Why are Irish road racing numbers down this year? | Sticky Bottle

*Many road races have been well supported this year but, mostly, numbers are down and some events have been cancelled (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

There have been many large fields in road races in Ireland since the season began and some events have even sold out. However, on average, fields are down and some races have been cancelled as a result. Is road racing in crisis or is this a once-off dip as society is still getting back up to full pace after the pandemic? And can we do anything in the short-term that might help? Stickybottle's Louise Hickey explores the issues

By Louise Hickey

The Irish road racing and sportive scenes were very healthy before the pandemic began, though were not exactly riding the wave of a big boom. Once Covid-19 hit, leisure cycling surged in popularity across the country. With the 2020 and 2021 racing and sportive seasons hit by lock-downs, it was unclear how the sport would bounce back this year.

Now 2½ months into the new road racing campaign, a clear picture has emerged. The demand for places in road races is lower. As a result, some race organisers have decided to cancel their events. In other cases, races for different categories have been merged by some promoting clubs to make up for smaller fields.

So what exactly is going on in the Irish road racing scene? Is there a deep-rooted problem we may not be able to shake off for some time? Or are there very specific reasons for numbers being down this year; in the immediate post-Covid period and as the cost of living, especially fuel, has spiked.

Recently, the Tour of Ulster, Tour of the North, and Harps CC all cancelled their events as rider numbers were so low. Just last week, Navan Road Club and Emyvale CC decided to work with each other to ensure their races tomorrow week were supported properly.

Rather than both clubs running a range of events for all categories, Navan Road Club decided to focus on their National Road Series events; for Al-A2 riders, juniors and women. Their A3 and A4 events were cancelled. In Monaghan, Emyvale CC cancelled some of their events in favour of catering for A3 and A4.

When Harps CC was forced to cancel the Mid Ulster GP last month it said it was disappointed to do so. However, on the Thursday morning before the race, figures for the main event - A1, A2, A3, and juniors - showed there were only 42 riders entered. Normally this figure would be around 70-80. For the A4 race, there were only nice entries, compared to other years when there would usually be around 50.

It was a similar case for the Tour of Ulster, which was meant to be taking place from April 30th to May 2nd. In previous years the event attracted 120 riders, but this year only 61 entries were received. When the Mondello Series 2022 began last night, Tuesday, the field was down by 47 per cent compared to the opening round last year. Other races, such as the Gorey Three Day, just about went ahead.

The three-day in Co Wexford would usually be capped at 165 riders, along with a waiting list of cyclists who didn’t get a place. However this year there was a struggle to meet 140 riders. Numbers were boosted this year by the inclusion of a women’s event within the race – with classification leaders’ jerseys and each stage being handicapped, making it more attractive to women.

Some 25 women entered – which was a really positive development. However, their presence partially disguised the fact just 115 male riders entered, compared to a start list of 200 in 2015 and 2016.

On the same weekend last month, junior riders were allowed to ride Rás Mumhan in the Kerry for the first time. That change took at least 20 juniors away from the Gorey field – with 24 juniors entering Rás Mumhan.

But even with those extra junior riders, the Rás Mumhan start list numbered 144 riders – which was very healthy, but well down on from 190 riders just four years ago. In short – numbers for both the Gorey and Rás Mumhan were down compared to five or six years ago, despite Tour of the North being called off this year and despite more women being attracted to Gorey this time around.

Counting the cost

Aside from competitive considerations, the number of riders entering races – especially expensive-to-run stage races – is important due to the cost of running these events. In total it cost €18,000 to run the Gorey Three Day. The fee for riders is €100.

*The inclusion of a women's race within the Gorey Three Day was one of a number of positive developments in the early part of this season (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

“There’s a lot of pressure put on donations and sponsors then,” said organiser, Derek Webb of having to add money to the Gorey entry fees so the race can go ahead. The entry system for the Gorey was opened around the same time as the Tour of the North. When Tour of the North was cancelled Webb said there was no bounce whatsoever from riders looking to ride his race instead.

“Where did all of those riders go; did they just not bother then?” Webb wondered of the riders who found themselves suddenly unable to ride Tour of the North. He believed recent spikes in the cost of living, especially fuel for vehicles needed to get to most open races, may be having a bigger impact on race numbers than we might think.

Webb is currently trying to secure a sponsor for next year to help with the cost of running the Gorey. But even if a sponsor is found, he says the entry fee will not be reduced as every cent is needed to meet the cost of running the event.

“I can’t run the Gorey Three Day, nor any race, for free. I think it’s too easy to blame the entry fees,” he said, adding he believes the road racing calendar is where most of the issues lie. “I just think there’s probably too much quantity and not enough quality,” he said of the sheer number of road races being promoted, especially early in the season.

Webb would rather see two big races being held in Ireland every month rather than five or six smaller events every weekend. He also thinks each province should get behind the idea of promoting five or six really good races per year.

Aaron Wallace of Banbridge CC is another respected and experienced figure in Irish road racing who has run, or helped to run, countless events down the years. Speaking of the Annaclone GP early in the year he said: “To see a field of only 40 A4s, despite it being the only race being promoted within Ulster that weekend gave clear clues”.

The event is used to being sold out within days or even hours, he said. Wallace is worried about what lower numbers in road races will mean for the future of some riders - mainly the number of good riders being found in Ireland to go on and develop to the highest level.

