Good Sportive, Bad Sportive

Ands

I have been following the Jodrell Bank thread with interest. I had planned to make this my first sportive. As it happened my friend couldn't ride it with me and I didn't see the point of doing it alone. Mr A said he would ride with me but I know that as a family, we have better things to spend £50 on.

It sounds as if missing this sportive wasn't such a big deal.

My question is, what makes a good sportive and what makes a bad one? How much are you prepared to pay and what do you expect for your money? What sportives would you recommend to other people?

Also, is it the case that some sportives are operated as "not for profit" and some are privately-run money spinners? There seems to be quite a variation in entry costs.

Scrumple

Any that do not make a profit are ticked for me (give all money to charity).

I would not touch a profit one unless it had a fab reputation, and these normally sell out in a few days (word of mouth). I'm getting the idea that you work out which ones these are the year before, then make sure you get in quick to book.

Other than that I'd just go with what is convenient or close. I am wary of anyone who comes on here and pushes a new one unless it is clearly charitable.

From browsing this place the best ones seem to jump out.

Anyway, I'm not strong enough to feel comfortable to enter just yet so I'm just writing my list for next year!

hugo15

I think a lot of organisers could learn from the guys at Richmond Cycling Club who put on the Richmond Sportives each year.

Choice of 3 routes (50, 80 or 100 miles).
Signing on is easy, with 4 or 5 poeple dealing with it.
Never had a problem with parking.
Electronic timing.
Route signage.
3 feedstops (usual stuff plus sausage rolls and cheese pasties!!).
Chilli and rice and a cup of tea at the end.
Big screen displaying the times of finishers as they come in.
Certificate

And how much do they want for that ....................... £15.

BTW I have no connection to Richmond CC, just someone who has really enjoyed riding their sportive. I'm in again this year, but this time for the 100 :shock: .

fungus_the_muffin_man

Same goes for the Mad March Hare sportive.
It's only £10
The organiser keeps entrance to roughly only 300 instead of over stretching themselves in the interest of profit. It also results in a really good atmosphere and you tend to get to talk to more people as a result.
Easy secure car parking is essential when you've just driven over 2 hours to get to an event
There's only one route but everyone knows this and the scenery, gradients, etc make the route near to perfect.
They don't have electronic timing but it was spot on with my Garmin. Just goes to show you don't need fancy tags to get it right.
Good route signage
well stocked feed stop
free tea and coffee both prior to and after the ride
Free hot bacon butty, burger or veggie option.

It's so popular it sells out in days. Any sportive that sells out as quickly as that just goes to show it has that something special that the majority of others don't.

blorg

Plenty in Ireland priced at €10-20 and indeed audaxes for a fiver. You don't tend to get anything on an audax but then do you really need it? Big continental ones like the Marmotte you do get a fair bit for your €40.

£50 sounds a bit nuts unless it was something like closed roads.

pprince

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Same goes for the Mad March Hare sportive.
It's only £10
The organiser keeps entrance to roughly only 300 instead of over stretching themselves in the interest of profit. It also results in a really good atmosphere and you tend to get to talk to more people as a result.
Easy secure car parking is essential when you've just driven over 2 hours to get to an event
There's only one route but everyone knows this and the scenery, gradients, etc make the route near to perfect.
They don't have electronic timing but it was spot on with my Garmin. Just goes to show you don't need fancy tags to get it right.
Good route signage
well stocked feed stop
free tea and coffee both prior to and after the ride
Free hot bacon butty, burger or veggie option.

It's so popular it sells out in days. Any sportive that sells out as quickly as that just goes to show it has that something special that the majority of others don't.

..and trade stands!

ajb72

I have my very first sportive in a couple of weeks time, the Cotswold Spring Classic starting in Cirencester. I'm not sure what to expect of the organisation, so far I am not exactly over impressed with the website which has very limited route information, and the gpx file that was supposed to be sent out to entrants has not happened.

Really looking forward to the challenge though, I know the area quite well so looking forward to great scenery and long climbs.

maddog 2

Cumberland Challenge is probably the best one I've done, in terms of organisation.

good sign-in
good food and water
excellent marshalling
excellent photo management
and a good route too

I'm not fussed about T-shirts and freebies, just get the basics right and don't charge silly money

fungus_the_muffin_man

pprince wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Same goes for the Mad March Hare sportive.
It's only £10
The organiser keeps entrance to roughly only 300 instead of over stretching themselves in the interest of profit. It also results in a really good atmosphere and you tend to get to talk to more people as a result.
Easy secure car parking is essential when you've just driven over 2 hours to get to an event
There's only one route but everyone knows this and the scenery, gradients, etc make the route near to perfect.
They don't have electronic timing but it was spot on with my Garmin. Just goes to show you don't need fancy tags to get it right.
Good route signage
well stocked feed stop
free tea and coffee both prior to and after the ride
Free hot bacon butty, burger or veggie option.

It's so popular it sells out in days. Any sportive that sells out as quickly as that just goes to show it has that something special that the majority of others don't.

..and trade stands!

I spent ages drooling over that Basso Astra with the white, back and green paint job. It's my dream bike at the moment. And then there was those fantastic American classic Aero 420's. I'd give my right arm for both of them. I was under strict orders though not to get anything :roll: :oops:

ajb72

It will be interesting to see where the extra money goes for some events. The Cotswold Spring Classic is £24.50, but I have also entered an Evans 'Ride-It' event in August in the same area costing just £10.

shy tot

Try the Polka Dot - "Spud" Riley Gran Fondo.
maximum of 600 riders
Entry fee only £20, with all profits going to Christies Cancer Hospital, £62,000 raised in the last 8 years
Signed route
2 distances - 50 and 100 miles with all climbs detailed at the bottom
2 feeding stations
free coffee and biscuits at the end
free bottle
free parking
official photographer.

dg74

I'd throw the Northern Rock Cyclone into the hat. Choice of 3 distances but the whole thing is spread over a weekend and last year it was £20 entry.

Have a look.

http://www.northernrockcyclone.co.uk/NewsDetail.asp?Nid=141

TomF

Sportives are great: they are accesible to people who want a cycling challenge but are not necessarily part of the club scene, but not all are created equally. For me, there are a small number of UK sportives I would do, but all would be well away from home, as really it's an excuse for a nice long ride in another part of the country.

However, by far and away the best sportives for me are the European ones. Next week I shall be riding the 260km (150 miles) edition of the Tour of Flanders. Last year there were 19,500 people riding it. There were no timing chips, no silly broom wagons, a couple of feed stations, hundreds oof spectators lining the route and it all costs 18 Euro. Why pay more?