Sportives and Audaxes, what's the difference?

petemadoc

I've been into cycling for more than 12 months now and looking to do some sort of challenge like a sportive.

After reading loads of complaints and comments about paying to ride on the road (which I know you have to take with a pinch of salt), some people mention that Audaxes are a better bet. But what's the difference?

What I'm looking for is rides to challenge myself on around the 100 mile mark with other cyclists and preferably on closed roads but I realise this isn't always possible.

I was thinking of the Cheshire Cat as an early season one in March. Is it worth the £35 fee?

danowat

"Sportives and Audaxes, what's the difference?"

About £30 in my experiance , plus you tend to get better grub on Audaxes, also, I think the atmos in Audaxes is a little more friendly.

You also tend to get more "weekend warriors" and "lifestyle" cyclists in Sportives .

ugo.santalucia

not this thread again..... FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ColinJ

ugo.santalucia wrote:

not this thread again..... FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been done rather a lot, hasn't it!

I thought I'd be fair and do a search of the forum to see if it was easy to find the other threads.

Search for: difference AND between AND sportives AND audaxes

Result: You'll find the other threads!

petemadoc

ugo.santalucia wrote:

not this thread again..... FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be fair have you used the BR search thing, it's pants. I'll do a google instead

petemadoc

OK here's what I've got so far

Audax - look at the map and find your way around, sort yourself out with food and drink, a bit longer than a sportive, costs about a fiver.

Sportive - sign posted, feed stops, choice of distances, costs £20-£40.

Attitudes

Audax - Endurance rides, not a race, hairy legs, friendly

Sportive - Wannabe pro's on fancy bikes, it's a race (even though it's not), everyone complains about the food and the people who take too much at feed stops, some pay £30 then complain that they paid £30, shaved legs.

Accurate?

danowat

Pretty much, but you forgot the bit about the mandatory beard.

Bobbinogs

I don't see why you needed to bring my wife into the discussion...

Theomerchant

To be honest I agree with the above but being a little new to cycling (been cycling for about 10 years including downhill mtb racing) but have only started riding road bikes in the last year that sportives are a little more accessible to 'newbies' such as me where as audaxes seem to be for more experienced riders and i'd feel a bit more out of place in them whereas in sportives you get all types so I don't feel out of place at all...and I have hairy legs!!!

Stedman

The gap between the two is now getting very close to the point that one our local audax events last year attracted nearly 150 riders and we were given tea and cake at the beginning and end of the events together with other goodies.

Audaxes tend to have different groups of people riding and you will often see groups of club riders on carbon bikes and groups of more traditional audax riders on steel bikes with racks who go almost as fast.

Arguably the only notable differences is that on audaxes you are given route instructions and on sportives this is marked out on sign posts. The other significant difference is that audaxes are considerably cheaper to enter with an average fee of £5 - £6.

I do both and I tend to support local audaxes and travel further for sportives.

This year I plan to ride seven audaxes and four sportives, there are also some local club rides and a trip from Manali to Khardung La.

simon_e

PeteMadoc wrote:

I was thinking of the Cheshire Cat as an early season one in March. Is it worth the £35 fee?

Hmmm, that depends - on how much money you have/like to spend and what you expect for £35 or so.

You could try typing in cheshire AND cat here for some background on that event. Forum feedback is useful; the Jodrell Bank sportive got a slating last year so that wouldn't be high on my 'to do' list. A sportive usually offers more than just a route, though some might argue that not enough more to justify the expense.

There are hardly any closed roads events in this country. And what do you consider a challenge? I suggest you look through and pick a few events that provide the terrain and distance you wish to try and pay the going rate. If sportives are too expensive and/or you are more independent minded then look up Audax events at http://www.audax.uk.net/
My local CTC group highlights local Audax events run by their members so that might be another place to look while our club does a 40-50 mile club run every Sunday which is free. However, C+ and the comic like talking up sportives, it probably pleases the advertisers anticipating the queue of MAMILs brandishing their credit cards.

Earlier discussions found via the search:
Audaxes are about Long Distance riding
Thinking of forsaking sportives for audaxes
What is an audax?
Difference bewtween Audax and Sportive?

bobtbuilder

Beards - end of.

Philip Whiteman

Stedman wrote:

The gap between the two is now getting very close to the point that one our local audax events last year attracted nearly 150 riders and we were given tea and cake at the beginning and end of the events together with other goodies.

240 participants on my 19th February event and nearly booked up! Beans on toast, coffee and cake all thrown in plus route cards and GPX files for participants. All I am charging is a base rate of £5 plus the £2 insurance for non AUK/CTC/BC members!

The event draws in widespread cross-section of the cycling community from the hardened racers using the route as a reliability trial to the novice-hybrid riders entering an event for the very first time. In that respect it is very similar to a sportive.

