Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 95 total)
  • New respect for roadies…
  • D0NK
    Full Member

    I’ll add most of the races I do are pretty much sportives for me, I’m quite a long way off the podium and I race so rarely that there’s no one there for me to aim to beat, it’s just a ride around a marked course as fast as possible.

    llama
    Full Member

    I don’t like the snobbishness to sportive riders

    The same people who give the attitude will eagerly take part in a mass road ride in italy or france (of course, it’s much different there you know) or an equivalent mtb event (it’s really cool they have a band at the top of the first climb and everything).

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    “it’s just a ride around a marked course as fast as possible.”

    How is this different from racing?

    njee20
    Free Member

    How is this different from racing?

    Racing you compete against others, a sportive you’re only competing against yourself, there are no ‘results’.

    scud
    Free Member

    Just a tip as well, i do a lot of the Wiggle Sportives and MTB events, would normally cost you £35 or thereabouts a pop, but you can volunteer to marshal car park, help in registration etc in return for free ride, done about 8-9 Wiggle events already so saved in excess of £250

    cheekymonkey888
    Free Member

    its for the kids.. its charity! The guy rode there and rode back..says it all.
    Well done for raising some money for the school.

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

    “it’s just a ride around a marked course as fast as possible.”

    How is this different from racing?

    No podium, prizes or official results with riders listed by finishing time.

    whatnobeer
    Free Member

    official results with riders listed by finishing time.

    Some do, and if not it’s not exactly hard to sort by time in an spreadsheet.

    I really don’t know why people get so irate about sportives and people ‘racing’ them. It’s all bikes, it’s all good.

    elliptic
    Free Member

    The point is that in the UK sportive events are carefully designed to not legally be “races” so they can slip under the requirements for police permissions, road management etc. that would be needed if they were. So no official winners, prizes etc even though it’s trivial to check the times and find out who was actually fastest on the day.

    On the whole this is probably a good thing 😉

    But on the continent they’re less fastidious and the big Italian gran fondos (for example) are very much competitive events at the front of the pack.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Just a tip as well, i do a lot of the Wiggle Sportives and MTB events, would normally cost you £35 or thereabouts a pop, but you can volunteer to marshal car park, help in registration etc in return for free ride, done about 8-9 Wiggle events already so saved in excess of £250

    Or just download the route and ride it the same day as the sportive for nothing. For most the roads aren’t closed and anyone can ride them. Though I imagine it would get quite annoying with a load of other riders out on the roads.

    elliptic
    Free Member

    Though I can imagine it would get quite annoying with a load of other riders out on the roads.

    Err… what? The whole point of sportives is to ride in a big event with loads of other riders out on the roads. If I wanted to go out and ride on my own all day then yes, I can do that anytime for free…

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Err… what? The whole point of sportives is to ride in a big event with loads of other riders out on the roads. If I wanted to go out and ride on my own all day then yes, I can do that anytime for free…

    One of the many reasons I’ve never done one 🙂

    piemonster
    Full Member

    You were doing so well!!

    I deemed it important to at least attempt to offend one group.

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

    Some do, and if not it’s not exactly hard to sort by time in an spreadsheet.

    Those that do may well be in breach of whatever insurance (assuming they are insured) they have in place for the event.

    Any sportive that was promoting itself as a race in any way would be in trouble should there be an accident and a rider try and prosecute.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    mtbmatt – Member

    “it’s just a ride around a marked course as fast as possible.”
    How is this different from racing?

    No podium, prizes or official results with riders listed by finishing time.[/quote]

    And no or few folk participating who actually race.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    And no or few folk participating who actually race.

    Seem different to the ones I’ve done (albeit in Spain) – they’re technically not races, but most people want to get a decent time and/or beat their mates. Which is a race, basically.

    Out of interest, if I wanted to compete in a proper race (and not a sportive), how much choice is there in the UK? Over 100 miles with some decent climbing?

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    it’s not a race if you stop for a piss and queue for half a banana and over strength low quality sports drink

    mogrim
    Full Member

    it’s not a race if you stop for a piss and queue for half a banana and over strength low quality sports drink

    It is when your mate does the same 🙂

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

    Out of interest, if I wanted to compete in a proper race (and not a sportive), how much choice is there in the UK? Over 100 miles with some decent climbing?

    None.
    But that probably has more to do with the UK road racing scene, rather than the laws we have about what can and can’t be classed as a race.

    mudshark
    Free Member

    it’s not a race if you stop for a piss

    Is is taking it too seriously to piss on the move? I’ve seen the pros do it – with the helping hand of a team mate.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    “it’s just a ride around a marked course as fast as possible.”

    How is this different from racing?that example of mine you quoted was actually racing 🙂

    From my vast experience of not taking part in sportives or road races I’ll wildly speculate that the main difference is the legal/insurance hoops organisers have to jump through and more importantly from our/public’s perspective is the behaviour of participants. You’re not supposed to pull racing shit whilst doing a sportive. I can go out and ride my regular road loop today and then go out tomorrow with a bunch of mates and do it as fast as we possibly can, aslong as we follow the rules of the road it’s all legit – I think.

