And... therein is the demand. Sportives are popular simply because they satisfy the needs of the sport cyclist. BC membership is growing year on year, sportives are here to stay.
Sportive entry fees - RIP OFF !
- Thread starter ventoux50
- Start date
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And... therein is the demand. Sportives are popular simply because they satisfy the needs of the sport cyclist. BC membership is growing year on year, sportives are here to stay.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I done the Etape early this year because I'd already paid for it last £50 is a bit of a rip off, for what a medal I certainly wouldn't have paid for it this year. The only other event I've done was the Tour of Tweedale it was only circa £10 so it can be done cheaper here. No medal but excellent food stops, IMO 5x better VfM.
the clue from the OP is the change in price, so unless it's suddenly become a lot more expensive to stage them, th eprices have been put up by choice
same as football, prices have rocketed year on year, oly in the last few years as crowds have peaked and then started to drop, tickets are actually coming down
same as football, prices have rocketed year on year, oly in the last few years as crowds have peaked and then started to drop, tickets are actually coming down
andy_wrx
Über Member
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
I remember someone saying exactly the same thing last year
And saying that the poor-value, badly-organised events would disappear, as people would only enter the better ones.
Sooner or later it will happen perhaps, but no sign of it imminently....
I think there are more and more newbie or born-again weekend cyclists coming along, the 'sportive boom' and the 'cycling boom' have some way to go yet.
JoysOfSight
Active Member
Why wouldn't a sportive organiser set the highest ticket price that still causes it to sell out - that's just basic economics?
If sportives become "too" expensive, participation would fall and organisers would make more money charging a larger number of people less per ticket, and would do so. However, it's rubbish to suggest that they are too expensive when there are people on a reserve list willing to pay the price, but there isn't room to accommodate them.
Blame your fellow riders for being willing to pay high ticket prices. If nobody was willing to pay more than £10 for a sportive entry, then sportives would cost... £10 (or not exist at all).
If sportives become "too" expensive, participation would fall and organisers would make more money charging a larger number of people less per ticket, and would do so. However, it's rubbish to suggest that they are too expensive when there are people on a reserve list willing to pay the price, but there isn't room to accommodate them.
Blame your fellow riders for being willing to pay high ticket prices. If nobody was willing to pay more than £10 for a sportive entry, then sportives would cost... £10 (or not exist at all).
Kestevan
Last of the Summer Winos
- Location
- Holmfirth.
I rode the Cheshire Cat last year, and I'm entered for 2011 too.
Last year the cost was 28.00, so a 4.00 rise. Given that VAT is due to increase to 20% in Jan (potentially affecting costs for events run next year) I don't think the year on year rise is too bad.
Last years Cat (and indeed all the Kilo to Go sportives I've done) was very well organised and run. The signage, marshalling, support etc were comprehensive. The start/end facilities were second to none and the feed stations well stocked.
Having said that, it's still expensive, but the novelty/thrill/cameraderie of riding with 2-3000 others makes it worth while once every now and again.
Last year the cost was 28.00, so a 4.00 rise. Given that VAT is due to increase to 20% in Jan (potentially affecting costs for events run next year) I don't think the year on year rise is too bad.
Last years Cat (and indeed all the Kilo to Go sportives I've done) was very well organised and run. The signage, marshalling, support etc were comprehensive. The start/end facilities were second to none and the feed stations well stocked.
Having said that, it's still expensive, but the novelty/thrill/cameraderie of riding with 2-3000 others makes it worth while once every now and again.
ahem!
http://cheamandmorde...0.blogspot.com/ £2 with free e-certificate
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G4j9YmEAZsw/TMa0AQmvymI/AAAAAAAAAc0/81Pcwybp9tY/s1600/Slide1.GIF
http://cheamandmorde...0.blogspot.com/ £2 with free e-certificate
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G4j9YmEAZsw/TMa0AQmvymI/AAAAAAAAAc0/81Pcwybp9tY/s1600/Slide1.GIF
Dave Davenport
Guru
- Location
- Hampshire
Our club reliablity rides are a quid for members (£15 a year) or £2 for non members, for which you get a route sheet and are timed. If you go with the group containing quite a few of the local e/1/2 riders (and you're not) you'll definetely feel like you're in a race!
ferret fur
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Roseburn
I don't understand why people object to sportive organizers making a profit. If I go to a bike shop they sell me something to earn a living. Why shouldn't sportive organizers do the same thing? If they are not value for money, people won't go.
Philip Whiteman
Über Member
- Location
- Worcestershire
I think that is a perfectly good observation. The problem comes where profit making organisers take profit maximisation too far by charging far too much and delivering far too little. It is all a question of value for money. It is unfortunate that some sportive organisers have simply sullied the activity for the rest.
OP
OP
ventoux50
Active Member
- Location
- Top of a big hill.
I agree with the assumption that organisers should show a profit, nobody does anything for nothing, but my original point was that the profit margins must now be considerable.
Let's consider the whole concept of sportives, from inception to present, as has been described previously Sportive rides in the UK began along the lines of reliability rides essentially, taking the original concept from already established foreignh sportives.
At first the events were organised (mainly) by cyclists, for fellow cyclists, and the progression was that each new sportive on the calendar tried to outdo all others by being longer/harder/hillier etc.
As the appeal of sportive riding spread to novice cyclists, the beast began to take on a different entity and at some point, businessmen entrepreneurs spotted the new potentially lucrative market which was presenting itself.
I believe that when the opportunity to make a profit by staging these events was identified, the whole ethos of the original sportive rides was diluted somewhat.
