no time limits.
These European events are a million miles from their British equivalents which like I say, a really fun runs. Someone on here labelled them "challenge rides" and I think that's appropriate, sharing the same name as events in Europe that are completely different is confusing, "sportive" is after all a French word but it means one thing in French, another in English.
See http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... 74&start=0 for more...0 -
I disagree.grimpeur wrote:I think Sportives are more comparable to marathons and audaxes are the fun runs. ...
The most fundamental difference between the two is distance. Sportives only go up to around 200km (Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge), audaxing starts* at 200km and up to 3 200km IIRC.
Sportives are more of a sprint; audaxes are endurance.
*There are 'audaxes' of 70 - 200km, but they're not audaxes - they're 'brevet populaires' (BPs). Although they are run in the same format as the longer runs, they do not meet the criterium for long distance cycling. Officially the definition for long distance is 200km+.A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject - Churchill0 -
Maybe its also helpful to rank them in order of "seriousness":
Not racing to hardest competitive racing:
Sportive - not by any means officially a race, though what you do privatrely and how you see it is up to you
Open to anyone, i.e. club or non club members.
Audax - You do get a card stamped to prove you covered a specific distnace, but les emphasis on how fast you did it. I think again these are opne to anyone that fancis having a go.
TT - THE amatuer cycling sport in the UK, or was anyway. It's an official race, with national championships etc all held on public roads legislated and controlled by the CTT (used to to be the RTTC). Only members of affiliated clubs can participate in open events.
RR - Competitive racing also requires participants to hold a BC racing license, (and therefore be a paid up member) and (I think) be a member of an affiliated club. You really don't want to start road racing even at 4th Category (i.e. beginner) unless you can ride for 50 or so miles flat out, or at least sprinting your lungs apart every few minutes for a couple of hours or so; and be able to post a sub 1hr 10 time for a 25 mile TT as a really rough guide. If you're not that fit you'll be left behind in the first mile...this is perhaps why so many people start TTing first as its as much against yourself as it is others.0 -
I have heard this misconception a number of times and I'm always puzzled by it. Where do people get the idea that a TT is not a race?LeighB wrote:............... A time trial is a competition but again not a race............
Ruth0 -
.......... nor is a TT by definition ridden over a set distance. There are many TTs which are not over a standard distance.LeighB wrote:A TT is a Time Trial, in this type of event the rider is timed over a set distance (10, 25, 50 & 100 miles)................
Ruth0 -
Hey Ruth, is the BRCC audax taking place again next year?? Happy New Year by the way
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I'll remember that the Fred Whitton is a 'fun run' next time I'm struggling up Hardknott on the Fred Whitton.
Whilst I accept that some of the easier British sportives could be categorised this way, I don't think that the harder hillier ones fit this criterion. The short options probably do.
The Fred Whitton, Etape du Dales and Dave Lloyd Mega would be more equivalent to a marathon rather than the 10k plod that usually constitutes a fun run.
Most sportives do have a time limit contrary to what has been said above.0 -
Nickwill wrote:I'll remember that the Fred Whitton is a 'fun run' next time I'm struggling up Hardknott on the Fred Whitton.
Whilst I accept that some of the easier British sportives could be categorised this way, I don't think that the harder hillier ones fit this criterion. The short options probably do.
The Fred Whitton, Etape du Dales and Dave Lloyd Mega would be more equivalent to a marathon rather than the 10k plod that usually constitutes a fun run.
Most sportives do have a time limit contrary to what has been said above.
Totally agree with Nick on this....every sportive Ive did has been disgustingly tough....and whilst Ive never did a marathon I reckon every sportive Ive did equals the effort or exceeds it....I know lots of lads who have did marathons and they arent in near the shape or who have put in such training as I have did to acheive my goals...in no way am I bringing down the acheivement of a marathon but the guys I know who have did them wouldnt be able to finish a tough sportive...(and Im speaking only of the guys I know...not the super lads who do great times)
Nick mentions a few tough sportives...but lets be honest...most are terribly difficult...sportives usually take in the toughest of terrain...and whilst some guys above reckon 100-140miles isn't a great challenge I reckon its a monstrous Challenge...especially with bonkers steep hills one after another.....this year I cycled the Mortirolo and the Gavia in a loop...no way was it near as tough as any of the tough UK sportives Ive did...my legs are like jelly after a sportive!
Just look at some of the brutes Nick has not mentioned:-
White Rose,5 Dales Richmond,Ryedale Rumble,Devil Ride,Cornwall Tor,3 Counties Challenge,GFC, and on and on....
And on most of the sportives Ive did there has always been cut off times.....I'd like to see those chaps who say a 'fun' run when I was climbing Hardknott pass this year at 100miles in scorching hot weather...I wasn't far away from crying...and also when I was climbing Bwlch Y Groes at 100miles on the DLMC and knew there was still 40miles of terribly hard steep climbs still to come afterwards...after already ascending 3500 meters!.(and at the mid way point on the DLMC around 150 riders who signed to do the big route resorted to the small one)...........Christ there were guys scattered all over the Cambrian mountains this year on the Devil Ride...guys who had totally under estimated the effort and couldnt even get out the mountains as a result....Matt Payne(WRC co-organiser) told me tons of guys totally gave up on the White Rose classic this year...said there was devastated guys scattered all over course....carnage....
