Chiltern 100 - Human Race

speshsteve

Just got an email saying that Human Race have taken over the chiltern 100 this year due to run on the 1st June. Can't help thinking that although Human Race are a very well organised, well run events company I wonder what will happen to entry costs as HR tend to operate at the very top end of price! In years past it also felt like you were supporting a local bike club as opposed to a larger events company....not sure how I feel about that.

red_eye5

My thoughts exactly. Entry fees have been around £20 for Grand Fondo over the last few years for this event. The food stations were stocked with energy gels and bars amongst other items. I expect the entry fee to be a lot more this year given the announcement. Will find out in a few weeks.

speshsteve

looking at their non closed road events they seem to be in the region of 43 quid....

ugo.santalucia

What a shame, we used to organise this event in conjuction with Eddie at Verulam CC. It was no-profit with a reasonable donation to charity and it was good value for money. Nobody took a penny and it was organised on a voluntary basis

Now it's going to be turned into a profit making machine... oh well, screw them, I wasn't going to do it anyway... :?

bigmat

Its a joke isn't it, paying £43 to ride on public roads? The sportive market has gone mad the last few years. I'll continue to do maybe one or two a year but there has to be some special incentive these days.

ugo.santalucia

Yep... it's gone up to £ 39, which is a lot of money for an event on open roads and significant traffic.
Just for reference... we used to run this event at 15 and then 20 pounds and there was enough for 2 feeding zones well stocked and there was a reasonable amount of money given to charity.
I will certainly boycott this event and I suggest people do the same. I hope Human Race go bust :evil:

london-red

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I will certainly boycott this event and I suggest people do the same. I hope Human Race go bust :evil:

A bit harsh.

ugo.santalucia

London-Red wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I will certainly boycott this event and I suggest people do the same. I hope Human Race go bust :evil:

A bit harsh.

Not really... they take an event which has been organised successfully over many years and take advantage of others' work for turning a big profit.
If they created it from scratch it would be different, but their input = zero, even the website is pretty much unchanged.
In my books all these sportive organising enterprises are only parasites that exploit others' passion (those who worked for many years to create such a successful event) to make a profit

london-red

ugo.santalucia wrote:

London-Red wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I will certainly boycott this event and I suggest people do the same. I hope Human Race go bust :evil:

A bit harsh.

Not really... they take an event which has been organised successfully over many years and take advantage of others' work for turning a big profit.
If they created it from scratch it would be different, but their input = zero, even the website is pretty much unchanged.
In my books all these sportive organising enterprises are only parasites that exploit others' passion (those who worked for many years to create such a successful event) to make a profit

Welcome to capitalism

For the record, I did the Chiltern a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty good; although we were being rationed for water towards the end :shock:

ugo.santalucia

London-Red wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

London-Red wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I will certainly boycott this event and I suggest people do the same. I hope Human Race go bust :evil:

A bit harsh.

Not really... they take an event which has been organised successfully over many years and take advantage of others' work for turning a big profit.
If they created it from scratch it would be different, but their input = zero, even the website is pretty much unchanged.
In my books all these sportive organising enterprises are only parasites that exploit others' passion (those who worked for many years to create such a successful event) to make a profit

Welcome to capitalism

For the record, I did the Chiltern a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty good; although we were being rationed for water towards the end :shock:

It was a good event, quite tough and with some good views and climbs... I wouldn't put it in any top ten must do event

menthel

Come and Audax instead. Much cheaper and as a big plus no one is handing out gels!

t4tomo

It is a ridiculously inflated price.

How did they (HR) get to take over the organisation of this event?

presumably the existing organisers sub-contrcated it out to them?

boydster76

I'm probably going to get shot down for saying this, however just plot the route into your Garmin (or whatever) and head out around the course on the day. Why pay so much cash to a profit making company to ride on open public roads that are free the other 364 days of the year?

Some rules I adhere to if doing this: never use the rest stops (I am capable of carrying the food and drink I need anyway) and find somewhere public to park i.e. not the car park of the event. Oh, and I would never do this if it was a club run/not for profit event and the entry fee was simply set to cover the running of the day.

ugo.santalucia

t4tomo wrote:

It is a ridiculously inflated price.

How did they (HR) get to take over the organisation of this event?

presumably the existing organisers sub-contrcated it out to them?

It did require a significant effort from the two clubs, in terms of volunteering and it was not easy... once my former club left the organisation, the other club probably struggled to fill the gaps.
The problem with sportives is that they require a lot of people on the ground, while Audaxes don't ... it's just the different legislation and way of operating.
I can see why a commercial operator needs to charge twice for the same event, in order to turn a profit, I am just not happy about it... but it is an inevitable transition, especially in the south of England, where the traffic is heavier and more staff is required.