Future of SA road cycling

[Dexter-morgan]

16 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

Adding to this topic, I have no idea why lap racing in SA is so frowned upon

Crits and CX is the future. So easy to set up, so easy to spectate, easy to second, support. The same sponsor banners get seen multiple times, the noobs can choose to race 1 lap, 2 etc.... 

One can use existing school fields, parks, secure roads, tracks etc and it isn't a logistic nightmare.

For some reason if we aren't traversing huge distances along massive stretches of road, people here just don't seem interested.

If we want to keep racing alive, we will eventually need to embrace circuit racing a bit more. It really is super fun, super tough and easier to manage as everyone races close to the medics and in a controlled environment.

Check out Jerremy Martins's(Bike craft performance coaching) Youtube channel, he arranges crit races once a month in some Lords industrial park. Spectating makes sencs, you see racing pack go past every 20 minutes or so.

[The Ouzo]

24 minutes ago, Dexter-morgan said:

Check out Jerremy Martins's(Bike craft performance coaching) Youtube channel, he arranges crit races once a month in some Lords industrial park. Spectating makes sencs, you see racing pack go past every 20 minutes or so.

I cycle through riverfields in Kempton every weekend, would make a great places for some crit racing.

Nice road surface, dual lanes in either direction with circles to enable turn arounds.

some elevation changes thrown into the mix.

[Frosty]

35 minutes ago, Dexter-morgan said:

Check out Jerremy Martins's(Bike craft performance coaching) Youtube channel, he arranges crit races once a month in some Lords industrial park. Spectating makes sencs, you see racing pack go past every 20 minutes or so.

They lap every 4 minutes.

[City Cycling Athletic Club]

WP cycling had a crits series for the last number of years - they have tried to formalise it into a series like a WP champs over 4 events instead of just standalone crit inbetween road races. attendences are poor.

the road league consists of lap races , ie short laps of 7.7kms or long laps of 50kms. 

these events have been hosted for the last 12 years , there has been growth BUT......... circuits are being killed as there are just so many routes out there. 

Gunners Circle was mentioned a few times - there are now speed bumps on the circuit and there is a shop down one of the roads which is very popular on a Sunday morning this has impacted on traffic numbers on the Fire Station side of the course , other than that, it is still quiet for the rest bar a truck or 2 turning into or out of the market.

[Ncayi]

I fully agree that crit racing is the future of road cycling in SA (more specifically in Gauteng) if the current status quo prevails. However, consumers typically associate value for money with time spent enjoying the said expenditure item. That's why a 100km race at R400-R500 seems appealing to a lot of people as opposed to a 1-hour crit race. 

Then there is the purist angle that is also at play. I remember when the T20 format was introduced in cricket, it was not popular among those who preferred a 5-day test match.  I feel cycling is in a similar transition where a lot of people still want a long day on the saddle when they sign up for a "race".

I also believe we are also generous when we use the word "racing" as most road races are basically bunch rides where we start together and finish together with the same people pulling in the front. While some people sit in and get the same average speed as the rest (I'm usually one of the wheel suckers yelling keep your line). With the exception of the gents who ride with no saddle bags and FTPs north of 350w.

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Ncayi

[babse]

Crit racing no thanks, not for me anyway. Odd killarney is as critable as I'll go.

 

Lap racing is completely different. Our provincial and national style road races are sufficient with longer laps. Hard racing that still has ease of logistics, feeds and spectating to some degree.

Fun rides obviously people want amazing scenic routes and will ultimately vote with their wallets. 

 

[Jbr]

3 minutes ago, babse said:

Odd killarney is as critable as I'll go.

It's quite critty though 🤣

[The Ouzo]

2 minutes ago, babse said:

Fun rides obviously people want amazing scenic routes

I think this and 

30 minutes ago, Ncayi said:

I also believe we are also generous when we use the word "racing" as most road races are basically bunch rides where we start together and finish together with the same people pulling in the front. While some people sit in and get the same average speed as the rest

and this is the crux of the problem.

 

Majority of people are not into cycling for the racing. They want fun rides where they can wheel suck and then brag around the braai that they did 100km in 3hours.

Ask them to Race and its to much hard work.

[Mongoose!]

11 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

I think this and 

and this is the crux of the problem.

 

Majority of people are not into cycling for the racing. They want fun rides where they can wheel suck and then brag around the braai that they did 100km in 3hours.

Ask them to Race and its to much hard work.

Crit racing (crashing) will only take off once Coolheat  / Shimano has stock in Shimano parts again...

Edited August 21, 2023 by Mongoose!

[DieselnDust]

12 minutes ago, Mongoose! said:

Crit racing (crashing) will only take off once Coolheat  / Shimano has stock in Shimano parts again...

….and the week is off to a stunning start with this pearl already contender for chirp/crit of the week!!!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[Skubarra]

18 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

Adding to this topic, I have no idea why lap racing in SA is so frowned upon

Crits and CX is the future. So easy to set up, so easy to spectate, easy to second, support. The same sponsor banners get seen multiple times, the noobs can choose to race 1 lap, 2 etc.... 

