Sportive entry fees - RIP OFF !

[ventoux50]

I sat down last night to have a look at next years UK sportive list, had a few in mind that I'd like to enter and use as goals through the year.

The first one I looked at was the Verenti Cheshire Cat.

I did this a few years ago and did enjoy it, I think the entry fee at the time was around £18.00,

This year £32.50 WHAT A RIP OFF !



I continued to look for other rides and was less than happy to see that they're all (in my opinion) massively overpriced.

The vast majority are not on closed roads, provide basic facilities at the start/finish and don't always provide 1st class direction/marshalling.

I'm not supposing that this is the case, I know it is because I've done enough of them to feel able to comment.

So my questions are :

Who is making the money, whose pocket is it going in to, and why are we all so gullible that we'll part with our hard earned cash to do these events when we can ride the same roads for free any day of the week ?


Isn't it about time we riders took a stand and said -whoah, that's way to much to charge.

I am !

 

[gavintc]

I have not organised an event, but have had comment from others. Apparently, the cost of insurance is a signficant factor in entry event fee. I note your decision to take a stand point and suggest you will be outnumbered by those willing to pay. Your protest will probably be rather mute as many of these events sell out well before the date. This does not excuse exhorbitant rates and it would be nice to see a breakdown of the costs. Over here in Italy, entry is typically around 20 Euro and you usually get a 'goody-bag' with some worthwhile stuff provided by the sponsors that can range from a T shirt, through a bottle of local wine to a loaf of bread!

 

[ColinJ]

I can't afford sportives any more. Audax rides are a good cheap alternative and membership of AUK includes insurance and 4 interesting magazines a year!

 

[e-rider]

I know that some events are priced entirely on the 'going rate' rather than any specific costing and/or calculation!!!

I also know that these events can be surprisingly expensive to organise due to insurance etc. so to answer your question, the insurance companies are making the cash (if they are not paying out for something of couse).

Sponsors can help keep entry fees down but as it appears to be acceptable to pay £25+ now, it's a green light for the organisers to finally make a few quid too.

some people will pay it becasue they enjoy the whole experience of the event, but without doubt, the number of people on the start line would be significantly higher if the entry fee was a lot less. I know plenty of keen cyclists that don't take part in these events becasue of the high entry fees.

However, as many of these rides reach capacity, there is no need to consider lowering the fees, and until the events struggle to reach target numbers I can only see the prices rising further. Don't forget that middle Britain is fairly well populated - what's £30 to these people - one hours work? It's more affordable for them than it would be for a McDs employee paying £4.50 for entry.

 

[Turkish]

I sat down last night to have a look at next years UK sportive list, had a few in mind that I'd like to enter and use as goals through the year.

The first one I looked at was the Verenti Cheshire Cat.

I did this a few years ago and did enjoy it, I think the entry fee at the time was around £18.00,

This year £32.50 WHAT A RIP OFF !



I continued to look for other rides and was less than happy to see that they're all (in my opinion) massively overpriced.

The vast majority are not on closed roads, provide basic facilities at the start/finish and don't always provide 1st class direction/marshalling.

I'm not supposing that this is the case, I know it is because I've done enough of them to feel able to comment.

So my questions are :

Who is making the money, whose pocket is it going in to, and why are we all so gullible that we'll part with our hard earned cash to do these events when we can ride the same roads for free any day of the week ?


Isn't it about time we riders took a stand and said -whoah, that's way to much to charge.

I am !

Quick question.

If the roads are not closed and if the organizers are arranging only start and stop facilities, would you join in the ride a mile later and finish a mile earlier???

I know it is not honest.

But if the event is too expensive and if someone is making really good money from people, would you call that honest?

 

[jimboalee]

As soon as Starley rolled two safety bikes out of his works in Coventry, two of the workforce raced them down the street.

There is not a lot of opportunity for the casual cyclist to get the 'race' feeling. Sportives allow this.

Personally, I would suggest joining a club if racing appeals. The fast Sunday morning A ride is a race in all but name, and it costs the price of the membership fee, now about the same cost as one Sportive. You get a year's worth of weekly forays for the same outlay as one sportive.

 

[Banjo]

I have no idea what the profit percentage really is but the fact that many sportives are sold out long before the event means cyclists believe its worth the dosh.

I did the Merlin last year at £25 and plan on doing the Dragon at £32 and trans cambrian at £20 next year so unless you do a sportive every week or so the entry fee is not a lot out of your annual budget.

The insurance for the event must be eyewatering then there is the police and marshalls , food ,medical,admin, advertising, chips/timers etc,Vehicles /fuel and loads of other things I have probably missed out.

