Fwd: Meeting assets for New England Crit history and future are ready!
Adam Myerson
Adam F. Myerson
President and Head Coach
Cycle-Smart, Inc.
Northampton Cyclocross
37 Mallet Street
Boston, MA 02124
(413) 204-3202 Mobile
ad...@cycle-smart.com
He, Him, His
Begin forwarded message:From: Zoom <no-r...@zoom.us>Subject: Meeting assets for New England Crit history and future are ready!Date: 2025 December 21 at 8:47:55 PM EST
Meeting assets for New England Crit history and future are ready!
Meeting summary
Quick recap
The meeting focused on discussing the current state and future of criterium racing in New England, with Adam leading a historical overview of past races and their significance. Participants shared experiences and challenges of organizing events, highlighting the decline in participation and the need for more sustainable models. The conversation explored various approaches to reviving the racing scene, including the potential for a new series or individual events like Devin's, while acknowledging the importance of grassroots efforts and community involvement. The group also discussed the role of clubs in supporting racing and the need for more racers, with suggestions for creating training opportunities and increasing visibility. The conversation ended with an agreement to continue the dialogue and explore ways to collaborate and grow the sport.
Next steps
- Alex: Work on synthesizing an action list from the meeting discussion
- Adam: Email out the meeting notes and video link to the email list
- NEBRA (or relevant party): Develop a generic/boilerplate sponsorship proposal template for new race organizers
- NEBRA (or relevant party): Consider creating or sharing best practices documentation for race organizers
- Race organizers: Explore the possibility of creating more grassroots events similar to Devin's race, including potential use of Ninigrit
- Clubs/Teams: Consider stepping up to organize new races or revive past events (general call to action)
- Clubs/Teams: Focus on creating new racers at the local level through training rides, clinics, or entry-level events
- Race organizers: Investigate the possibility of reviving specific past races (e.g., Hilltowns, Greenfield, Putney, Westfield) with attention to volunteer needs
- Race organizers: Consider forming a season-long series by coordinating with existing races to agree on standards, categories, and points (if there is interest and capacity)
- Race organizers: Share and collaborate on successful sponsorship proposals and best practices (where appropriate and with permission) to help new organizers
- NEBRA (or relevant party): Consider developing a website or resource documenting old New England road race courses for potential revival
- Race organizers: Reach out to local economic development departments, chambers of commerce, and merchants associations to build community and sponsor support for races
- Race organizers: Review and utilize the existing best practices link shared by Alan during the meeting
- Race organizers: Consider scheduling and coordinating races to avoid conflicts and maximize turnout, including attention to the road/cross season transition
- Race organizers: Evaluate the feasibility of running more low-barrier, grassroots, or weekly training races to grow the base of racers
- Race organizers: Share successful models (e.g., New Haven, Devin's) and lessons learned with the broader community to encourage new events
Summary
Cycling Event Challenges Discussion
Adam introduced the meeting, explaining that while it started as a discussion about Crit Week, it evolved into a broader conversation about addressing challenges in cycling event organization. He emphasized the importance of sharing historical experiences to help new organizers avoid past mistakes, while also acknowledging that some lessons must be learned through experience. The meeting aimed to explore why certain cycling events, particularly crits, have seen declining participation and discuss potential solutions to revitalize these events.
Preserving New England's Cycling Legacy
The group discussed the history and current state of cycling in New England, with Adam sharing his personal experiences and Chris providing insights on past race sponsorship and community support. They explored how the sport has evolved, noting a shift from club-supported, locally-sponsored races to events that struggle to find funding and support. The conversation highlighted the challenge of preserving cycling history and expertise as new generations enter the sport, with Adam expressing a desire to pass on knowledge and experience to help grow the sport.
New England Cycling's Evolution
Adam discussed the history of cycling races in New England, highlighting how clubs were once a central part of organizing events and supporting racers. He explained that USA Cycling eliminated the requirement for clubs to organize events to professionalize race organization, but this change led to a decline in grassroots racing. Adam shared memories of the Atlantic Cup series, which revived old races and brought professional events to new towns, though it eventually ceased for various reasons. He emphasized the importance of balancing grassroots and professional racing, citing Dairyland as a model for successful event organization and community engagement.
Decline of Professional Cycling Events
Adam discussed the decline of professional cycling events, particularly in New England, highlighting how the number of UCI races decreased significantly over the years. He mentioned the challenges faced by the New England cyclocross series and the need to balance race levels and series participation. Adam also shared his experiences with various cycling events, including Super Week, Athens Twilight, and the Charlotte Criterium, emphasizing the evolution of prize money and the impact of large-scale events on the sport. He concluded by reflecting on the current state of cycling races, noting that many events still offer similar prize money as they did 40 years ago, indicating a lack of progress in the industry.
Cycling Race Organization Challenges
The discussion focused on historical and current challenges in organizing cycling races, particularly crits and cyclocross events. Chris and Adam recalled the high participation levels of the past, with races like Fitchburg and Somerville attracting 200 riders, compared to current numbers. Jed inquired about mail-in registrations, and Adam explained the registration process and financial challenges of running races today, including the need for sponsorship and the impact of reduced rider numbers. The conversation explored different models for organizing race series, comparing the advantages of a single organizer owning all events (as in the early days of cyclocross) with a confederation of independent organizers, highlighting the importance of trust, consensus, and shared revenue to ensure the sustainability of the events.
Cyclocross Racing Series Challenges
Adam discussed the challenges and considerations for organizing cyclocross racing series, emphasizing the need to adapt to current trends and rider preferences. He highlighted the importance of setting standards and creating quality events, while acknowledging the potential pitfalls of series, such as FOMO and propping up subpar races. Adam suggested that existing races could be improved by aligning them with agreed-upon standards and formats, and he expressed openness to organizing a series if the necessary groundwork is laid.
Reviving New England Cycling Events
The group discussed reviving cycling events in New England, particularly crit races. Adam proposed creating a series of races to replace the defunct New England Crit Week, which hasn't happened since 2018. He suggested focusing on grassroots events that could draw local and regional riders. Alex shared insights from Devin's race, which he organizes with B2CG. He noted that while the race breaks even, increasing funding wouldn't significantly boost attendance. Laura and Brian discussed their respective races: New Britain and New Haven. Laura highlighted challenges with the yellow line and sharing the park with local users. Brian emphasized the success of the New Haven Grand Prix, attributing it to economic development support, community involvement, and partnerships. The group agreed that while high-level crits are challenging to organize, smaller events could still draw riders and contribute to the cycling community in New England.
Bike Race Scheduling and Community
The group discussed the scheduling of bike races, particularly the Memorial Day event and its conflict with Killington. They explored the importance of community involvement in events like New Haven, highlighting the role of the economic development department and local shops in supporting the races. Adam expressed concerns about the decline of traditional road racing and the rise of gravel races, predicting that gravel racing would eventually face similar safety issues. The conversation concluded with a discussion on the need for more road events in New England and the challenges of organizing races without adequate sponsorship and marketing support.
Bike Racing Event Growth Strategies
The meeting focused on discussing the challenges and opportunities for growing bike racing events, with a particular emphasis on the impact of race series on individual event turnout. Adam highlighted the need to create more racers at the grassroots level rather than simply adding more races, citing his Wednesday night cross practice as an example of successfully growing the sport. The group discussed the potential for collaboration between race organizers, with Joshua suggesting that NEBRA could develop a generic sponsorship proposal for new organizers. The conversation also touched on the importance of the New Haven race and the need to address declining turnout across the sport, with Adam expressing concern about the overlap between road and cross seasons affecting event scheduling.
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