DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
There's a lot at the low level in terms of racing; i.e. 3rd and 4th category where riders are coming from Zwift racing and giving 'real' racing a try. It's above that where the problems begin. Lots of race organisers have stopped due to bureaucracy / funding so we've lost big races such as the Tour Series. Teams can't get the exposure needed so sponsors walk away. Add to that difficulties of racing in Europe in terms of travel / bikes (i.e. France allows one bike and one spare wheel per person = no spare team bikes) and it's even more complicated. To further make it difficult Covid has seen the numbers of youngsters racing drop, so there's less of a feed-through.
However, it's not all bad news. There are younger and new race organisers coming through such as two near us organising races in Sheffield and Nottingham; races being organised by 18/19 year-olds and whilst they may be not as formal they are the future.
Also, there's new teams forming. It'll take time, but the move away from traditional sponsorship might help here.