Maybe to the elite guys a sportive is a fun run...for me they are a testimont to my detremination and fitness and endurance.0 -
Oh dear, what have I started?? :oops:0
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Don't take it personally, I was merely saying that sportives in Britain are not races whereas a French or Italian sportive is competitive. In Britain, people complete the course for fun, not trophies or times, I wasn't knocking how hard it is to ride 100 miles. 8)RICHYBOYcp wrote:Maybe to the elite guys a sportive is a fun run...for me they are a testimont to my detremination and fitness and endurance.
That's why I also suggested naming them "challenge rides". But they still involve completing a course for the pure "fun" of it, not a competition, you are engaged in a struggle with your legs to complete the course, not a race against the clock, nor a race against others for a podium spot. So take pride in your "determination and fitness" as no body is saying a 100 mile ride across hilly terrain is a mere fun run open for all the family, of course they are a bit more than that!
Still, if you found the Gavia easy, what about trying it in a Gran Fondo, trying to follow a pro or dilletante up the climbs, surely that has to be harder when you're in a full on race? Now there's a test of fitness and endurance...0 -
Agree that sportives are extremely tough, but then the "equivalent" RR is much shorter, but ask anyone that has ridden them and they wil tell you they are not easy, after all you can back off to your own pace in a sportive. That said, a serious amatuer / pro RR will be based upon stages that sportives follow (think Dragon Ride and Milk Race), so ultimately a top level RR isnt going to be that disimilar to a sportive route. I'm not diminishing the efforts and achievements of those that ride sportives, but they are not races, and even if you race in them, its not quite the same as 50 of you all at it hammer and tongues all the way round!0
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As a ex competitive runner turned long distance cyclist, I'll give my own slant on the marathon v sportive ride debate.
I ran marathons reguarly and my best time was a 2:36. I completed the Fred Whitton on quite a few occasions and my best time was 7:10.
Which was harder? Well in my opinion no question, the marathon. Infact I would say even the easier (3 hour +) marathons I've done are much harder than the hardest sportive. At this level both require a high level of fitness and training, but recovery from a marathon takes me longer than a sportive (although I did reguarly do multiple marathons in a week) and mentally the marathons are/were for me a much tougher challenge.
I'm just starting to ride again after over a year off the bike and have 2 targets now.
1. Get fit enough to complete the FWC in under 7 hours (definitely not on for 2009!)
2. Complete the London marathon in under 3 hours (have not run one for many years)
Be interesting to see which happens first. <b>Event Website:</b> http://www.whiteroseclassic.co.uk0 -
Yes all points very valid....I reckon a 50mile RR would be much tougher than any Sportive...just the pure intensity...thats why a guy as garbage as me could never take part...not nearly fit enough....a Sportive is a fantastic Challenge for a normal fella who likes his hobbie...for a 40 year old like me who used to smoke and drink a bit too much I feel these are great reminders of how far one has come from the days of pure unhealthyness.....just like a Marathon you can take your time and 'survive' as best as possible....so they are great and extremely tough for guys like me.
Seen a few threads comparing Marathons to Sportives....on most I have seen the outcome is that a Sportive takes more effort...but recovery from a Sportive is much swifter from a Sportive than a Marathon, simply because of the 'impact' damage associated with running...a Guy I know ran lots of Marathons...even a 40mile run around the Kincardine and Forth bridges and he still reckons the FWC last year was his toughest exersion......suppose it depends what your more suited to?
P.s Kleber....I took it REAL easy up the Mortirolo and the Gavia...I wouldnt get 2 kms up the climbs at Race speed :oops:0 -
Hi Steve, according to my calendar it isn't New Year just yet - don't wanna wish my life away!SteveR_100Milers wrote:Hey Ruth, is the BRCC audax taking place again next year?? Happy New Year by the way
But yes, the Beacon winter Audaxes are on 7th February. All details and online entries here: http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/audax/express/index.html See you there?
Ruth0 -
Pedal harder then!Booboocp wrote:Which was harder? Well in my opinion no question, the marathon.
...I am only joking, the recovery from running is a lot harder given the impact and increased muscle tears. As only an ironman distance triathlete knows too well.
The point isn't to compare the hardest events, more to give people an idea. I mean this in a helpful way: if you have to ask what sort of event means what, then it's because you don't know and so need some explanation. Hopefully the answers on here can explain things, you will find the sportives the most accessible, partly because of their commercial "fun run" nature but also because you can choose the circuits and distances too.
Obviously a ten mile time trial is easy to do, you can take as much time as you like. But road racing, even at 4th cat level, seems to require a high level of fitness, there is no road race equivalent of pub league football!
Ultimately it's all cycling and someone new to the sport should try everything a few times and have a mix of riding in the year, from a potter to a cakeshop to an endurance event that scares the hell out of them!0 -
BeaconRuth wrote:
Hi Steve, according to my calendar it isn't New Year just yet - don't wanna wish my life away!SteveR_100Milers wrote:Hey Ruth, is the BRCC audax taking place again next year?? Happy New Year by the way
But yes, the Beacon winter Audaxes are on 7th February. All details and online entries here: http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/audax/express/index.html See you there?
Ruth
I just got the new year greeting thing out the way early, as I usually cant get round to doing it at the appropriate time
I will hopefully be riding it again this year, with a more puncture resistant tyre, and I'll make sure I say hello this time Thanks for the link as well. 0 -
Thanks Ruth! Thats my entry in for the sunrise express. £5.50 what a bargain!0
