Do Club Cyclists Still Race for Money?
Maybe the nomination fees should instead go towards improving the racing scene. Most would agree that the Cycling SA is struggling in its present form to cater for the various disciplines of racing. Most of the resources seem to be invested in the Rendition Homes Series and the Cyclo Sportif Series. The road season seems to be up to the 'bigger' clubs, or should I say established clubs to organise and if you ride a fixed gear, you're bang out of luck. Cyclocross seems to have caught the attention of some but time will tell if resources are invested in this area.
Cycling is one of those sports that lends itself to marketing and promotion because there are thousands of people out there buying road bikes - most for the first time. Wouldn't a sponsor love to see a video of the race finish and a 2 minute interview of their sponsored winner posted on the Cycling SA website at the conclusion of the race? At the moment they aren't even seeing the results.
At the moment, Cycling SA are ticking their strategic plan boxes by adding innovations such as Times 7 and recruiting new clubs and riders (even if they only ride the sportifs). But there doesn't seem to be any indication that they are trying to improve racing as a whole or looking to the future and making use of new technology. Their webpage could be an interactive treasure trove of cycling goodies. Links to circuits with elevations, google flyovers, videos of race finishes, more links to sponsor sites, rider interviews, rider profiles, a forum for riders to discuss races and events - the web pages is only limited by the imagination.
Incidentally I have yet to see the new strategic plan for 2012-2013. I would hope that it includes something worthwhile about innovation and marketing. The popularity of STRAVA amongst cyclists, both racing and recreational is saying something about how athletes like to compare themselves to others and against their own previous performances. At the moment we are lucky if we see the top 10 results posted - and this takes up to a week sometimes. Ironically the Alphutte results seemed to be out quicker than usual this year and there was no Times 7 involved in this race.
So my question is, are cyclists still racing for money or would the nominations fees be better off going back in to the federation to improve races and the development of the sport across all disciplines?
It pains me to say it but in retrospect, Max was good for Cycling SA.
PS What happened to the Hell of the North? Not enough interest? Surely Cycling SA weren't expecting riders to enter a 2 day race an hour and a half away that they were told virtually nothing about until a couple of months before the event?