Thread: USA Cycling.org
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Old 06-26-17, 07:52 PM
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Alaska Mike
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How are they doing? In terms of growing the sport of road racing in the US? Pretty crappy, based on participation numbers I've seen.

It's not all their fault, though. There has never been so many competitive outlets out there. Triathlons, fondos, non-USAC sanctioned races/group rides, and even stuff like Zwift competes for a shrinking segment of an increasingly sedentary and non-physically competitive public. The outlets for physical fitness have exploded in the last 30 or so years, yet somehow being called "Lance" while out riding by a redneck in a F-350 has lost its appeal. The brutal math of how many winners can emerge from a race and the probability of being made to feel less than superior turns off a lot of people. Socks as a winner's prize don't compare to a participant medal and a swag bag just for showing up. It's a niche sport with a relatively high bar for entry (financial, fitness...), and an even higher bar to keep showing up race after race.

What they didn't seem to realize for the longest time is that to make more elite riders, you need to expose a crap-ton of introductory riders. Out of a gazillion introductory riders, maybe you'll get a thousand that stick with it for a couple years. Out of that thousand, maybe 100 will progress past Cat 4. Out of that 100, maybe 10 will have some promise. Out of that 10, maybe 1 will work out. That said, without exposing the crap-ton of riders to the sport, chances are that kid will do something useful with their life instead.

What meaningful rider creation/development initiatives have they really tried? How many middle and high school leagues have they championed? How many bike manufacturers have they teamed up with to comp racing licenses for introductory riders who buy a new race bike? Lower the bar to give the sport a shot, and keep it low initially to pursue it.

Check out GS Andiamo and other similar clubs for where they should be going. Any sort of stabilization of current trends or even a reverse will come from the bottom up. Nobody is going to aspire to be an elite in this sport when there isn't anyone below them left.
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