I live in Texas and even at the amateur level we are seeing an issue with very low participation in road races. It's the opposite problem where we have promoters that are willing to put on the events but the racers are simply not showing up. The gravel scene continues to thrive here but road events are quickly disappearing because promoters are not even breaking even for their events.
I think one of the things that has kept places like France and Belgium thriving is the culture that's in place. You race for the sake of racing. You race to compete, to win and showcase the hard work you've put in. There's nothing fancy about the race in terms of setup or cool prizes, t shirts or whatever else. You simply crack on and race then head home.
In the US we have folks looking for an experience versus a simply run race. Our audience wants a production and productions are extremely expensive to put on.
I agree, it goes both ways. Some of my best racing experiences (Athens, Redlands) have been in the US, as the organisers have put on an event where the bike race just happens to be the entertainment!
I see a model like Levi's as the best of both worlds.
Good take Joe. Thanks for sharing your ideas. As you know, I've been writing about many of these same issues for years. You are right about these things.
I live in Texas and even at the amateur level we are seeing an issue with very low participation in road races. It's the opposite problem where we have promoters that are willing to put on the events but the racers are simply not showing up. The gravel scene continues to thrive here but road events are quickly disappearing because promoters are not even breaking even for their events.
I think one of the things that has kept places like France and Belgium thriving is the culture that's in place. You race for the sake of racing. You race to compete, to win and showcase the hard work you've put in. There's nothing fancy about the race in terms of setup or cool prizes, t shirts or whatever else. You simply crack on and race then head home.
In the US we have folks looking for an experience versus a simply run race. Our audience wants a production and productions are extremely expensive to put on.
I agree, it goes both ways. Some of my best racing experiences (Athens, Redlands) have been in the US, as the organisers have put on an event where the bike race just happens to be the entertainment!
I see a model like Levi's as the best of both worlds.
Good take Joe. Thanks for sharing your ideas. As you know, I've been writing about many of these same issues for years. You are right about these things.
Thanks Peter. As always, it's good to raise the problems but it's the execution of ideas which make change...