That’s a fraction of the size of most local 5k races. Marathons get like 30,000 people. 200 is minuscule in comparison really.
Racing demographics
- Thread starter Dave Taylor
- Start date
That’s a fraction of the size of most local 5k races. Marathons get like 30,000 people. 200 is minuscule in comparison really.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Surprisingly, Criteriums have seen a monstrous uptick in numbers as Covid Riders have become actual cyclists. During the same time Covid mountain bikers all sold their bikes for $1 on Facebook Marketplace and gave up riding all together. Probably because asking for help as a new mountain biker will not end well for anyone so it's fairly discouraging to get going...
Can you compare them? To go running you get the initiative by the fact that a gazillion people run and you can start by going out your door and just...running.
Biking has greater barriers to entry. And bike racing has further barriers. A 5k is 3.1 miles of running. For most people that's not even the time length of a cyclocross race. A Marathon is a stretch goal for most runners and there's a clear path to go run one.
What percentage of people living in NJ or anywhere really even know mountain biking is a thing? I only got into it because there was a bike path by my ex's place and thought it would be nice to ride and it expanded from there.
It’s not about comparing X & Y. It’s about statistics. Bike racing numbers would need to be collated on a national level to make sense of the data. Local attendance numbers are not big enough to identify trends.
MTB endurance events are really focused on the niche hardcore participant. Many of them are the "ride four hours in a circle" type of thing. Those are the easier ones the hardcore hardcore consider short training races. The tougher ones involve lots of driving, much longer distances and huge climbs with courses where you'll be lucky to stay on track for the entire race. A sliver of the MTBing sliver wants to do that type of stuff.
Gravel doesn't seem that way at all. Sort of like an IM where the goal of most is just to participate and then tell everyone at the office about it.
Gravel doesn't seem that way at all. Sort of like an IM where the goal of most is just to participate and then tell everyone at the office about it.
5k races are awesome if you're into running. Can easily find one a week without traveling far. Low fees. Just need a pair of sneakers. Races start on time and are over quick. Mass start with all ages and genders.
Agree it's really hard to compare to cycling races which require serious commitment and organizational setup.
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
I got this idea after talking with abrt(Annapolis) bike team and another team from dc said similar, that there xc members were increasing.
But how many of them are there?
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Not sure. Doesn’t matter. They are additions to the declining xc race scene. I rode cr with thw nica enduro crew a few weeks back and it was maybe 25 kids?
The nica enduro crew, 25 kids 😂
I supported your thread, dont troll it lol
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Not even joking. Apparently the NICA crew that rides CR races a bunch of enduros.
Thinking back through my racing history ( 1995 - 2015 ), there have been many ups and downs in numbers for XC. I always thought it was the need for change. There is no doubt that there are more main stream bike racing choices to chose from now.
In all my years racing, I have never seen so many juniors on bikes as we have today. I assume it has to do with both NICA and more junior development programs in place. I have been out of racing for most of the last decade, and my experience over the past year at two mass races and Nationals was that the races are mostly juniors. At nationals there were 14 racers in the mens class for my age. There were 60 to 120 in most 2 year age groups for boys. You throw in 2 parents for each kid and the vibe of the whole race has been transformed. Opportunities are out there. I am not certain if or why XC is in the rise, but kids naturally fit into XC from NICA and all those kids have parents that may or may not fit into XC as well. A good portion of kids may switch to enduro as soon as those opportunities become more mainstream.
As pleased as I am to see all this available to kids, I do miss the tech courses and excitement I used to get from racing on gnarly courses and going to watch the naked crit at night. I guess that is the price for being more mainstream.
In all my years racing, I have never seen so many juniors on bikes as we have today. I assume it has to do with both NICA and more junior development programs in place. I have been out of racing for most of the last decade, and my experience over the past year at two mass races and Nationals was that the races are mostly juniors. At nationals there were 14 racers in the mens class for my age. There were 60 to 120 in most 2 year age groups for boys. You throw in 2 parents for each kid and the vibe of the whole race has been transformed. Opportunities are out there. I am not certain if or why XC is in the rise, but kids naturally fit into XC from NICA and all those kids have parents that may or may not fit into XC as well. A good portion of kids may switch to enduro as soon as those opportunities become more mainstream.
As pleased as I am to see all this available to kids, I do miss the tech courses and excitement I used to get from racing on gnarly courses and going to watch the naked crit at night. I guess that is the price for being more mainstream.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
What, do you guys race night crits in clothing down there or something?
No, just saying that the national mtb bike race scene has evolved. Things are more family friendly now. The days of the Mt Snow naked crit are past. If you are looking for shenanigans, you may need to go to a SS race. 😉