"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - How much are you paying for a one day race where you are?

Could be a crit, could be a road race, could be a training race.



The fees went up 50% from last year, so I'm now shelling out €3

Ont, Canada

Usually $40, sometimes as high as $75

typically $30

Examples extracted from www.bikereg.com:

Upper Marlboro, MD - Tradezone Training Series (Criterium) - $15 per race

New Holland, Lancaster, PA Spring Training Series (Criterium) - $60 for the series or $17 per race and $5 for a second race (Sunday's March 1 - 29)

Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Cup Road Race 2009 - $35

Lancaster, PA - Millport Road Race - $34

etc.

$15-$20 for training race
$100/season for weekly(~14 weeks) Tues nighter
$30-$35 for a regular race

$15-$45

My perceived value for an industrial park crit is $30 max. $20 would be fine. Anything less is cheap. (A weekly series I do is $10 per week, so that's great).

I don't do road races, but my perceived value for a RR would be $20 more. $10 more for any city crit, i.e. one that involves road closures and cops. I know it costs a LOT of money to do these events so my perceived value goes up.

Figure for every $1000 more in prize money ($2000 is assumed for 8 or so fields of racers), another $1-2 entry. So a $10k prize list city crit would be like $50-$60.

For mtb racing (I know, wrong forum) I think it should be like $10. Virtually no expenses to hold a mtb race, and no one expects prize money either.

Of course my perception and reality may be two completely different things. I'll register for "real" races once I see how my legs, team, and van are going.

cdr

3 Euro's??? So college students, retired and kids under 12 get a discount for 1Euro fifty or what?

Man, that is cheap.

$25-35

The fees went up 50% from last year, so I'm now shelling out €3

smart ass Botto

Yes, I remember the days of giving 110 Belgian Francs to the inschriven, then getting 100 back after the race. Was like $.33US (33 cents) to race 110km. Man those were the days.

Typical P12 in Florida is now $35, plus late fees of $5-7. And we always race both days. So that's $70-80, plus hotels, plus gas, plus new tires, plus extra calories, plus families needs, plus..............

I pay with pain. I usually can't cover the expenses though....



$25-$35 for the most part. Many seem to be $25. 2nd race is usually $10-$15 more.

Usually about $30, maybe $10 for additional races.

$15 to $30... and thank you for rubbing our noses in it.

The Euro races are subsidized by race license costs. I think 15 years ago a Belgian license cost $300/year (i.e. 10x USCF), and back then I don't think I paid much more than $20 to race in the US. So you either pay up front or you pay when you race.

Since I paid for a USCF license ($28 then? mebbe $10 more for international) and raced for free (sort of) in Belgium, it was the best of both worlds. I met at least one other US rider who was doing that, except he was racing for the whole year there.

The Euro races also had either 20 or 40 places, and I think they paid very little. The prize money was paid for by the federation, if my info is correct. Since I don't promote races there, and I never came close to finishing a race, I have no idea if this is right or not.

What was much nicer in Europe is that you can race Wed, Sat, and Sun every week, 200 riders a race. That's pretty cool. I've read that racing is more frequent during the summer (I was there in March/April).

The only bad part is that the guys there (at least the races I entered) race so fast I'd need a motorcycle to keep up.

cdr

there is a $50 road race in the dc area this year. wtf

^
Tad cheaper in NL. €77 for a amateur B or A license. More for an elite. Maybe less for a C.

The money for the €3 depends on how big the field is, paying as much as 10 deep, to as few as 3 deep. Not the same as Belgium, but this isn't as hard as Belgium.

The good thing is that come May/June there's races on Monday, Tuesday, Wedneday, Thursday, Staurday, all within a 10 km ride, and one on Sundays that's a 20km ride away.

$15 for the weekly training race at Portland International Raceway.

$20-25 for road races, crits, and 'cross races.

$75-100 for three day stage races.

Most Lancaster, PA cat 3 races = $35

Tuesday nighters pre-reg for whole series can be <$10/race. RR seem to push about $40. I'm only doing Tuesday night races for the most part this year and bang for buck is part of that (but only one factor of several).

there is a $50 road race in the dc area this year. wtf

which one is that?

typical is $25 - $35 for a weekend race, regardless of crit/RR
wed. race is $15 during the summer

bike racers are a funny lot of people. folks on $5k worth of equipment for their hobby ***** and moan about having to spend $30 to use it.

by comparison, tryathletes spend up to $500/entry for these iron man things they do, sell out in minutes or have to reserve years in advance, and aside from like 3 or 4 people that enter, have no shot in hell of winning anything.

^^ fair point. I swear the tri geeks all have money trees. Meanwhile BD has to get discounted tires shipped to his office.

