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 🙂