What is a Sportive?

[Markymark]

TBH £20 for what you get at the feed stations seems fair to me. I'm sure you can save a few£ doing it yourself, but I enjoy them.

They're not a race but they are the rides I push myself hard to up my average speed.

 

[wam68]

TBH £20 for what you get at the feed stations seems fair to me. I'm sure you can save a few£ doing it yourself, but I enjoy them.

They're not a race but they are the rides I push myself hard to up my average speed.

Have to agree with you on that. They are good for improving fitness / time averages and all done in a cordial bonhommie kind of spirit

 

[mjr]

Over here sportives are generally tours over 50 + kms with people of all talents taking part. It is usually no more than £20 to enter and the proceeds usually go towards a charity. All you need to take part is you and your bike and they are fun and enjoyable. They are not races although you do get a few alpha males / females who like to

Over here?

What you describe sounds to me like a charity fun ride. I'll be doing one of those in May, although it's shorter and fancy-dress. Some charity fun rides have taken BC insurance and been labelled as sportives (and so have increased "alpha" bad behaviour, helmet rules, riders gathered in concentration with numbers tattooed... sorry, I mean stuck on before they exit through a start gate and so on but it's not a race even if it looks like one :-( ) because BC doesn't have a category for charity fun rides yet.

 

[wam68]

Over here?

What you describe sounds to me like a charity fun ride. I'll be doing one of those in May, although it's shorter and fancy-dress. Some charity fun rides have taken BC insurance and been labelled as sportives (and so have increased "alpha" bad behaviour, helmet rules, riders gathered in concentration with numbers tattooed... sorry, I mean stuck on before they exit through a start gate and so on but it's not a race even if it looks like one :-( ) because BC doesn't have a category for charity fun rides yet.

Yeh, Ireland.Would love to see you doing the Torr Head Challenge / North Coast Sportive in your fancy dress though

 

[jdtate101]

Sportives tend to be mass events for newer riders. I've done quite a few but stopped doing so last yr after some of the standard of riding on display. It's true that many seem to treat them like races and take crazy risks, often beyond their skill, and end up in the back of an ambulance. Most are very well organised and can be a great way of getting a supported ride as you work up to longer distances, ie you have feed stops and a broom wagon if you bonk, ensuring you can get back to your car safely. I will only do a few per yr now, often the one's round my area run by local business I wish to support (such as the fantastic Tour Of The Black Country), the mass marketed events such as the wiggle/UKCE one's just leave me a bit cold now as the prices seem to be going up and the worth going down. That said during the winter/spring months Audax's are an excellent way of getting out and about to build that base fitness in prep for the race season. So I'd say have a go at both types of event, they're usually both very friendly.....

 

[Drago]

A sportive is an opportunity fora rider to give money to someone for the privilege of using a road they could otherwise ride on for free.

 

[ianrauk]

A sportive is an opportunity fora rider to give money to someone for the privilege of using a road they could otherwise ride on for free.

Don't forget they also get a free banana and/or gel if they're lucky.

 

[e-rider]

you pay a lot of money to ride on 'free' roads with plenty of dangerous and inexperienced riders; and when you get to the 'feed stations' they are either empty or full of crappy cheap quality junk food

 

[winjim]

From the British Cycling website:

It’s not a race

It’s important to remember that all Sportives are non-competitive events. You are only riding against yourself, the clock, the course and any time standards the organiser may have set.

(My underlining)

So, a race then.

 

[screenman]

you pay a lot of money to ride on 'free' roads with plenty of dangerous and inexperienced riders; and when you get to the 'feed stations' they are either empty or full of crappy cheap quality junk food

If they are empty when you get there you are not riding quick enough.

 

[mjr]

If they are empty when you get there you are not riding quick enough.

So, a race then, with food as the prizes.

 

[mjr]

Continuing from a beginners topic:

I've done one this year (The Hell of the Ashdown) and I think it may have passed your test.

Sadly not. Some of the 25+ terms you agreed to on the form were pointless bureaucratic self-gratifying IMO (I especially like "the Rider must be competent and properly equipped to deal with the challenges of the Event and any mechanical failure" - did you carry a headset press? How about frame welding kit?) and then there was this:

Profiteering? A strange word. I don't doubt that profits were made somewhere along the line. But for the pejorative "profiteering" to apply there has to be some corruption involved, or unethical manipulation of the market. I'm doubtful, so pass.

