Well it seems the Velothon Wales is no more.

[Pale Rider]

One of the articles I read seemed to imply numbers had been dropping off.
It mention 12,000 to break even, so if that was the case it would appear it wasnt sustainable.

That's a gross income of about £500,000 which ought to be enough to put on a one day cycling event, although no doubt the costs add up.

Not strictly comparable, but my mate Colin used to charge about £30 for his Durham rides which were marshalled on partially closed roads.

He was getting about 400 entries for each ride.

They never made any money, and he chucked it in when the local authority withdrew support - marshals/vehicles etc provided free of charge by their leisure services department.

 

[PaulSB]

Anyone know did the numbers drop through lack of entries or was it restricted for some other reason?

I've no knowledge but could it just be cost? I wouldn't argue with the fees charged as I've no idea on the costs of putting on the event. At £69 and take a lot of convincing to take part.

 

[screenman]

I've no knowledge but could it just be cost? I wouldn't argue with the fees charged as I've no idea on the costs of putting on the event. At £69 and take a lot of convincing to take part.

It seems it did not use to put people off.

 

[steve292]

The Velothon brand is owned by Ironman. In 2017 it clashed with the long course weekend in Tenby, so in 2018 it was moved to a different date, earlier in the year.
Ironman are renowned for extracting maximum cash for their events, just look at the refund policy for a full ironman. It was cancelled purely for monetary reasons.
The cynic in me says that thats the only reason they bought the brand, as the two events (VW and LCW) are two of the three biggest events in Wales., the 3rd being Ironman Wales

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The roads the velothan went iver are normally pretty quiet anyway. Much quieter than 12,000 cyclists!

 

[Banjo]

The roads the velothan went iver are normally pretty quiet anyway. Much quieter than 12,000 cyclists!

That's a fair point, I wonder if cycling a closed road sportive is more or less dangerous than cycling the same route on another day?
I know which would be more fun though.

Anyone who planned to enter the Velothon 2019 I would recommend the Dragon Ride or the Me rlin as equally and more challenging South/West wales rides.(not on fully closed rds though The dragon has some sections on closed road}

https://www.dragonride.co.uk/?gclid...13sOGg6rSxNVRsCsgp09YsAOH8Y8KgoBoCGocQAvD_BwE

https://www.county-cycles.com/merlin-ride

 

[Ming the Merciless]

More dangerous I would say.