Should we have elite cycling?

Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richards asks whether elite cycling gets more people riding.

It’s been a huge January of cycling. The Bay Crits, Road Nationals, Tour Down Under, Cadel’s Road Race and the Jayco Herald Sun Tour have all been pedalled and won. I love seeing the elite pedal. They make it look so easy to chew up a hundred plus kilometres then still have enough gas in the tank to unleash a withering burst.  

But there is a question that should be asked: are these world class cycling races getting more bums on __bike seats? You would think the answer is obvious because whether we like admitting it or not, we copy the behaviour of people we admire. But like all sports in Australia, the numbers of people signing up to race isn’t ballooning. Essentially, there are three reasons why.

First, as one of the wise old heads that taught me sports marketing used to say, "when the circus comes to town the trapeze shop isn’t that busy." This translates to: we only emulate the behaviour of our heroes if it’s easy to replicate. 

It’s easy to wear clothes like Kim or Kanye: they’re in every second shop. It’s easy to copy your Mum and make your kids wait an agonising half an hour after eating before going swimming. But pedal as well as Richie Porte or sprint like Usain Bolt? Only a few deluded souls think they can do that. 

Second, is a change I call the big tyre effect. Every morning as I ride to work I see people outside a gym flipping over a huge tractor tyre. There are two interesting things about this. First, they’re paying someone to tell them to move a huge tyre then move it back again. Second, none of them are ever going to play competitive sport. 

We used to train so we played better. Now people train so they look better and feel better. They don’t want to compete. They don’t want to be controlled by a governing body. They don’t care if they win. There isn’t actually a person to beat. Well that’s not entirely true as they are in competition with themselves and their own feeling of self.

Then there’s the third reason: a huge proportion of __bike riders actually have no interest in sport or elite cycling. For many it’s a pastime like going to the zoo or the movies. For many it’s a domestic task like vacuuming or gardening. The pastime and domestic task people actually have no interest in testing themselves. They just want to have some fun and get to where they need to go as painlessly as possible.

So if numbers of competing cyclists isn’t increasing the inevitable question is: should we even have a summer of cycling? Our various governments certainly think so: they plough millions of dollars into making sure the stars pedal in Australia. But of course they realise that elite racing is not about getting people active. It solves other problems such as attracting tourists, enhancing our international reputation and fuelling our national pride.

I’ve heard some bike advocates argue that the elite racing money would be better spent on new bike paths or driver training or television commercials. But why does it have to be a choice? Why can’t we have it all? 

The bike world shouldn’t think there’s just one carcass to fight over. We should be working to grow the herd and get every part of bike riding humming. Sport, recreation and domestic all need to be healthy and growing. The more riders in each the greater potential cross over.

A great example is how elite riders Simon Clark and Brendan Canty talk about the Great Victorian bike Ride or Around the Bay as an important part of their progression to the big dance.

So here’s my conclusion, even though elite cycling is not going to waken our country from its inactivity slumber, it’s an important part of bike riding ecosystem. So for bike people who are upset that elite cycling is getting government money instead of recreation or domestic riding, don't try and take it from the racers, instead go after something unrelated, like freeways or $50 billion submarines.

Image credit: Brian Townsley, 2017.