Depends if you’re there to race or there to ride.

If it’s to ride, then why pay £40 to follow some dayglow arrows. There must be hundreds of £10 guideboks packed with routes for those not adventurous enough to just set off and get lost.

Possibly similar reasons to why people go on guided mountain bike rides. I like perusing a guidebook and getting lost as much as the next person, but sometimes I like to follow a route that someone else with local knowledge has decided is a nice way to see a new area.

On ALL my cycle rides there will come a point – several points – where I decide to give it some beans. Maybe I’m “racing” myself, maybe I’m “racing” others I’m riding with, but the point is that whilst people are competitive beasts, not all people are competitive beasts who have time/energy/will to train for “proper” racing.

Moreover – as someone who has sprinted up cobbled Michaelgate in Lincoln at the end of a 100 mile sportive, there is no doubt a thrill from riding a mass-participation event at which the crowds applaud your finish. There’s no way I’ll have crowds lining the track and applauding at my local cat 4 race (when I come in last!).

My first 100 ride was a sportive and it felt special being part of such a big event. I think the parallel with taking part in the London Marathon is a great one.

Some people will always hate sportives and some people will never “get” sportives. It will always give us something to debate on here 🙂

Is there any evidence of this Blagtagging actually working in procuring free stuff?

@bankofengland @royalmint @hattongarden @fortknox.
Waits expectantly …

Actually, he may have tagged those brands because he is supported by them. (I know! Crazy, huh.)

And if sportives aren’t competitive, why is there a sportive world champs?

http://www.uci.ch/cyclingforall/uci-gran-fondo-world-series/

rusty90 – Member

Is there any evidence of this Blagtagging actually working in procuring free stuff?

@bankofengland @royalmint @hattongarden @fortknox.
Waits expectantly … [/quote]Here you go:

That’ll be the sportive world champs that the gridded front runners need licences for, and that has lead cars and commisaires and UCI points and BC insurance.

Essentially a race at the front, and a party at the back?

I still can’t get my head around why you’d even bother getting your bike out if the ride wasn’t essentially just a convoluted route to the pub

#Irwellworksbrewery #Jonespies #Lancashirecrisps

I was tested in a French sportive three years back. Full uci test kit, first ten finishers were taken in a van from the finish in La Mongie down to a sports centre in a local village and made to submit samples. Made me wonder what would’ve happened had I been using a steroid cream or something.

Fwiw I knew a couple of the guys tested from local (Basque) u23 and masters series and although I concur it’s not a race, there’s a lot of quality at the sharp end of a Pyreneen sportive.

Well, if everyone else is doing it……

@kylie @beeny #threesome

it’s road cycling, who GAF lol

#munchybox surely?

#munchybox

Kylie wouldn’t make a dent in a munchybox
I’d probably need to fight the Beeny for the onion rings though. 🙂

digga – Member
Here you go:

Classy. That can go next to my Princess Di memorial plate.

Not really what I was thinking. Try another interpretation…..

🙂

Oh, I did. 😉

I’m more interested in my version.

My wife offered me super sex at the weekend.

I had the soup.

binners – Member

I still can’t get my head around why you’d even bother getting your bike out if the ride wasn’t essentially just a convoluted route to the pub

#Irwellworksbrewery #Jonespies #Lancashirecrisps Good point, well made.

#Lamb&Flag #RedLion #CliffordArms

Fair enough, maybe there is a bit of both, TT is a special bike and all of that and when I was up north it tended to be on the long good A roads with roundabouts.

That’s probably the more visible side of it, but there’s also loads of small club events on more sporting courses (lumpy B roads) where people ride a mix of bikes. You can be fairly competitive on a road bike, add clip on’s and a pointy helmet and you can be most of the way there. And it’s usually about 3 quid to enter.

If you just want to do a long ride with some company then there’s audax 🙂

There’s a Sportive World Champs????!!

On saturday and sunday we went for a bike ride around glentress and innerleithen, I attacked early but stopped too much for haribos so I was only second. Despair.

#binnersartwork

Awaits delivery

Shirley it’s always a race. I once came 4th in a mass start mtb sportive, no one else appeared to be racing, but it was still a race. I didn’t brag about if afterwards, so does that mean I am not a bellend?

You should seem some of the training for the sports day dads race!

From the Tour de Mon website…

In 2015 we welcomed over 1700 cyclists to the shores of Newry Beach in Holyhead who all enjoyed a memorable day exploring the roads and scenery of this amazing unspoilt island and 2016 is set to be even bigger and better.

Hmm doesn’t sound much like a race.

Funnily enough I can’t see any mention of this chap in the event report either…

http://tourdemon.co.uk/content/tour-de-mon-2016-ride-report#overlay-context=content/tour-de-mon-result-photography-event-report