Quote:
Originally Posted by tomato coupe
The fact that sanctioned races are on the decline, while gran fondos (and gravel races) are on the rise, supports the idea that most people find the latter to be more fun.
|
The confounding factor here is also that the promotors/organizers might make a lot more money running fondos/gravel races and other unsanctioned races as well, so there is a strong incentive there.
No officials to pay, no license fees to collect which make the racers think it's too expensive, less rules to pay police or ambulance to be on hand, less rules in general, more money in the pocket of the organizer.
One of the things that always left a bad feeling in my mouth with fondo type rides is you pay the money but you're definitely not guaranteed to get what you paid for, and they are not nearly as upfront about that as what happens at a USCF race. It's not like the officials at a USCF race don't make it clear that you might get pulled from the race if you get dropped or if you do something dangerous.