Unfortunately, the new format has zero interest from me….i really hope they can eventually get back to the original format, but my guess is that SBT is on its last legs.
The fact that the Sat event is not a “race” will do nothing to quiet the ranchers (and yes, I know the change was for logistical reason involving the state police)…the ranchers will still encounter many riders during the event week and they will still get just as upset and still complain until they eventually kill the whole thing.
Not so sure about that, but I think the new format is a bit of a farce anyway. Taking away timing and/or awards will reduce the racing aspect on saturday, but it’s silly to think there won’t be people treating saturday as a race. Cyclists will be cyclists and some can’t even go on a group ride without trying to make it a race. That said, if taking away timing and prizes on saturday makes the cops and locals believe it’s not a race (based on their interpretation of the law), it sounds like a good solution.
My bigger issue would be the short distance for the sunday amateur race. If I were wanting to race SBT, that would be a big turn off for me and probably sway me toward the longer saturday event (the “not a race” race). I assume it’s related to logistics and the slower amateurs potentially keeping roads closed longer, but ~75 miles isn’t going to appeal to many who prefer the longer distances. I’ll do local races that are under 100m, but all of the “big” gravel races I’d bother travelling to are at least 100m.
la Grind gravel stage race in Emporia around the first of may is awesome. Only 2 days (100/65), but a much lower key way to race the gravel around Emporia compared to unbound. No lack of love from the locals and all proceeds go to charity.
I have heard if that. Will have to add it to my list. For me, 2 days of gravel is always rough on my body. I’ve done a 2 day stage race with 75 miles each day and you definitely start out day 2 taking a bit to warm up
Agree on the Blue course being great this year! I will really miss racing on that course. Or maybe the “ride” will still really be a race, just without a podium and awards-I mean, apparently there will still be timing, and a start and finish line… The “circuit” course is a lot less interesting to me than a nice long 100 mile loop, but, maybe I should try it anyway, perhaps I’ll like it.
Got a registration announcement email from SBT this morning. So, there will be a “timed ride” (as they put it) on Saturday (has nothing to do with racing, obviously, hahaha). And then “race” on Sunday. Entries to both are lottery-based.
If the above is correct, then it makes zero sense to me at all. I mean… I understand it’s the first year in a new format, time constraints and all that, but if you split things like this - it would make a lot more sense to setup some sort of qualification process for the race. Wouldn’t it?
What process? there are no other races in the US affiliated with SBT, so you are starting from scratch…and race entry has been based on a lottery for a number of year now. If you didn’t need to qualify before, why start now?
Honestly, I think the “miss” here is the order of the events. I think if they did the race on Saturday, you’d get more participants from Sunday’s ride to come out and watch the race. With the race on Sunday, I would imagine a fair number of Saturday particpants go home on Sunday (save a day of accomodations / meals / etc).
And if I were racing, I would be tempted to race on Saturday and then do the ride on Sunday (at a leisurely pace). Neither one of the events alone is enough to entice me back to SBT, but if I could do both, it would be much more interesting.
I’d say it used to be “an event”. Some would treat it as a race, some would just enjoy their time on the course. I do love that approach. But my point is that it’s not the same anymore. And maybe that calls for different selection criteria. Like… many of us here aren’t good enough to win races, yet we race, right? Some of us are kinda good to be able to qualify for something like UCI world champs. Which in my opinion is already an achievement in and of itself. But some are not even there. And that makes me think that SBT now has this opportunity to create their own thing that you can get in based on your results. Get smoked, and still be able to brag about. Because if you don’t want to put in that kind of work - it’s fine, there’s a Saturday ride for you.
Really, I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do with their lives and events. I just feel like next year’s format is both a huge mess, but also a big opportunity to create something cool at the same time.
This is almost certainly the result of the reduced number of participants but still needing to hit certain financial thresholds to make the race a worthwhile endeavor. If volume goes down, price has gotta go up to make the same number.