And despite what other contributors have said, this is now a money making business (not in all cases I accept) and as such the normal market forces are pushing prices up.
BUT - that does not mean to say that we should accept these overinflated charges at face value.
Perhaps the sportive monster is in danger of becoming too big and will attract the attention of a regulatory body (BC, the police or whoever), at which point the margin between racing and personal challenge riding will become blurred and the whole concept of sportives will be lost for good.
And yes I am a cynical old git, but what concerns me is that sportives in essence embody all that bike riding is about - a personal challenge, the camaraderie, the opportunity to publicly declare in a large group 'look this IS what we do, and theres a lot more of us than you thought mr. car driver !' and the fact that anybody who wants to enter in to the spirit of it can do..........UNLESS it becomes another elitist hobby as defined by the inappropriately high entry fees which once again will only serve to exclude those with less disposable income.
Meanwhile the fat cats get fatter.
Let's consider the whole concept of sportives, from inception to present, as has been described previously Sportive rides in the UK began along the lines of reliability rides essentially, taking the original concept from already established foreignh sportives.
At first the events were organised (mainly) by cyclists, for fellow cyclists, and the progression was that each new sportive on the calendar tried to outdo all others by being longer/harder/hillier etc.
As the appeal of sportive riding spread to novice cyclists, the beast began to take on a different entity and at some point, businessmen entrepreneurs spotted the new potentially lucrative market which was presenting itself.
I believe that when the opportunity to make a profit by staging these events was identified, the whole ethos of the original sportive rides was diluted somewhat.
And despite what other contributors have said, this is now a money making business (not in all cases I accept) and as such the normal market forces are pushing prices up.
BUT - that does not mean to say that we should accept these overinflated charges at face value.
Perhaps the sportive monster is in danger of becoming too big and will attract the attention of a regulatory body (BC, the police or whoever), at which point the margin between racing and personal challenge riding will become blurred and the whole concept of sportives will be lost for good.
And yes I am a cynical old git, but what concerns me is that sportives in essence embody all that bike riding is about - a personal challenge, the camaraderie, the opportunity to publicly declare in a large group 'look this IS what we do, and theres a lot more of us than you thought mr. car driver !' and the fact that anybody who wants to enter in to the spirit of it can do..........UNLESS it becomes another elitist hobby as defined by the inappropriately high entry fees which once again will only serve to exclude those with less disposable income.
Meanwhile the fat cats get fatter.
+1.
A sportive I went on advertised electronic timing and a post meal after the ride. They also failed to deliver decent signing with many souls getting lost. This was epic failure and made me doubt sportives in general but I'm glad to say that the few after redeemed my faith in them slightly.
Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
I have heard stories of crap sportives with poor signage very little food etc and also of fantastic ones. One good thing about these forums is that the word will get around and hopefully the poor ones will be weeded out.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
I did one the other weekend, largely out of curiosity. It was in the South Downs, 100 miles from Chichester. Obviously they are such a growth area, but I had fairly negative perceptions of them and, by implication, the people who ride on them, having dismissed them as being rides designed for people who think cycling is the new golf and are happy to pay £20+ to ride on public roads, etc.
But I have to say I really enjoyed it - more than I expected to. It was a very pretty route, mostly quiet roads and great weather helped. When I got to the start, at Chichester College, I was struck by the scale of it. There were between three and four hundred people and bikes. But the organisation seemed to cope with this as there were no significant queues either to sign in, or to start.
I rode sometimes on my own, at other times with other single riders or smaller groups and at one point jumped on the back of a fast club train with about 8 riders. I enjoyed the banter with people I met and it was a friendly atmosphere.
In terms of value for money, the cost was (I think) £24. For that I got a very smoothly organised event, very efficient signs making it almost impossible to lose the route, plenty of food and drink (the street value of the energy bars I got given was probably at least half of my entry fee!) at roadside stops and the chance to have a shower before I drove home, which was a good bonus. There was also the insurance which, as a member of CTC, two clubs and AUK, I didn't feel I really needed.
I wouldn't do loads of them, but I might do another now and again.
For lots of people, they are what cycling is about. I think part of the appeal is that they are user friendly and accessible. Audax can be a bit harder to work out what is going on and many people find clubs intimidating. The growth of them has shown that there is more of a market for £20+ rides than people ever thought, but if you think they are a rip-off, you are probably not in the target segment.
But I have to say I really enjoyed it - more than I expected to. It was a very pretty route, mostly quiet roads and great weather helped. When I got to the start, at Chichester College, I was struck by the scale of it. There were between three and four hundred people and bikes. But the organisation seemed to cope with this as there were no significant queues either to sign in, or to start.
I rode sometimes on my own, at other times with other single riders or smaller groups and at one point jumped on the back of a fast club train with about 8 riders. I enjoyed the banter with people I met and it was a friendly atmosphere.
In terms of value for money, the cost was (I think) £24. For that I got a very smoothly organised event, very efficient signs making it almost impossible to lose the route, plenty of food and drink (the street value of the energy bars I got given was probably at least half of my entry fee!) at roadside stops and the chance to have a shower before I drove home, which was a good bonus. There was also the insurance which, as a member of CTC, two clubs and AUK, I didn't feel I really needed.
I wouldn't do loads of them, but I might do another now and again.
For lots of people, they are what cycling is about. I think part of the appeal is that they are user friendly and accessible. Audax can be a bit harder to work out what is going on and many people find clubs intimidating. The growth of them has shown that there is more of a market for £20+ rides than people ever thought, but if you think they are a rip-off, you are probably not in the target segment.