Figure for every $1000 more in prize money ($2000 is assumed for 8 or so fields of racers), another $1-2 entry. So a $10k prize list city crit would be like $50-$60.



cdr

Which raises another question, why do we have prize money, other than for the Pro's? To my knowledge, other amatuer sports don't give out prize money to other than elite competitors, (such as running, triathlon, masters swimming.)

Is anybody below the Pro, perhaps Cat1 level doing this to make money? Would anyone try less if there wasn't $30 on the line?

Personally, I'd take a lower entry fee, and no prize money. Of course, this is from the perspective of someone who is routinely subsidizing those who win the prize money.

which one is that?

typical is $25 - $35 for a weekend race, regardless of crit/RR
wed. race is $15 during the summer



walkersville 1/2/3 is $47

25 – 40 CND. However, short stage races/ omniums are so popular around here they make up most of the schedule. They are usually $80 for 3 stages.

To be sanctioned, half of the entry fees have to be returned to the racers in payouts; so I don’t support bare minimum pricing.

Would anyone try less if there wasn't $30 on the line?


I will never be racing to make money but prize money does matter to some. $30 may not be much to you but for some people on really tight budgets it allows them to race again.

Which raises another question, why do we have prize money, other than for the Pro's? To my knowledge, other amatuer sports don't give out prize money to other than elite competitors, (such as running, triathlon, masters swimming.)

Is anybody below the Pro, perhaps Cat1 level doing this to make money? Would anyone try less if there wasn't $30 on the line?

Personally, I'd take a lower entry fee, and no prize money. Of course, this is from the perspective of someone who is routinely subsidizing those who win the prize money.

excellent question.

Collegiate races are all $13, which is nice.
Other races are $20-$40, and normally have a 2nd race for $5 or $10.

EDIT: I'm on a budget, and even the small amount of prize money helps. If I can pay back my entry fee or gas, I'm happy. At $7.50 an hour it all helps.

which one is that?

typical is $25 - $35 for a weekend race, regardless of crit/RR
wed. race is $15 during the summer

bike racers are a funny lot of people. folks on $5k worth of equipment for their hobby ***** and moan about having to spend $30 to use it.

by comparison, tryathletes spend up to $500/entry for these iron man things they do, sell out in minutes or have to reserve years in advance, and aside from like 3 or 4 people that enter, have no shot in hell of winning anything.

the $5K+ bike nonsne is a recent development.

As boring as the race scene in NL can sometimes be, at least most people have their priorities straight.

~$25

But, I can help set up or break down events and race free. I'm hoping I can do this some this year especially.

$30.00 for two races... CBR

$12 per week for a weekly training crit
$25-30 for road race/crit/TT
$50+ for bigger regional races

$30 on avg with a second race on same day between $10 and $15. Prices are up on some events, others are the same.

$17 for ACCC collegiate races. But my club covers those (with my fee money, but whatever).

Crits between $15-$25. RR between $25-$35.

My licenses (Collegiate and USCF) were a total of $60. (Collegiate is a free add-on after USCF)

It's really expensive for a college student. Between gas and entry fees I'm usually spending $50 a weekend to race. One of the Crit Series in Greenville, NC, if I upgrade to 4 by then, I'm thinking about doing 4/5 and 3/4 both days, which would be something like $80 for the weekend.

$12 per week for a weekly training crit
$25-30 for road race/crit/TT
$50+ for bigger regional races

shouldn't your team be paying for this?

re: prize money, I think that prize money should be reduced for Cat 3s - 5s, maybe capped at $50 or $100 per rider. To win, say, $900 at a Cat 3 race is kind of ludicrous and encourages riders not to upgrade (and it also drives races to bankruptcy, which was the case for the $900 first place Cat 3 race).

Other ways of addressing prizes (because prizes do help pay for race day costs) could include hotel fees covered (stage races), gas money based on home address slash distance, etc etc. I don't know a good formula but I think this is one of the big things causing sandbagging problems in the Cat 3s. There are riders who used to consider a $1500 weekend (i.e. prize money = $1500) a normal/decent week. Guys like that would upgrade to Cat 2 if the cap for a race was $100 (but no cap for Cat 2s).

btw the most I've seen in a day is $90-100, and that's at my own race. But I think overall I've made maybe $1000 in prizes in 25 years, more than half of that at my race (which I guess is one reason I promote it lol).

Collegiate racing is more pure in that folks race for the enjoyment, not to make money.

Primes should be covered in the cap (as far as amount goes per prime), but shouldn't count towards overall prize take for the day. So winning a bunch of $20 primes won't disqualify you from taking $50 or 100 for a win, but there shouldn't be $500 primes for Cat 3s either.

I'm guilty of offering both big prizes ($100 for the win in the P123 field, and prizes go up after we hit 40 riders in the field) and big primes at races (the most was two 3 place primes, $100, $50, $50 for a 3-4 race, and that was in addition to the prize list). The big primes were because we had a lot of riders and we had money to give back. The prizes we just updated over the years (it used to be $25 for the win minimum).

