Participation at IVRR was 452 on Saturday; 232 raced Sunday at Ravensdale-Cumberland RR. This is a chilling difference which I don't think can be blamed on the weather alone (sunny Saturday, cloudy & occasionally wet Sunday).
This is the PNW - where yes we've had a very mild winter, but weather happens - if you're going to be in shape you've got to get out and ride rain or shine.
For the same price of admission ($25), the uptake at IVRR was $11,300 verses $5,800 at Ravensdale. The fixed & variable costs of putting on a quality race is substantial (USA Cycling insurance fees & payments to on-site Officials, WSBA equipment rental, port-a-johns, facility use fees, GC racing finish line scoring, volunteer lunches & other reimbursements, etc.).
So while both races probably covered their costs; my strong belief is that the additional legwork to chase sponsors to front prize money and other merchandise for racers to chase is well worth it to the final bottom line.
Of course you could also point to the fact that Saturday races typically fair better than their same weekend Sunday counterparts. I would counter following statistics and facts:
Mason Lake #1 did good for the first RR of the year attracting 464 racers on a Sunday following a Saturday TT. The numbers dropped each subsequent Sunday to 281 for race #2, and 245 for race #3. While participation traditionally drops through the series, the last two Mason Lakes went head to head with the Tour de Dung held the day prior, where 456 raced #1 & 434 raced #2. Very similar numbers to what happened this weekend. Price of admission was the same ($25) & another similarity was that Tour de Dung had prize $$ and merchandise to offer, while Mason Lake offered nothing.
Saturday Icebreaker TT 252 / Sunday Mason Lake #1 464
Saturday TdD #1 456 / Sunday Mason Lake #2 281
Saturday TdD #2 434 / Sunday Mason Lake #3 245
Saturday IVRR 452 / Sunday Ravensdale 232
Race promoters take note!
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could it also be that people race where they know the promoters are good? Prize money aside, 4 Corners hasn't been known as the benchmark for quality race promotion. They changed the course from last year, but didn't mention it in the pre-race. Then when the break got to that corner we all went straight because the corner marshall wasn't really paying attention. U-Turn and a bit of panic ensued.
The womens field was forced to stop at a stop sign with the break only a couple seconds ahead allowed to roll. It helps when actual racers marshall races because they get it.
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