One can use existing school fields, parks, secure roads, tracks etc and it isn't a logistic nightmare.

For some reason if we aren't traversing huge distances along massive stretches of road, people here just don't seem interested.

If we want to keep racing alive, we will eventually need to embrace circuit racing a bit more. It really is super fun, super tough and easier to manage as everyone races close to the medics and in a controlled environment.

As others mentioned, quite a few lap & crit races hosted by WP Cycling and I think its fairly well supported.

PPA always resisted the idea of doing lap races - but that makes sense when mixing funriders and racing snakes. Once you have people lapping each other it turns into chaos (see the long complaint threads whenever a long route catches up with short route riders in a PPA race).

I can also see road racing mostly migrating to gravel racing over the next few years, unfortunately the way the world changed it has just become more and more difficult and impractical to host road races, I think the few big ones will survive for the foreseeable future but the growth will be in gravel biking.

[Jewbacca]

1 minute ago, Skubarra said:

As others mentioned, quite a few lap & crit races hosted by WP Cycling and I think its fairly well supported.

PPA always resisted the idea of doing lap races - but that makes sense when mixing funriders and racing snakes. Once you have people lapping each other it turns into chaos (see the long complaint threads whenever a long route catches up with short route riders in a PPA race).

I can also see road racing mostly migrating to gravel racing over the next few years, unfortunately the way the world changed it has just become more and more difficult and impractical to host road races, I think the few big ones will survive for the foreseeable future but the growth will be in gravel biking.

I guess being sucked into 'crit' racing is different from 'lap' racing. 

But yes, I hear you. It's not just a case of creating these races and marketing them at the racing end of the spectrum. I just think that more and more road races will stop being hosted due to safety concerns, road quality etc so a solution does need to be met IF cyclists want to keep doing races and having options.

Many of the mid/back pack mamils are turned off because they want to ride the 'full' route but take all day. They wouldn't possibly enter a short route and build up fitness/skill.

So Lap racing shows one up more as you get removed when lapped or just lapped. It exposes one more, which is scary. So it takes me back to the mentality comment I made earlier. It isn't bought into here for many reasons, one also being the fact that these long races have always existed in the past, so it's 'the norm' now. Changing the way people thing about bikes is the first step.

Creating viable, sustainable, safe events that are marketed at the right people the next. Imagine how cool it would be doing a loop race in the West Coast reserve right now? You'd get to ride past the pretty flowers 5 or 6 times!

Truth be told, since I got sick last March, I have done 2 races..... Velddrif222Velddrif and a very casual CTCT.

The existing Crit series (and most of the traditional, smaller road races) focus their marketing on the racing end, which isn't the end that pays the bills. Making less competitive people feel welcome at these things is the way to keep racers racing.

 

[DieselnDust]

5 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

As others mentioned, quite a few lap & crit races hosted by WP Cycling and I think its fairly well supported.

PPA always resisted the idea of doing lap races - but that makes sense when mixing funriders and racing snakes. Once you have people lapping each other it turns into chaos (see the long complaint threads whenever a long route catches up with short route riders in a PPA race).

I can also see road racing mostly migrating to gravel racing over the next few years, unfortunately the way the world changed it has just become more and more difficult and impractical to host road races, I think the few big ones will survive for the foreseeable future but the growth will be in gravel biking.

Sad but very likely true.

there are also other factors that has contributed to this demise. One that has not been mentioned yet is that road closures are difficult today because commerce is essentially 24/7. 

In the late 80's and early 90's most stores where not open on a Sunday and shopping mall parking lots were empty. Many people were at church while races started at 6am and were done by the time church was out.

the world has changed significantly since  the road racing heydays but the sport has not. Today people moving about while burning fossil fuels generates income for the government (since they continually overdrawn) so leisure sports that prevent this movement will not take priority. Maybe if the  local government instituted a health and leisure morning where motorised transport other than for emergency services is banned for 3 hrs every 2nd Saturday or Sunday or some other incentive being put in place I can't see the trend reversing

[bleedToWin]

15 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

focus their marketing on the racing end, which isn't the end that pays the bills. Making less competitive people feel welcome at these things is the way to keep racers racing.

They don't do any (real) marketing, it's just that the racers do the effort to go and find the events and participate.

Your comment about making less competitive riders feel welcome is on point, but the question is how?

[bleedToWin]

1 hour ago, Jbr said:

It's quite critty though 🤣

How many corners do you have to brake for at Killarney? 🤔

[DieselnDust]

1 minute ago, bleedToWin said:

They don't do any (real) marketing, it's just that the racers do the effort to go and find the events and participate.

Your comment about making less competitive riders feel welcome is on point, but the question is how?

For one I think there needs to be more co-ordination between the provincial bodies and pedal power.

Cat 3 is perfect for most enthusiastic road riders capable of 3h10 to 3h45. The reality is that there needs to be a cross over mechanism that links PPA seeding to provincial categorization of rider ability. Demystifying this is a small step forward.

then the issue of numbers will always be at play. 25,000 people pitching up for a lap race just isn't possible.

So where is  the balance ?