    (AFAIK) TT is where it all gets a bit grey area I guess, that’s a race, with results/winners on open roads and it’s all above board.

    aracer
    Free Member

    Officially. In reality for most people in a race, it’s what happens on the roads, not what appears on the results sheet which matters, and exactly the same for a sportive where most people aren’t treating it as a time trial.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Yes, but that’s the official difference. Otherwise, as observed, racing against your mates is a “race”. I’d not say that my normal lunch ride is a race, but it’s nice to have a bit of healthy competition.

    dragon
    Free Member

    I’ve done plenty of road races and some sportives and there it a world of difference, between the two. I’ve never seen anyone walk up a hill in a race, or stop for a breather, while waiting for their slower mates either.

    Sportives in the UK can be very pleasant, fun, rides, but races they are not.

    aracer
    Free Member

    I’ve never done a race with a hill as steep as plenty of the ones I’ve ridden on sportives, nor a race as long as most sportives.

    vinnyeh
    Full Member

    Everything’s a race, check out any thread regarding an organised event- dyfi, honc etc etc – post after post of ‘i got round in this time’, or ‘i had 6 punctures and an hour for lunch, so it took me…’.

    Just cos you have to stop for a breather or to wait for mates doesn’t mean you’re not racing. Just that you’re not as fit or mean as you’d like to be.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    I’ve never done a race with a hill as steep as plenty of the ones I’ve ridden on sportives, nor a race as long as most sportives.

    Given that apparently there aren’t any races with those kind of characteristics, the anti-sportive snobbishness you see on these threads is pretty stupid.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    I’ve never done a race with a hill as steep as plenty of the ones I’ve ridden on sportives, nor a race as long as most sportives.

    Chalk and cheese though isn’t it?

    Sportives advertise themselves as some sort of personal challenge to complete, and a nice day out in some lovely countryside. Hence the big hills and distance on the longer loops. Probably more comparable to something like an audax than a road race.

    Racing is more likely to be an hours balls out frantic riding around some flat aerodrome, jostling for position and trying not to get dropped or crash.

    Some people enjoy the former, some enjoy the latter, some enjoy both.

    Now where did I put those hob nobs 🙂

    dragon
    Free Member

    I’ve never done a race with a hill as steep as plenty of the ones I’ve ridden on sportives, nor a race as long as most sportives.

    So you failed to move up to 2nd Cat then 😉

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    mogrim – Member
    Given that apparently there aren’t any races with those kind of characteristics, the anti-sportive snobbishness you see on these threads is pretty stupid.

    It’s anti “SPORTIVE RIDER WHO CALLS IT RACING” snobbery.

    I’d wager 90% of sportive riders would last a few minutes in the bunch in a road race.

    Where’s druid today anyway?

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Given that apparently there aren’t any races with those kind of characteristics, the anti-sportive snobbishness you see on these threads is pretty stupid.

    Strange isn’t it? I suspect some people are too unimaginative to come up with their own prejudices so they borrow them from other internet warriors.

    scud
    Free Member

    I think for me, i don’t enjoy racing as such because i know i’d not have much chance of being near the front plus i am really not a fan of going round in laps, i much prefer a journey from one place to another whether that be something like the Dragon Ride or Etape Cymru on the road, or my favourite MTB event the Isle of Man End 2 End, challenges instead of races (for me, I know E2E is a race)

    Whilst you could ride the route on your own I enjoy the banter on the way round and shared sense of suffering.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    It’s anti “SPORTIVE RIDER WHO CALLS IT RACING” snobbery.

    I’d wager 90% of sportive riders would last a few minutes in the bunch in a road race.

    That’s the good thing about sportives – it’s a race with lots of bunches, so you can find the right one for your ability.

    llama
    Full Member

    I’ve never seen anyone walk up a hill in a race

    riders pushed up harting hill in the 1994 tour de france

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Last year, Tirreno-Adriatico:

    D0NK
    Full Member

    Last year, Tirreno-Adriatico:

    someone forget to spec triple chainsets on their race bikes? 😉

    dragon
    Free Member

    So you pic of a race that even the organisers said went too far as an example? That is a 27% hill ridden 3 times in the wet.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    So you pic of a race that even the organisers said went too far as an example? That is a 27% hill ridden 3 times in the wet.

    Someone posted they’d never seen people pushing in a race. This was a race, and they’re pushing.

    ahwiles
    Free Member

    dragon – Member

    So you pic of a race that even the organisers said went too far as an example? That is a 27% hill ridden 3 times in the wet.

    so, not as steep as Winnats pass? which is often used in Peak District Sportives.

    dragon
    Free Member

    Since in the old Tour of the Peaks Paul Curran used to ride Winnats on something like a 39×21, and Froome at Tirreno-Adriatico, struggled on the pictured climb on 36×28 or something, then I’d suggest gradient isn’t the be all and end all of how hard a climb is to ride up.

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 95 total)

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