3750 Ride Members in first four months.
The ambitious plans of USA Cycling to broaden its base among non-racers with the Ride Membership initiative and embrace the blossoming gran fondo scene are off to a promising start.
"We think this is the future of cycling in America," said Jeffrey Hansen.
"The trend — at least at the moment, in the short-term — is away from traditional racing, Cat 1 to Cat 5, and toward what we used to call 'non-competitive events'. We are still struggling with the language, 'non-traditional' for lack of better phrasing, which are still very often very competitive," said Hansen, Acting Membership Director for USA Cycling. "You go there to get your competitive kicks — we do when we do them!"
The confusion over terminology illustrates how new this ground is for the body that runs competitive cycling in America. "We are learning more and more about gran fondos," said Hansen
"It has exceeded expectations, I'd say," said Hansen speaking from USA Cycling's headquarters in Colorado Springs. "We thought maybe a thousand or two by now and it is almost double that."
USA Cycling's CEO, Derek Bouchard-Hall, described the start as "solid" in a blog post.
"It marks an important step change for us from being an organization that you HAVE to register with to take part in events to being something you WANT to be part of", said Hansen. "Not just a licensing body — not the DMV."
On May 15, Bouchard-Hall will start Gran Fondo New York from the lower level of the George Washington Bridge.
A former pro and national champion, 45-year-old Bouchard-Hall is unlikely to struggle too much with the 100-mile course on the West side of the Hudson River, but it is a public endorsement of the organization's new strategy.
"Gran Fondo New York is a marquee event," said Hansen. "We've wanted to do that for years. It was a USA Cycling problem not their problem. The old philosophy was 'there are the rules'."
"We said to ourselves 'what are we doing with our hands tied behind our back?'. We have changed the rules to be much more accommodating."
In the old world you were either a full-on race with race rules and regulations and a higher insurance cost to reflect the risks involved or a non-race.
"There's lots of gray area between a traditional race and a gran fondo, it's a spectrum. The policies are a lot less binary now," said Hansen. "We want to be partners with people like Uli, not just a licensing body."
"I'm impressed how quickly the changes were implemented and greatly appreciate the support and agility while on-boarding GFNY. Being sanctioned by the national governing body is a no-brainer for us at GFNY," said GFNY CEO Uli Fluhme in announcing the move.
The first GFNY in 2011 was sanctioned by the UCI and USA Cycling, but from 2012 to 2015, USAC rules prevented it.
Bouchard-Hall returned the praise.
"We are thrilled that GFNY, one of the best cycling events in America, has chosen to sanction with USA Cycling. We are actively seeking to support great events like these - be they gran fondos, gravel grinders, or sportives - and to have one of the very best choose to partner with us demonstrates the value we can bring to event promoters and their participants. I'm so pleased, in fact, that I intend to be on the start line of the GFNY this year!"
There are bound to be those who question the strategy of increasing USA Cycling's reach at a time of financial stress and when there is more than isolated criticism of current performance.
At several points in the interview Hansen acknowledged that criticism and referenced Bouchard-Hall's commitment to transparency.
"We need to right the ship with our loyal members," he said. "We cannot be a faceless organization."
He disputed, however, the notion that USA Cycling's new direction would either distract from its support for elite cycling or overstretch the organization.
"Core to this whole project — the lead time was so long because we did not want to do it if it took away from our core competency," said Hansen.
"This is the start of an important moment for us. it is a fine balance - we do not want to move too quickly and abandon our core audience, but we do want to grow our audience," said Hansen.
"By broadening the base of the membership we can not only bring more people into racing .... also reduce the burden."
That burden is because, unlike some more television friendly sports where revenue flows from elite competition down to the grassroots, it is the grassroots — until now amateur racers — that has to fund the development of the elite.
The equation is more members = more revenue = less reliance on racing members for elite development and Olympic programs.
Ride Membership is being positioned as a way of standing alongside US Olympians as well as offering value for money for your $50 on a stand-alone basis.
- $25,000 of accident medical coverage at any fun-ride or gran fondo ($30 value)
- One year subscription to Bicycling Magazine ($15 value)
- Team USA Cycling t-shirt, phone pouch, and sticker ($30 value)
- One-day racing license ($15 value)
- Insider tips and advice from Team USA Cycling coaches and athletes
- Discounts with Team USA Cycling partners
"We wanted to make it a rich package for the gran fondo rider or the former racer. The insurance piece is key as something we really believe in is protecting our members," said Hansen. "It's all aimed at that audience of people who aren't necessarily gung-ho about crits, but love to get out there and ride"
According to Hansen, to this point many of the Ride Members signed up have been holders of existing race licenses that have added Ride Membership for an additional $30 as they renewed their ability to race. Ride Membership was advertised during the broadcast of the World Championships in Richmond and also in the cycling press.
Hansen is open about the inspiration drawn from USA Cycling's equivalent in the UK, the hugely successful British Cycling.
"Absolutely, They have done an amazing job, over half their members are Ride Members," said Hansen. "We spoke to them and learned a lot from their experiences."
British Cycling has seen membership levels soar from 15,000 in 2005 to over 100,000 today in a country of around 65 million.
Hansen laughed giddily at the thought of signing up a similar proportion of the population in the USA. USA Cycling has 62,000 members from a population of circa 320 million.
British Cycling has had considerable tailwinds aiding its rise in the form of considerable funding from the British National Lottery, huge medal hauls in cycling, a home Olympics and, now, pro success with Team Sky in the forefront creating an upward spiral.
The likes of Chris Boardman, Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott, Emma Pooley, Lizzie Armitstead, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Bradley "Wiggo" Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Joanna Rowsell, Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome are genuinely famous. Even Sky boss Sir Dave "marginal improvements" Brailsford is a household name in the UK.
Ride Membership was in development prior to the appointment in June 2015 of Bouchard-Hall, who arrived from Britain where he had ridden the explosion of the British scene as CEO of online retailer Wiggle.
"It was definitely in the works before he arrived, but something he believed in very strongly," said Hansen. "His arrival meant we stepped on the accelerator, his vision is much broader."
Hansen believes that if done right there is the potential to achieve a 50/50 balance between racers and riders in the longer term.
"If we look at the market for cyclists in the US, there are seven million in the US who say that cycling is core to their identity, important to their identity. (There are 50 million recreational cyclists, but let's focus on the seven million). I think it would be very achievable to reach a fair portion of that audience."
An IT revamp this year will give USA Cycling the ability to do more and Hansen promised that the current Ride Membership was just the start of things with a women-specific Ride Membership one of many projects in planning.
"You are going to see a lot of cool new stuff from us and a lot of this is down to Derek and his vision of being transparent and welcoming to a wider range of cyclists."
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