For many years, cyclists have enjoyed summer sportives, spurred on perhaps by the Tour de France in early summer. However, new research we’ve conducted reveals that the sportive is falling in popularity.
The survey, completed by 1,396 British cyclists, reveals that three in four see sportives as either something to be avoided (32.4%) or merely a way of training for a more important challenges (40.6%).
The desired challenges varied greatly, with the majority wanting to either travel to Europe for an event such as the Etape, Marmotte or a Tour / Giro climb (29.4%) or to undertake a multi-day ride (28.6%), with Lands End to John O’Groats (8.2%) and the Ride Across America (6.3%) being the top choices.
The survey also hinted that the Giro d’Italia may be more influential on cyclists than the Tour, with six times as many people (293) seeing the country as the ultimate destination to ride vs France (48).
Let us know in the comments below whether you believe the sportive is falling in popularity. If you’re looking for a sportive or challenge to complete take a look at our top 10 challenges for 2015.