cost of racing - can of worms about to open...

clunkychunky

So this year was going to be my first season of racing.
I have spent the last 4 months working hard on fitness and have lost a fair bit of weight. I am probably in the best condition since my early 20s. I was hoping to race every weekend and had set myself a target of getting to 3rd cat before the end of summer.

Anyway, despite the training i have obviously been very naive because as i have gone to sign up for races i have had a dose of stark reality of just how much its going to cost!

With every race i have looked at ranging from £12-£18, not to mention the bc membership, race license, insurance, travel expenses, accomodation where necesssary, and i guess parts for the bike when they inevitably wear out, my dreams of doing a race every weekend have been smashed. Quite simply there is no way i can afford that.

So my question is just how do people manage to afford it and fulfil their ambitions when they are starting from the bottom???

I have looked at sponsorship but without having gained any results no-one seems interested.

I read last week that BC are having a huge drive at encouraging more riders to race, an obvious business strategy i guess when the number of cyclists in the UK is higher than ever, but i wouldnt be surprised if many are priced out of competing...

Anyway, if anyone has any advice on how to make racing more affordable, or how to attract sponsors before you have gained some decent results please please please tell me!

Cheers

fish156

No, it's not cheap, but then many activities aren't; skiing holiday anyone?

There are ways to reduce costs though. e.g. Join your local club. This gives reduced entry fees (where I race anyway), plus the opportunity to share transport costs to races. In return just help out at one or two events.
You mention parts for the bike? I don't see how racing increases this over non-competitive riding?

Tom Dean

Find out if there are any TLI races in your area http://www.tlicycling.org.uk/Default.aspx Also there is LVRC if you are old enough. Either would be cheaper than BC.

Lycraboy_Andy

I've dabbled in motor racing in the past, so I've been thinking how cheap cycle racing appears.

I suppose it depends on how often and at what level you want to compete.

imposter2.0

Go and ride sportives instead. Oh, hang on, they cost even more.

clunkychunky

thanks for the repliues fellas.
guess it was just a rant of frustration really.
havent trained so hard for years and was a big disappointment when i came to enter some races.

live in the sticks, so nearest race or club to me is over an hours drive

guess it will just be a case of picking and choosing those that i can afford.

fish156 wrote:

You mention parts for the bike? I don't see how racing increases this over non-competitive riding?

only mentioned parts as i have been told that during races the components come under stress which in training or casual riding they wont causing them to wear faster. is this not the case?

imposter2.0

clunkychunky wrote:

only mentioned parts as i have been told that during races the components come under stress which in training or casual riding they wont causing them to wear faster. is this not the case?

not in my own experience, no.

displacedaussie

Win lots?

I paid £15 to enter a circuit race last year, won it, and got a massive £16 back in prize money. If you do that every time you'll be fine.

clunkychunky

displacedaussie wrote:

Win lots?

I paid £15 to enter a circuit race last year, won it, and got a massive £16 back in prize money. If you do that every time you'll be fine.

ahh, but to do that you actually have to be good!

displacedaussie

Oh yeah, I spent about £10 in fuel getting to that race.

It's definitely not a cheap sport, but racing a bike is one of the best things I've ever done and it's more than worth the expense. £12 for a Thursday night crit compares ok to £8 for a Saturday afternoon cricket match!

markos1963

Join a club. Firstly this will give you access to like minded riders/training partners and the knowledge of how to ride in fast groups and secondly a lot of clubs give financial backing to their race teams(petrol, entry costs, clothing etc)

Pross

Unfortunately there are a lot of fixed costs for organisers. For a race on the open road you are looking at:

Registration fee £32
HQ hire £50 to £100
NEG bikes £65 each with about 6 being ideal
Race levy £3 per rider
Commissaires and race vehicle expenses - varies but say £100

So with fields capped at 80 riders the basic cost to the organiser is around £900 before prizes. You also need to cover against the risk of getting less riders. I've probably made my 2 races more than I needed to at £20 but I wanted to ensure I didn't make a loss and hopefully a full field will let me give a good prize list, I also wanted to buy a memorial trophy for the one race so prices likely to go down next year.