What riders don't get are timing chips, waymarkers or broom wagons. The fundamental difference between the audax and a sportive is that riders are expected to be self-reliant and responsible without back-up rescue services.

dabber

Never yet having entered either sportive or audax but with a plan to this year, the thing that potentially puts me off audaxes (if I understand the concept correctly) is following the route. I need reading glasses and if there is a map or road book of sorts I think i would need to keep stopping to put my glasses on to check the route which would be very frustrating... or is it more simple than that?

Philip Whiteman

Dabber wrote:

Never yet having entered either sportive or audax but with a plan to this year, the thing that potentially puts me off audaxes (if I understand the concept correctly) is following the route. I need reading glasses and if there is a map or road book of sorts I think i would need to keep stopping to put my glasses on to check the route which would be very frustrating... or is it more simple than that?

Quite an understandable frustration. Many riders now use GPS systems attached to the handlebars and find them quite satisfactory. However, if you are a skinflint like me, an plastic map holder is useful. http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mini-map-1-m ... t-prod652/ - within which you can enclose your route card in whatever font size your prefer.

Sportive direction finding is not risk free. A number of events have experienced their waymarkers to go missing.

danowat

Dabber wrote:

Never yet having entered either sportive or audax but with a plan to this year, the thing that potentially puts me off audaxes (if I understand the concept correctly) is following the route. I need reading glasses and if there is a map or road book of sorts I think i would need to keep stopping to put my glasses on to check the route which would be very frustrating... or is it more simple than that?

Just hook up with a group of similarly speed riders and hope they know the route!

(not that I ever do that......ever....honestly.....)

dabber

danowat wrote:

Dabber wrote:

Never yet having entered either sportive or audax but with a plan to this year, the thing that potentially puts me off audaxes (if I understand the concept correctly) is following the route. I need reading glasses and if there is a map or road book of sorts I think i would need to keep stopping to put my glasses on to check the route which would be very frustrating... or is it more simple than that?

Just hook up with a group of similarly speed riders and hope they know the route!

(not that I ever do that......ever....honestly.....)

Sounds like a plan but I wonder if I'd find any group as slow as me.... I've been reading the "Average speed" thread and it seems that even second time out riders are averaging 17/18 mph on their own. :shock: :oops:

danowat

Forget all the e-penis boosting on forums, take it all that with a large pinch of salt.

sub55

Dabber wrote:

danowat wrote:

Dabber wrote:

Never yet having entered either sportive or audax but with a plan to this year, the thing that potentially puts me off audaxes (if I understand the concept correctly) is following the route. I need reading glasses and if there is a map or road book of sorts I think i would need to keep stopping to put my glasses on to check the route which would be very frustrating... or is it more simple than that?

Just hook up with a group of similarly speed riders and hope they know the route!

(not that I ever do that......ever....honestly.....)

Sounds like a plan but I wonder if I'd find any group as slow as me.... I've been reading the "Average speed" thread and it seems that even second time out riders are averaging 17/18 mph on their own. :shock: :oops:

the min AV speed for most AUK events is 15 KPH and normaly some riders are just inside that

itboffin

I'm doing my first audax type event this Sunday, I really hope the route card isnt to hard to follow else I shall be spending most of my time doubling back and checking google maps.

I'm worried now, should I take a paper map?

MarcBC

sub55 wrote:

the min AV speed for most AUK events is 15 KPH and normaly some riders are just inside that

Is there a min speed on a sportive?

sub55

MarcBC wrote:

sub55 wrote:

the min AV speed for most AUK events is 15 KPH and normaly some riders are just inside that

Is there a min speed on a sportive?

:?:

MarcBC

sub55 wrote:

MarcBC wrote:

sub55 wrote:

the min AV speed for most AUK events is 15 KPH and normaly some riders are just inside that

Is there a min speed on a sportive?

:?:

I have never done one, hence the potentially simple question. I meant min AV speed.

Droops

There's no minimum average speed as such on a sportive, but if you're too slow there'll be no food left at the feed stations when you get there and the finish lne may have packed up and gone home! I suppose if you aren't one of the early ones off the line AND you're slow then you could get swept up by the broom wagon too.

John.T

itboffin wrote:

I'm doing my first audax type event this Sunday, I really hope the route card isnt to hard to follow else I shall be spending most of my time doubling back and checking google maps.

I'm worried now, should I take a paper map?

A good idea if you do not know the area. If you have a GPS and a gpx file is available you could use this.

Buckled_Rims

MarcBC wrote:

sub55 wrote:

MarcBC wrote:

sub55 wrote:

the min AV speed for most AUK events is 15 KPH and normaly some riders are just inside that

Is there a min speed on a sportive?

:?:

I have never done one, hence the potentially simple question. I meant min AV speed.

Some sportives have awards is you finish in a certain time. For example a 60 mile sportive might have a gold award if you finish before 4 hrs 30min; silver award for 5hrs 15 mins. The times are also age corrected in many cases and are set for that particular sportive according to how hilly it is. They sometimes have an average speed to achieve these times.

MarcBC

Thanks BR.

holker

What is a reliability ride? How is it different from sportive or audax?

Bobbinogs

Here you go, I asked the same thing recently:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... eliability