Some events make large contributions to charities as well so yes its pricey but is it a rip off ? I tend to think its probably not.

 

[ventoux50]

I have no idea what the profit percentage really is but the fact that many sportives are sold out long before the event means cyclists believe its worth the dosh.

I did the Merlin last year at £25 and plan on doing the Dragon at £32 and trans cambrian at £20 next year so unless you do a sportive every week or so the entry fee is not a lot out of your annual budget.

The insurance for the event must be eyewatering then there is the police and marshalls , food ,medical,admin, advertising, chips/timers etc,Vehicles /fuel and loads of other things I have probably missed out.

Some events make large contributions to charities as well so yes its pricey but is it a rip off ? I tend to think its probably not.

I agree that the insurance must be crippling, but why don't organisers insist on entrants providing details of their own insurance - its reasonably cheap to arrange your own through BC or CTC etc. and as for paying for police - not all events have police involvement.
The other costs - yes they are likely to be expensive up to a point, and I appreciate that the organisers must cover their costs, which they undoubtedly do, but my gripe is with the levels of profit that they must also be making.

Turkish - in answer to your question - yes I might !

Jimboalee - I am a club member and regularly ride out with lads (and a few lasses) from the club, but sportives are enjoyable for the camaraderie involved and the enjoyment of riding in large groups (at other than race pace)

Sportives were initially introduced as a means of allowing large groups of like minded people to ride together on the roads without the constraints of racing protocol etc. and in its infancy I believe the 'ethos' of the concept was much purer. Now it seems that the profit margin is everything (as is usually the case !)

 

[Flying_Monkey]

There's a long history here... sportive entry fees used to be about local organisers covering costs. They were ridden by all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons (racers for training, club riders for an extra challenge, commuters for that 'big event' etc. etc.). Then came the road cycling revival. Basically, getting a carbon bike for riding on the weekends, became something that relatively well-off people did. In the footsteps of the Etape Calendonia, some organisers realised that there was a market out there, that they could make money, not just recover costs - bigger organisations got involved, federations were formed, prices began to rise, specific 'sportive' model bikes proliferated. Now increasingly, a lot of sportives seem to be targeted more blatantly at this higher-end market. There are still some of the old-school sportives around, you just have to look. But I have a feeling they may be an increasingly endangered species.

Of course, there's audax, if speed limits, peculiar rules and distance are what you are looking for. Audax is certainly relatively inexpensive and many people wouldn't do anything else, but it's just not what I want, and I am sad that so many sportives, which very much are the style of riding that I like, seem to be becoming increasingly exclusive.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

I shall point out that I have a vested interest as an audax organiser, but....

Audaxes are vastly cheaper. They are not allowed to make profits. Many are well organised, can be challenging as well as meeting the demand for all tastes. However, unlike sportives, the route is not waymarked though all provide routes cards and some GPX files, there are no timing chips, no broom wagons and riders do not have to carry silly numbers. Of course there are a few poor audaxes too, but for a few quid you will not be loosing much.

In truth, I also ride sportives but many have simply become a rip-off. You cannot go wrong with some though. I would recommend Paul Prince's Mad March Hare Sportive in early March. Alternatively, you are welcome to enter my Snowdrop and Sunrise Express Audax in Feb (see link below).

 

[Garz]

I used to like them but now the hundred mile novelty has worn off and the prices are rising I have been put off them too. The worst one personally was by Torelli, I dont mind paying a fee (upto £20) but if it's any more then you definitely require good feed stations/ after race meal and some 'freebies' thrown in.

A more transparent summary of what these 'fees' go to would help people make a fair judgement on if the price warrants the hefty premium.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

A more transparent summary of what these 'fees' go to would help people make a fair judgement on if the price warrants the hefty premium.

Absolutely! The Fred Whitton is run by volunteers as a fund raiser for a specific charity. All the proceeds go to charity.

But others say "All the profits" go to charity, but there's no indication if running costs include the wages of the organisers.

And then again, some make no mention of charity!

I don't care where the money goes, but I would like the organisers to be more up front about it. I don't think it's fair on some volunteer run rides to be tarred with the same brush.

 

[Chrisz]

They will out-price themselves I reckon. At the moment supply is just about meeting demand, but by the end of the next year or two, there will be so many events to chose from that prices will become more competitive. This will (hopefully) lead to entry fees dropping down to something more sensible.

Please note;- this is based on pure conjecture - no proven facts are included in this post

 

[adam23]

off topic where can i find a list of the sportives fo next year cheers

 

[ColinJ]

off topic where can i find a list of the sportives fo next year cheers

Well, usually I would say 'Google it' but to be more helpful I did it for you --> CycloSport.org <--