Racing on a circuit is comparatively cheap to organise which I think is part of the reason ( risk assessments and lack of police support in most areas are the others) why organisers are doing more circuit races and less road races. It's still only about the price of a good night on the booze though and many people don't think twice about doing that every weekend.

EDIT I forgot the medi bike which adds another £100 and takes it up to £1000 so £12.50 per rider for a full field without prize money.

toasted whippet

take up time trialling?

club events approx £4

open events £10

all over the country, multiple times a week during the season.

ju5t1n

Yes, it is expensive, but I think it’s comparable to other sports and hobbies; so slightly more expensive than time trialling or running, but considerably cheaper than motorsports, equestrian, skiing and sailing.

For me it’s a question of making a few life choices, not just with the money that I won’t be spending on other things, but also the time I have available to devote to training and going to the races themselves.

You need to set a level that you’re comfortable with both financially and time wise, accept it and work within it. I’m pretty sure I could get to 1st Cat if I had the time and money to do the volume of training and number races required. But I have a young family and limited resources, so I’m happy to be competitive as a 2nd.

Perhaps the cost is one of the reasons we are seeing more and more sponsored amateur teams at the lower levels?

majormantra

clunkychunky, forgive me if this is a misperception, but your posts imply that you don't have experience of club or group riding. Is that the case? If it is, you really need to go on some chaingangs or fast group rides before attempting a race.

Re sponsorship, it's hardly surprising that there's not much interest - there has to be something in it for the sponsor. In any case, in road racing it's teams that get sponsored, not individuals.

Tom Dean

markos1963 wrote:

Join a club. Firstly this will give you access to like minded riders/training partners and the knowledge of how to ride in fast groups and secondly a lot of clubs give financial backing to their race teams(petrol, entry costs, clothing etc)

Don't join a club in the hope that your racing is going to be subsidised. (are clubs really paying people's petrol costs?) do join a club though.

joe.90

seriously? i used to do motocross and that was full of people with little to no money, yet they still managed to race. one of the many reasons i am now a cyclist is because of the affordability.

if you cant afford to cycle race then really you cannot afford to do any sport competitively, there are always going to be some costs.

gavbarron

No they won't pay your petrol costs but if a bunch of guys from the same club are racing you can lift share and reduce the travel costs.

Tom Dean

Yes I get the concept of 'getting a lift'. I never classed it as financial backing from my club though.

clunkychunky

MajorMantra wrote:

clunkychunky, forgive me if this is a misperception, but your posts imply that you don't have experience of club or group riding. Is that the case? If it is, you really need to go on some chaingangs or fast group rides before attempting a race.

Re sponsorship, it's hardly surprising that there's not much interest - there has to be something in it for the sponsor. In any case, in road racing it's teams that get sponsored, not individuals.

I do actually do chaingangs, but only manage 2 a month. in fact it was the chaingangs which have encouraged me to try and compete this season as i have adapted to them pretty well over the past year.
Despite doing these i havent joined any particular club yet though, but will do so in the next few weeks.

joe.90 wrote:

seriously? i used to do motocross and that was full of people with little to no money, yet they still managed to race. one of the many reasons i am now a cyclist is because of the affordability.

if you cant afford to cycle race then really you cannot afford to do any sport competitively, there are always going to be some costs.

im sorry but you are wrong. i come from playing football and cricket and i can honestly say that apart from the equipment costs there was no costs. the clubs paid travel expenses, paid fines etc. all the players were expected to do was turn up to training and work hard, and play on the sat. there were no entry fees, no licenses to purchase.

it was injury which put a premature end to my football career and what allowed me to find cycling. Dont get me wrong, i love the sport and think its arguably the hardest sport in the world, i just wish that competing was cheaper/more affordable.

jibberjim

Tom Dean wrote:

Don't join a club in the hope that your racing is going to be subsidised. (are clubs really paying people's petrol costs?) do join a club though.

