MissP has been doing some bike road racing this year, something that she has always wanted to do and it’s been going well. We have been to two Ontario Cup Road races so far and for the most part they have been reasonably well run. However, it’s a whole different world than going to any of the even a mid-sized triathlons in the province. It’s a real eye-opener to go back and forth as we have been doing between the two worlds of triathlons and bike road racing. Triathletes don’t know how good they have it. These O-Cup bike road races are the biggest in the province, but it is clear that these things are being run on a bare-bones, shoe-string budget. As I said, the two races that we have been to have been well run, but it’s clear that they are just covering the basics. It’s strange because road cycling is in a bit of an upswing in participation numbers, but compared to triathlons their are few sponsors and other than the race, nothing really going on. When you are at a triathlon here you feel like you are at a significant event, but with the road races other than the racing itself, it’s a bit underwhelming.
Part of the problem as I see it, is that the model for triathlon race managment was set some time ago in that a race must cover all it’s expenses by the entry fees and then sponsors contribute products and services needed on top of that. In cycling, the cyclists expect that some or more of that cost to be born by sponsors. Well if their are no or few sponsors( and there does not seem to be that many in road racing compared to triathlon), what then? For a 100+K road race, racers are paying about $50 and many bike racers think that is a lot. However, you can’t enter an equivilant triathlon, say a 1/2 IM distance in North America for less than $100.
What is the bike road racing scene like elsewhere?
I haven’t done any of the O’Cups this year, but I do road race in Ontario, and fully agree. There are exceptions, we have the weekly Seenite Criterium series in Ottawa, there are no prizes or even structured results, it’s just bragging rights and a training race, but those are only $40 for th season (plus a citizen permit if you don’t hold one or a UCI licence).
But in general, most road races tend to be more bare bones than the tri/du events we typically see. The cost is lower, but people complain more, perhaps it’s the target demographics of Tri vs. Road cycling. One thing that I have seen that’s different is that Quebec races are much cheaper and tend to have better organisation and sponsor support (too bad they make us S4s race with the S3s, oh well, I technically have the points to upgrade to S3 anyways). I haven’t made it to a Quebec race yet (I am doing the OBC Grand Prix which is FQSC sanctioned in July), but alot of people from our team and other teams in Town have been heading over for those races because of the better competition, organisation, and lower cost.
I spent the past 3 seasons doing road races in Ontario, Nationals, and a few Quebec races with an ironman each year and a few subaru races thrown in. My observations are this, and yes I might get flamed for this by the roadies but please note, triathletes consider me a roadie and roadies consider me a tri-geek!!
What Tri’s do right that O-cups do wrong:
#1 - timing chips. I cannot for the life of me get why road racing refuses to do this. There is 1 race that does, Gatineau, put on by the Ottawa cycling club and that is the best run road race I have ever done. #2 - registration. Triathlon encourages pre-race registration online by providing a discount. The race day registration process is flawless and spread out from table to table, and you get “something” like a swag bag. Road racing has 1 table to get your bib numbers, sign your waiver, buy a 1 day license if need be etc. all causing long line ups and little organization. Pre-race registration is used ad hoc. And people ask why races in Ontario rarely start on time? The one race that has pre-registration only has proven it works by the number of racers that show up. #3 - community. Triathlon welcomes newbies, triathletes use the port-a-potty that are typically supplied in abundance by the organizer, and share is race stories afterwards with their adversaries. Road racing, even once you break into the clique and prove yourself by either winning a race/placing/or making people hurt do none of that. In fact, roadies pee on neighbours lawns, leave garbage behind etc. It really is a different lense on how to treat the community. Just today there was a warning posting on a local cycling site about cleaning the garbage up around the ontario championship course that cyclists are training on. #4 - govern. OAT has a template that they DEMAND is followed otherwise you do not get sanctioned. I am sure the OCA does too but I have yet to see consistency from one race to the next. The one race mentioned above that has pre-race registration is well run and races take off on time but otherwise races are late and when late they are cut short (even at a national champioship level like the master race in quebec 2006) #5 - value for money. Yes, muskoka this weekend is about $100. A road race is around $50. But what do you get from it. For $100 you get an accurate placing, a community, swag bag, food, and a town that embraces you. For $50 at a road race you get safety pins and if you get dropped, pulled OFF THE COURSE…in fact, 2006 I raced in a break for 60K, got caught, formed another break and after 110K of hard racing with only 10 riders left in the front from 90 starters I finished 7th in the sprint up the hill. I was exhausted but so happy to have really RACED hard in a road race. The next day (yes, next day!) the results were published and they had me as DNF because of no timing chips and missing me in the finish line video.
All this said, I have met some of my best mates from cycling. Great friends but it wasn’t easy to break into the clique of the road scene. I really felt I had to “prove” I belonged. I don’t find triathlon to be that way.
So with Fleck here, be grateful how great we have it at every race this year.
Do you think this has anything to do with the fact that road racing seems to be harder for the normal age grouper to get into? Signing up for a running race or a triathlon is easy. Getting into road racing is much more complicated and seems to be done by the more serious athletes. I would love to do some time trials, if for no other reason than to get in some good hard training, but I don’t have a clue where they are, how I sign up, whether or not they’ll laugh at how slow I am, etc.
