Postby danny the boy » Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:18 pm
Interesting turn this thread has taken, they started doing these rides last year in Victoria and I did both of them. They are not run by Wiggle, they have a contract with an Oz company called Limelight Sports who run them on Wiggle's behalf. In the UK I believe these rides sell out, or at least thats what I was told by the girl that they sponsor that rode in the first one, can't remember the name, English chick who does tri's but lives in Sydney, was world champ a few years ago. They ran at a loss last year but the entry fee was half price compared to this year, but they only managed to get 300 riders to each one, there is a lot of competition for these events in Vic. Supersprint do 2 rides and charge $150 to enter each one and Around the Bay in a Day is charging close to $200 this year, so Wiggle's prices are pretty reasonable. For your entry fee you get a timing chip to stick to your seat post, mobile mechanical support and first aid if needed, 2-3 hydration/food stations with High5 stuff and fruit, cakes, lollies, the route is sign-posted and marshalled at most of the turn offs, they also have 1 or 2 motorbike marshalls around the course. The problem in Vic is they stuffed up the first one badly, ran out of drinks and food, no drinks or anything to fill up your bottles at the start line and the course contained a 3.5km climb at 8+% which was too hard for most recreational riders. The grapevine news travels fast so hopefully they have better luck further north because I don't see too many Aussie bike shops doing things like this.