Why do so few people race?

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  • debeli
    debeli Posts: 583
    The reasons are manifold, but the evidence is compelling. In the UK, few people race bicycles.

    1. Culture: French, Belgian and Italian youth grow up (often) with parents or other blood relatives who rode and raced. In the UK, not so much. It's not a fault; it's just the way it is. Similarly, many youngsters in those parts will have grown up around bikes being assembled and reassembled and will have expected the door pockets of the family car to contain tubbies and skewers. Here not so much.

    2. Up to a point, it is not accessible. There are bike shops everywhere, but few pointers to clubs.

    3. Racing will inevitably involve a little spannering and fixing and working on bikes. Some people do not enjoy that or lack a little confidence. It is not a crime. I happen to enjoy it, but some people don't.

    4. It is not "sexy". I can go to a shop and buy a new bolide for a gazillion pounds and feel very "Lance", but showing up on a cold day, waiting to sign in, waiting for the start and (if a TT) waiting for my number to be called can take some of the cool out of it.

    I used to do a bit of TT and I loved it. I can well see why others might not. Similarly, not everyone with a sports car feels drawn to track days or motorsport. Many people these days derive their thrills vicariously. Racing bicycles is not that. It is very, very not that. It is no longer my cup of tea, but it was when I still had young blood.
  • joey54321
    joey54321 Posts: 1,297
    This may have been mentioned elsewhere on the thread but does anyone know if cycling actually has "few" people who race compared to other sports? I'd have thought the numbers are fairly good.

    If you remove anyone from a running race who is "just" running for the achievement/pb and is specifically there to beat other people, remove all the people from badminton, football, rugby who just have a hit about with friends or go to a social club. How many other sports have a regular group of people competing to beat other people in organised sport every weekend?

    p.s. I'd race a lot more if it was cheaper and more convenient, from all accounts I've heard this is one thing which makes it so popular in europe.
  • robertlukescott
    robertlukescott Posts: 14
    I think that it has to do with several factors:

    1) Racers have a bad reputation in several communities for either riding sketchy or being exclusive to new riders.
    2) The sport is tainted by a past filled with doping, doping is the only thing that some people associate with cycling in fact.
    3) Racing is expensive. This is my last year as a junior and I would've had to quit if I hadn't made it onto a team that will pay for registrations.
    4) Low community support. Towns that have a crit or road race are rare, towns that endorse them are even rarer.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    robertlukescott wrote:
    I think that it has to do with several factors:

    1) Racers have a bad reputation in several communities for either riding sketchy or being exclusive to new riders.
    2) The sport is tainted by a past filled with doping, doping is the only thing that some people associate with cycling in fact.
    3) Racing is expensive. This is my last year as a junior and I would've had to quit if I hadn't made it onto a team that will pay for registrations.
    4) Low community support. Towns that have a crit or road race are rare, towns that endorse them are even rarer.
    I stopped racing as I posted on page one of this thread as I could no longer be arsed with all it entailed to do it. Not because everyone thought I was on the juice with Lance.
    I had been reasonable successful gaining my 2nd cat licence and being first in my age group in LVRC races but when you know you are never going to get the call from Dave B a Sunday morning lie in wins in a lot of ways.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,599
    robertlukescott wrote:
    I think that it has to do with several factors:

    1) Racers have a bad reputation in several communities for either riding sketchy or being exclusive to new riders.
    2) The sport is tainted by a past filled with doping, doping is the only thing that some people associate with cycling in fact.
    3) Racing is expensive. This is my last year as a junior and I would've had to quit if I hadn't made it onto a team that will pay for registrations.
    4) Low community support. Towns that have a crit or road race are rare, towns that endorse them are even rarer.

    I really don't think number 2 plays any part at all. If it was going to stop people doing anything it would probably be stopping them cycling in any form.

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