Yeah, it's very debatable. They put big logos of two charities on the marketing materials but I saw no mention of how much they get from the event. A couple of £1 donations would make it technically true - I'm sure it's more than that, but is it more than the organiser makes? The charity logos are bigger than the organiser's, after all.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Here's some advice for those not taking part in a sportive:

How to stay safe around Sportivists. A Guide

We want cyclists to stay safe when cycling near other vehicles, especially larger ones, like sportive riders. The safety advice is simple, “Stay safe, stay away”.

The “Stay safe, stay away” advice applies to cyclists when cycling near to moving Sportive riders or approaching any stationary Sportivists on the road, at junctions, traffic lights, on climbs or at feed stations. It's important to stay out of the risk zone and get into a position where the sportive rider can see you over their Garmin.

Follow our tips below to find out how to protect yourself.


Safety tips

Cycle sensibly and assertively to help yourself. Stay safe, especially at traffic lights, junctions, corners, straight roads, climbs, descents, and anywhere that might be a Strava segment.

* Recognise that sportive riders may not be able to see you, and are often oblivious to your presence.

*Never cycle up the left side of a sportivist riding in the middle of the road.

*Look out for sportive riders wandering left or right for no reason in front of you.

*If a rider comes up behind you, move forward enough merely to ensure you are in the sportivist’s field of vision and in no way to try and drop them.

*In front of a Sportive rider is often the safest place to be. When you need to overtake a large sportivist, do so on the right-hand side at speed, so that the rider can’t keep up with you.


Be Aware

The risk zone area can be the full length and width of the road, with the sportivist unable to see anyone cycling beside them on the left, or the right.

*Both new and experienced cyclists have been hurt in collisions with sportivists. This often happens when a sportive rider veers left to stop on a climb, to look at the view, to take off his gilet, to put on his arm-warmers or turn into a feed zone, hitting innocent cyclists on the nearside.

*Don't assume any large gap between sportivists is safe. When veering across the road for no reason large riders often wobble over to the right before they swing sharply across to the left to stop.


*Don't risk your life by trying to pass sportive riders when they are stopped at junctions, they may simply be confused by the event direction arrows and could suddenly turn either left or right. Wait until they have moved on, and turn the other way.

“Stay safe, stay away” is dedicated to reducing sportivists danger to cyclists through the use of awareness and reliability trials.

 

[Nigelnightmare]

Here's some advice for those not taking part in a sportive:

How to stay safe around Sportivists. A Guide

We want cyclists to stay safe when cycling near other vehicles, especially larger ones, like sportive riders. The safety advice is simple, “Stay safe, stay away”.

The “Stay safe, stay away” advice applies to cyclists when cycling near to moving Sportive riders or approaching any stationary Sportivists on the road, at junctions, traffic lights, on climbs or at feed stations. It's important to stay out of the risk zone and get into a position where the sportive rider can see you over their Garmin.

Follow our tips below to find out how to protect yourself.


Safety tips

Cycle sensibly and assertively to help yourself. Stay safe, especially at traffic lights, junctions, corners, straight roads, climbs, descents, and anywhere that might be a Strava segment.

* Recognise that sportive riders may not be able to see you, and are often oblivious to your presence.

*Never cycle up the left side of a sportivist riding in the middle of the road.

*Look out for sportive riders wandering left or right for no reason in front of you.

*If a rider comes up behind you, move forward enough merely to ensure you are in the sportivist’s field of vision and in no way to try and drop them.

*In front of a Sportive rider is often the safest place to be. When you need to overtake a large sportivist, do so on the right-hand side at speed, so that the rider can’t keep up with you.


Be Aware

The risk zone area can be the full length and width of the road, with the sportivist unable to see anyone cycling beside them on the left, or the right.

*Both new and experienced cyclists have been hurt in collisions with sportivists. This often happens when a sportive rider veers left to stop on a climb, to look at the view, to take off his gilet, to put on his arm-warmers or turn into a feed zone, hitting innocent cyclists on the nearside.

*Don't assume any large gap between sportivists is safe. When veering across the road for no reason large riders often wobble over to the right before they swing sharply across to the left to stop.


*Don't risk your life by trying to pass sportive riders when they are stopped at junctions, they may simply be confused by the event direction arrows and could suddenly turn either left or right. Wait until they have moved on, and turn the other way.

“Stay safe, stay away” is dedicated to reducing sportivists danger to cyclists through the use of awareness and reliability trials.

ROFLMAO.

&But and oh so true.

 

[Milzy]

TBH £20 for what you get at the feed stations seems fair to me. I'm sure you can save a few£ doing it yourself, but I enjoy them.

They're not a race but they are the rides I push myself hard to up my average speed.

£20 bargain. I usually go for ones like the Struggle & they're £40 :*(