Our club subsidises full entry fees to all CTT Nat Champs and Premier Calendars (not that we have any riders riding those but if we did...) and a portion of entry fees for all other road races and TT's assuming you finish - it's a fixed amount distributed between everyone who races in proportion to how much they spent - with a minimum value so if you just do a couple you're unlikely to get anything.

So not petrol costs, but entry fees yes.

clunkychunky

jibberjim wrote:

Tom Dean wrote:

Don't join a club in the hope that your racing is going to be subsidised. (are clubs really paying people's petrol costs?) do join a club though.

Our club subsidises full entry fees to all CTT Nat Champs and Premier Calendars (not that we have any riders riding those but if we did...) and a portion of entry fees for all other road races and TT's assuming you finish - it's a fixed amount distributed between everyone who races in proportion to how much they spent - with a minimum value so if you just do a couple you're unlikely to get anything.

So not petrol costs, but entry fees yes.

Thats really good that your club does that.

The more i think about it though in my opinion BC should offer more subsidising. Whether its for organisers so that they can reduce race fees, or whether its some type of reduction in the cost of the license and or membership.

I have found it mildly amusing that BC have increased membership fees this year (even though only by a couple of quid) when they have also announced record membership numbers - shows their intentions as far as i am concerned (money money money)....although tbh i am biased against them at the moment.

joe.90

clunkychunky wrote:

MajorMantra wrote:

clunkychunky, forgive me if this is a misperception, but your posts imply that you don't have experience of club or group riding. Is that the case? If it is, you really need to go on some chaingangs or fast group rides before attempting a race.

Re sponsorship, it's hardly surprising that there's not much interest - there has to be something in it for the sponsor. In any case, in road racing it's teams that get sponsored, not individuals.

I do actually do chaingangs, but only manage 2 a month. in fact it was the chaingangs which have encouraged me to try and compete this season as i have adapted to them pretty well over the past year.
Despite doing these i havent joined any particular club yet though, but will do so in the next few weeks.

joe.90 wrote:

seriously? i used to do motocross and that was full of people with little to no money, yet they still managed to race. one of the many reasons i am now a cyclist is because of the affordability.

if you cant afford to cycle race then really you cannot afford to do any sport competitively, there are always going to be some costs.

im sorry but you are wrong. i come from playing football and cricket and i can honestly say that apart from the equipment costs there was no costs. the clubs paid travel expenses, paid fines etc. all the players were expected to do was turn up to training and work hard, and play on the sat. there were no entry fees, no licenses to purchase.

it was injury which put a premature end to my football career and what allowed me to find cycling. Dont get me wrong, i love the sport and think its arguably the hardest sport in the world, i just wish that competing was cheaper/more affordable.

perhaps your right, it must just be every sport i have ever done seems to cost a bloody arm and a leg.

Tom Dean

jibberjim wrote:

Tom Dean wrote:

Don't join a club in the hope that your racing is going to be subsidised. (are clubs really paying people's petrol costs?) do join a club though.

Our club subsidises full entry fees to all CTT Nat Champs and Premier Calendars (not that we have any riders riding those but if we did...) and a portion of entry fees for all other road races and TT's assuming you finish - it's a fixed amount distributed between everyone who races in proportion to how much they spent - with a minimum value so if you just do a couple you're unlikely to get anything.

So not petrol costs, but entry fees yes.

I didn't mean that this kind of thing is not available (not that I understand why a club would do this), rather that I would prefer that new members consider what they can put IN to the club and the sport, before thinking how much money they might save.

Pross

clunkychunky wrote:

Thats really good that your club does that.

The more i think about it though in my opinion BC should offer more subsidising. Whether its for organisers so that they can reduce race fees, or whether its some type of reduction in the cost of the license and or membership.
I have found it mildly amusing that BC have increased membership fees this year (even though only by a couple of quid) when they have also announced record membership numbers - shows their intentions as far as i am concerned (money money money)....although tbh i am biased against them at the moment.