Is there a smaller field in these road races than say at the Subaru triathlon series here in Ontario?
Fleck, the bike roadracing scene will never flourish like running racing or triathlons. Why? Because in bike road racing your are either with the front group or you are off the back. There is no meaning in gettting a “race time”. So you are either with the front pack, or you end up DNFing.
By definition it becomes an elitest sport geared to the front of pack racers. Imagine Ontario triathlon with only the top 50-75 racers in the province. This is what bike racing is. Bike racing is not inclusive. If you are middle or back of the pack, you may as well not show up. There is no concept of self improvement or setting a PB time. Triathlon and running racing is conducive to “raciing yourself”. Mid and back of pack folks can participate and feel good about racing themselves. They add huge revenue and the events become significant.
There you have it. Bike racing will never get to the same participation status that running or even tris get to in North America. By definintion, bike racing ends up being elitest and excludes the bulk of the field that is part of a triathlon.
And I for one say thank goodness for that. I would not want to be in a pack with people who decided it would be fun to jump into a bike race with little to no training as they do in triathlons.
Could you just imagine the number and size of the crashes if they had TNT in road races lol
Some really good points in here. I hate the disorganisation and race day registration at OCA races. They are doing some pre-reg now, but usually you get 3x the number of people who pre-reg who sign up race day.
It does take a while to break into the road scene, and I’ve found a huge difference racing with a team, vs/ independant. I raced indy last year and got pushed around alot, this year I haven’t had the same problem. That said, I do like the fact that in road racing you don’t get as many untrained individuals there. It’s certainly not as much a participation sport as running or tri/du is but, I think that’s more for safety than anything else. That said the one good thing the OCA did was move to the newer categories. With Cat 4/Master3 being a good way to break into racing and then upgrade up to the faster categories.
I fully agree about the lack of chip timing, it makes it much easier to keep track of everything. I mean the commissaires can still give same time for all those who finish in a pack, but at least it keeps track of people better than a couple of folks watching a video camera at the finish line.
One thing I do like from the cycling world is that they tend to do more in terms of prize money and less in terms of crappy prizes. I know alot of the bigger tri events do that as well for elites, but even in the lower categories, there’s often at least a small payout in bike races.
for sure, getting with a team helps immensly. The Mississauga club is a great way to start. From there I met some great guys and then as I lived in toronto visited a store, built a business relationship and now race for them (La Bicicletta). The experience of a team has been amazing. Like others have said, you do have to be fit and at the front or don’t play ball. Bike racing is NOT weekend warrior. Club rides are for that. Actually, not even the donut ride is weekend warrior anymore!
See you guys at the races, which ever they might be…!
Depends on where you’re at. In Ottawa the OBC has weekly TT’s, you have to be an OBC member or licenced through an OCA club. And then it’s just a $30 fee for the year and you can race every week (thursdays, there are also women’s TTs on tuesdays). The TT’s are where you’ll see more weekend warriors/triathletes out for a workout, you’re liable to see people going for a transition run after their TT as well. There are also the Almonte Bicycle Club 40km TT’s every so often near calabogie, some from our team race those as well (one of our guys won the season opener).
Most of the big races don’t have TTs other than pronvincials. There’s no much for stage racing in ontario, except for one in Peterborough. There’s a bit more on the Quebec Side. Most ontario races are “road races” (which tend to be multi-loop courses, but just long enough to not qualify as crits) and crits.
As for the team thing, it really does make a huge difference, in terms of people letting you in in the peloton, and having support to help you out in a race. It does mean you do have to take your licks for teammates. I spent 15minutes straight at 42-48km/h on the front of the peloton in a B crit a few weeks ago, I was tapering for my marathon that weekend, so I just rode hard in the wind for 15min, and then when the peloton swarmed me, I just drifted to the side, sat-up and dropped out. It worked though splitting the race in half, getting rid of all of the squirrels, and set-up one of our guys to make the podium (and if he hadn’t been dumb and solo’d with 3 laps to go he would have won rather than finished 3rd).
Because in bike road racing your are either with the front group or you are off the back.
Indeed, I believe that’s part of the challenge, but that’s bike racing. I was abruptly introduced to this last weekend at the O-Cup race in Kitchener. It’s a long story, but the short version is that my right shoe cleat jammed in a very flukey way after popping out due to hitting a pothole. I had to stop get off the bike and fix it and by the 10K mark of a 65K race, in less than a minute, my day was over. So I chased solo for nearly 50K catching only the stragglers blown out the back of the pack!! What fun? Twenty years of triathlon racing and hundreds and hundreds of miles raced on the bike in triathlons and not one mechanical and in my first road race disaster strikes!
Sorry. Just trying to sneak into the road race scene and see how it goes. Not off to a great start. I was encouraged by the fact that a guy that I ride with regularly from my Club was second in the M3 race and the 4 other guys in my club in the M3 race all finished with the main group.