But I think capping prizes would go a long way to making bike racing "amateur" again.

cdr

^

IME when there's a big purse, or a choice prime, i find myself sitting up, because all it's done is lead to stupid racing, and broken bodies and bikes.

i think the biggest amount of cash i got was around $150, for placing 2nd in the lou maltese memorial 15 years ago.

at the time i remember being disappointed. i would have rather have had a trophy.

Tuesday Night Worlds are $10, unless you buy a plate for the season for $60, then it's $8, first race is free. A few times a year there's a prime available, usually some socks or a box of Cliff Bars. Oh yeah.

Circuit & road races, $30 or so.

Those photos of the race signups you post on your blog look like they could have been taken 30 years ago, b. Does everyone wear wool?

EDIT: I'm on a budget, and even the small amount of prize money helps. If I can pay back my entry fee or gas, I'm happy.


But it's a zero sum game. Taking a portion of entry fees to give away as prizes does not make racing more affordable in the aggregate.


At most it creates a situation where lousy racers subsidize good racers, which may be a desired result.

But it can result in unintended consequences such as sandbagging, dangerous racing, and increased barriers to entry for new riders.

But it's a zero sum game. Taking a portion of entry fees to give away as prizes does not make racing more affordable in the aggregate.


At most it creates a situation where lousy racers subsidize good racers, which may be a desired result.

But it can result in unintended consequences such as sandbagging, dangerous racing, and increased barriers to entry for new riders.

Almost everything you pay for in cycling subsidizes better racers. Team dues, clothing, race fees,the majority of that goes to pay for free clothes, bikes, entrance fees for the P12 guys, and bigger payouts for their races.

And truthfully I don't think that people sandbag over $50, I think they do it because they like winning, and don't want to have to start over again at pack fodder.

I do agree with the dangerous racing part, when there is bigger money on the line. Anything north of $250 seems to make people start taking more dangerous chances.

$15 for the weekly training race at Portland International Raceway.

$20-25 for road races, crits, and 'cross races.

$75-100 for three day stage races.

About the same for St. Louis.

$10 weekly training crit

$25 - $35 road races and crits

$75 - $100 for weekend events or omniums

Almost everything you pay for in cycling subsidizes better racers. Team dues, clothing, race fees,the majority of that goes to pay for free clothes, bikes, entrance fees for the P12 guys, and bigger payouts for their races.



I'm not sure that's universally true. On our team, there's no dues; race reimbursements I believe are the same regardless of category, sponsor discounts (unfortunately no free bikes) are available to everyone regardless of category, and I think we all pay the same price for kits.

As for higher payouts, I think the P,1,2 registration is often a bit higher around here, which goes to pay for higher payouts, and to the extent there is money coming from race sponsors, it rightfully should go to higher categories that people might actually care to watch.

If anyhing you could argue that the higher cats subsidize us by sharing sponsorship money that wouldn't be available without them.

The season opener here in Prospect Park was $25, which (I think) is not any more expensive than it was last year.

Tuesday Night Worlds are $10, unless you buy a plate for the season for $60, then it's $8, first race is free. A few times a year there's a prime available, usually some socks or a box of Cliff Bars. Oh yeah.

Circuit & road races, $30 or so.

Those photos of the race signups you post on your blog look like they could have been taken 30 years ago, b. Does everyone wear wool?

while i've seen a few old dudes in wool, i wouldn't say everyone wore it. thing is, the dutch - generally - aren't very obsessive about how they dress. nikki terpstra, well... he's different.

which one is that?

typical is $25 - $35 for a weekend race, regardless of crit/RR
wed. race is $15 during the summer

bike racers are a funny lot of people. folks on $5k worth of equipment for their hobby ***** and moan about having to spend $30 to use it.

by comparison, tryathletes spend up to $500/entry for these iron man things they do, sell out in minutes or have to reserve years in advance, and aside from like 3 or 4 people that enter, have no shot in hell of winning anything.

Are you freaking serious?!?!?!

while i've seen a few old dudes in wool, i wouldn't say everyone wore it. thing is, the dutch - generally - aren't very obsessive about how they dress. nikki terpstra, well... he's different.

Whatever; those photos have a great feel to them. Guys in parkas...stout lot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/openingday.jpg

Hope you don't mind the theft/hijack.

Are you freaking serious?!?!?!

It's all true, if that's what you're wondering.

And I thought race entry fees were high.

Are you freaking serious?!?!?!

Yes... my wife is one...

But how many $500 Ironman races to tri guys do each year? At $30 or $40 a race and some weekends have 3 races (the second race on the same day is usually $15) it doesn't take long to add up to $500 or $1000 in bike race entry fees. Commit to your team for the entire schedule and things really start to add up quickly.

But it is still cheaper than racing motorcycles or cars.

Yes... my wife is one...

Then you don't see much of her with her 20+ hour training weeks...