Check out all the great stuff going on for the BBBQ weekend!
Our BBBBQ race flyer and maps are posted! Plans are coming together to have an
other great point to point road race with lots of volunteers to keep every safe. We are very excited to have our drawing givaway of a set of HED. JET Wheelset for all those that pre-register.
We also have a request in with the county to have the road closed for the sprint.
Enjoy some great racing till then!
Tim Putnam
North Iowa Spin
NorthIowaSpin@yahoo.com
8 comments:
While I am not one to complain a lot, and I appreciate you putting in the time and effort to sponsor a race, I fail to understand the rationale of paying out more moeny to the cat 4/5 race than is paid out to the Pro/1/2 race. Paying double to the cat 4/5 race than is paid to the Pro/1/2 race does not make much sense.
A solid race should try to attract the top competition in the area and many Pro/1/2 riders live on a small budget and race winnings are often what support them. Also, there is no incentive to upgrade if, for example, the 40+ category is paid the same as the Pro/1/2 category.
I fail to understand this logic.
Take mountain biking, for example, the only race that is paid out is the expert race. I understand that road racing is not this way, but it should me much more similar. I do not feel it is fair to pay out moeny to a rider in the 40+ category or even more so a rider in the cat 4 30+ category who would not be able to top 10 in the Pro/1/2 field.
The only way that the payout scheme for this race makes sense is if the logic of the race is to attract low-level talent. I would not anticipate a strong showing from 1/2 in the area, which is unfortuate when the strong Minnesota racing scene is just up north a few miles.
Again, I do not really understand the logic behind the payout totals--any help would be appreciated!
Again, thank you for putting on the race and all of your hard work.
We appreciate your feedback. We have offered larger payouts the past two years in the Cat 1/2/3 categories vrs 4/5's, yet the 1/2/3 numbers were low.
Our race payout for the 1/2/3's is up $100 over last year and total payout we have increased by $750. we have invested the monies to the categories that have had a strong showing and to help grow the sport by encouraging these categories.
The numbers who have been showing up to our race has been the 4/5's. Nearly 3-4x the 1/2/3 combined.
If our fund raising goes well we hope will be offering more cash payouts for the 1/2/3. We will post a new race flyer if all goes well.
Thanks for you comments and hope we start to draw the 1/2/3 to support higher. Please email us directly with suggestions you may have and leave your email so we can contact you directly.
Thank you for your response. I understand that putting on races is hard and I appreciate your time and efforts.
As an aside, I just wonder if more people would want to upgrade if there was more moeny in the higher races. As it is now, there is no sane reason for a cat 4 rider to upgrade, as he will go from a race (2 races, that is) that pays 750 to a cat 3 race that only pays out 375. And, there is no reason for a cat 3 to upgrade, because he will go from doing well in the cat 3 race (perhaps covering the expense of gas and entry fee) to losing moeny on the trip and finishing in the back of the 1/2 race.
Now, for the most part, people bike for the fun of it, but when athletes get in the 1/2 area, there is often a large sacrifice that must come along with it--fewer hours at the office, lower paying jobs, etc. so they can train 3-5+ hours a day. But, most cat 3s and 4s have good jobs (hence, the reason they are a 3 or 4, they work, and don't train!).
Again, I do understand your reasoning and it is sad that there have been such low numbers in the 1/2/3 fields. I would be interested to see the turnout in the 1/2 field this year. Either way, I am looking forward to the race!
Thanks for all your hard work!
Stay tuned and we hope to have some good news for the Cat 1/2/3 races. Your feedback is appeciatted! Give us till Friday 6/8 to get the details together!
If you like what you see please bring those MN 1/2/3 racers and lets see how they do.
What do you think of an IA/MN road race championships RR and Crit series?
Something like an IA/MN race championship serious would be a great idea, but I think it would be very hard to pull off.
Now, the biggest thing is timing and moeny. The more people have to travel with gas at 3.50, the more money that must be on the line. And, again, timing is huge. There has to be a date(s) when there are not other big races going on. For example, if MN is having a local, or somewhat local, race that pays out 1,000+ to the 1/2 race, it is highly, highly unlikely that anybody would come to IA to race for 375. However, if there is a big Iowa race that is positioned on a date where there is nothing going on in MN and WI, there is a strong chance people will come.
It is unfortunate that this is likely how it would work, but when biking is so darn expensive to begin with, sometimes a couple hundred bucks in prize money can go a long ways! And, it takes money to get people do drive 2.5+ hours. Anything around 1-2 hours is reasoable, for a low payout, but anything more is super hard!
As an Iowa rider, a MN/IA race would be interesting. IA racers found out how challenging that big races can be this weekend--see all of the results and how few Iowa riders finished at all, or finished well. I would hope if something like this were to be put on, Iowa would have a decent showing of people, as the Twin Cities has some very, very strong people.
Again, thanks for all of your hard work!
Besides Nature Valley Grad Prix - What MN race pays $1000 to Pro/1/2?
Off the top of my head, for local races (IA, MN, and WI--where people would likely travel), the following pay around 1000 to the 1/2 field (excluding Memorial Day weekend):
Old Capital Crit
Hummer Hammer (Quad Cities)
Wheels on Willy (Madison, WI--May 12)
Giro d'Grafton (Grafton, WI--June 16)
WI State Crit Championships (Elkhorn, WI July 7)
Much of SuperWeek in Wisconsin
I tried to find some info on races in MN, but could not find much. Thus, I would think that it would be pretty easy to pull down a large crowd to make a very competative 1/2 race. If there is a race that pays 400-500 in MN the same day, I would suspect that most MN riders would stay home. But, if there is a race in IA that is within 2-3 hours or so that pays 600-1000, I would suspect that some/many would travel.
This would be pretty easy to do, without requiring any more payout--just pay the cat 4s 375 and shift 375 to the 1/2 race. A 750 payout is very, very good!
My main point being, to put on a bigger Iowa/Minn. race, I think it would be best to shy away from any date where there is a large payout elsewhere and to have a somewhat larger payout for the IA race--meaning, to make it worthwhile for people to skip a local race and drive a long ways to do another race.
I have never put on a race, so what I am saying may make no sense, I am just trying to learn about the whole process!
Would you mind emailing me? Would like to ask you a few questions and get your thoughts off line.
northiowaspin@yahoo.com
If you'd rather stay anonymous that is okay.
T-
Post a Comment