“Numbers have been particularly poor for stage races, which is very troubling, as these events are of key importance for the development of our domestic riders,” he said.

Looking at his feedback from teams and riders, he sees that the cost of competing is a key factor for the drop in riders. On top of that, he knows there’s a cost of living challenge and says “the budget for racing the bike is going to drop down the priority list” when cyclists are facing budgetary pressures in their day to day lives.

*The Tour of Ulster, above, and Tour of the North are two of the biggest stage races in Ireland and both were called off his year as the dip in racing numbers took its toll (Photo: Stephen McMahon)*

Different priorities

A number of promoters who have spoken to stickybottle since the start of the season said it was clear from the first weekend of the season that race numbers were down across the board. They were uncertain what would happen after the pandemic. Some believed numbers may be down as people – especially slightly older riders with children – are prioritizing family life and “playing catch up” with family activities missed over the last two years.

Others said Irish cycling – especially race numbers – often went through peaks and troughs. They believed this year may simply be part of that cycle. One pointed to a recent Cycling Weekly story which highlighted a drop in the number of riders competing in TTs in Britain, saying lower numbers appears to be related to the pandemic and the cost of living, both of which he felt would pass in time.

One experienced figure in Irish cycling did not believe it was time to panic over lower race numbers, pointing to the upcoming Newry Three Day being sold out. He also believed it was time to look at how races were structured and suggested more A2 only events or more races for A2-A3 riders only.

"The step up from A3 to A2 is effectively a step up to A1," he said. "One weekend you're an A3 and the next you're an A2 and you're racing with A1s almost all the time; riders getting their legs pulled off and it's discouraging them."

A race promoter who did not want to be named said Cycling Ireland needed to be more proactive in finding out why race numbers were down and trying to address the problem. However, he also believed there was no need for panic, saying this year was "always going to be unusual coming out of Covid".

“(Cycling Ireland) don’t organise races so they don’t think they have to step in and address this,” he said. “They are saying they have more members than ever but they seem to be putting a lot of effort into getting more new members rather than doing something for the road racing members they already have.”

*The competition to win races remains intense, but will lower numbers now mean fewer riders coming through to the top tier in the next few years? (Photo: Toby Watson)*

He also believed Irish road racing had become too dependent on pre-entries, saying some clubs wanted to cancel a race unless entries were high up to five days before an event. But he felt strongly riders should be allowed to enter on the line on the day.

Race organiser Ger Campbell of Jons Drogheda Wheelers sees no simple solution to the problem of lower race numbers. He believes we are in strange times, coming straight from the Covid-19 pandemic and that many riders still have not returned to racing. He also pointed to the spike in the cost of living as a real issue.

“There may not be the same money available to some riders to travel to these events and if you throw in an overnight stay then it really ramps up the cost of racing,” he said.

He explained the Tour of Ulster was most likely impacted by costs, saying “the proximity of Easter this year to the May Bank Holiday weekend didn’t help the Tour of Ulster”. Riders, he said, “were faced with two expensive weekends just two weeks apart”.

The upside

Orla Hendron, an experienced and well known rider on the domestic scene, continues to race and also organises events. She told stickybottle a number of factors were coming into play with lower race numbers this year. And she also said organising clubs were, perhaps, sometimes being unrealistic about the level of pre-entries they can secure in the week before their events.

Hendron is currently running the Orwell Wheelers Beginners League in Corkagh Park, Dublin, every Tuesday evening and said sometimes pre-entries are very low until right before the races. For example, for one recent round she had just six entries five days before the race but that jumped to 24 riders the day before the event.

“I personally think we have gone back to our old ways of leaving everything to the last minute to enter races,” she said. “I feel race organisers themselves are panicking."

Hendron explained that before online pre-entry for races became the norm in Irish cycling, a race organiser “wouldn’t know how many (riders) were coming to their race until the day” of the events. She added, from the riders’ perspective, they could wake up on the morning of an event and make a decision about riding, meaning they would not have to pre-plan as they could enter at the venue on the day.

Hendron believed there was now a degree of “panic” among some organisers when pre-entries appeared to be low a week out from their event. “It’s the nature of the Irish to sign up late, I’m guilty of it myself,” she said, adding “cancelling races is not the way to go”.

“To make up fees for racing, maybe more support should be given from Cycling Ireland,” she said. “I think, as well, maybe we’d be better off having less racing, but just better racing. But definitely cancelling races is not the way to go.”

She also said while some events had been cancelled for lack of numbers of late, there was still plenty of growth in Irish cycling. And she believed those positive trends should not be overlooked.

Hendron said more women were racing and pointed to other developments – such as the new publishing rider rankings for women – as clear of signs of progress. However, she believed there could be more buy-in from some clubs in the intermediate league she is running every Tuesday, for example.

“I think they (Cycling Ireland) need to be more strategic with the calendar, so that at least once a month there is a women’s race,” she added.

Ireland’s biggest stage race, Rás Tailteann has not been affected by the trend of lower race numbers. Race director Ger Campbell said that “there should be 120 Irish riders taking to the start line together with 50 visiting riders”.

He hopes that the new time slot on the calendar, which puts it at a month later than usual “will give the riders the incentive to race on longer into the summer months in July and August and thereby ensure the success of events during those months, when traditionally field sizes would start to fall off”.

Time will tell whether that works and many race organisers will be hoping numbers do not fall further in the months ahead. Whether things will improve for next year as the pandemic hangover lifts remains to be seen.