They don't just not subsidise it, they charge a levy on every rider plus an event registration fee for you to put a race on. I suspect they will justify it by saying that they have the admin costs and staff to pay which is fair enough but then what does the BC membership and licence fee pay for? In particular the licence fee should be used to subsidise racing as it is paid for by the people who compete and not the wider cycling community.

On your point about costs v other sports, it's not really comparing like with like. In cricket, football, rugby etc. you are just paying the cost of hiring a pitch or the upkeep on your own and then clubhouses etc. provide a revenue stream that mean they hopefully pay for themselves. External costs are limited, no motor cycle marshalls are needed and you don't always have to provide as high a level of medical care as in cycling.

Cycling, although a club sport, is effectively an individual thing and is more comparable with sports such as motorsport, equestrian sport, canoeing etc. and I know for a fact that cycling compares fairly equally with entry level equestrian competition and suspect it is far cheaper than most motor sport.

Tom Dean

I don't know the details of BC's budgets etc., but if they are to subsidise amateur racing further, where is the money going to come from? If they did put more money in, why should that go towards reducing entry fees?

Let's not forget races are made possible by volunteers who give their time and effort for nothing.

For some of us, the expense of racing as often as we would like is an issue. That's life. If doing a BC race every weekend is too expensive, there are cheaper ways to race.

Pross

To be fair I canvassed opinion from a few regular racers before setting the price of my races and the overwhelming opinion was that whether it was £15 or £20 made little difference and considering what most people are prepared to spend on kit it was pretty minor. However, I wouldn't necessarily say BC should subsidise amateur racing to reduce entry fees but a good first step would be to stop taking £3 out of every entry for a levy which would allow organisers to reduce the entry fee accordingly.

Tom Butcher

Really ? I'm surprised, £20 for a run of the mill road race would certainly put me off because it's just not necessary to charge that much and break even. Up to about £15 yes, though some circuit races charging that and getting upwards of 100 riders is a bit steep.

The most obvious solution to bringing down entry fees - at least at the lower cat level - is the scrap prize money - although obviously for some that makes racing more expensive because they win more than they contribute to that pot. Personally though I don't see the need for it - last race I promoted I wasn't going to give prizes but then I got a sponsor to donate goods as prizes so I never found out if lack of a prize list affected entries.

Pross

Tom Butcher wrote:

Really ? I'm surprised, £20 for a run of the mill road race would certainly put me off because it's just not necessary to charge that much and break even. Up to about £15 yes, though some circuit races charging that and getting upwards of 100 riders is a bit steep.

The most obvious solution to bringing down entry fees - at least at the lower cat level - is the scrap prize money - although obviously for some that makes racing more expensive because they win more than they contribute to that pot. Personally though I don't see the need for it - last race I promoted I wasn't going to give prizes but then I got a sponsor to donate goods as prizes so I never found out if lack of a prize list affected entries.

With the extremely limited numbers of road races in the area I think people are just grateful for something to be available. I was going to go for £18 but was pursuaded by people with more recent experience of promoting races to put it up to £20. £15 would leave about £200 for prizes and incidental costs with the club getting nothing at all (surely they should get something for the effort?), I could reduce the number of NEG bikes but would prefer to have 6 as a minimum. For the handicap race I am running I wanted to get a strong scratch group as they are often less than 10 strong so hopefully a decent prize list will bring them in, if not this year then next as it becomes more well known. Getting a sponsor would be good but it's not always easy in this day and age and the local bike shops all sponsor clubs or teams, I also needed to get something on the calendar ASAP. With this seasons races under my belt I can then work towards reducing entry fees bext year. As far as I'm concerned if anyone complains it is too expensive they can **** off and organise some races themselves at a cost they deem acceptable.

Tom Butcher

That's fine everyone has different views - if the club want to generate revenue from promoting the race then yes £20 is going to have to be the kind of figure you will have to ask - we always just look to break even.

Pross

Sorry if my last sentence sounded a bit harsh and it wasn't aimed at you Tom. It's more that the people who complain most are often the one's that do least (not aimed at the OP either who is new to the sport).