Building Economic Diversity in Cycling

There was a news segment on NPR not long ago about the support for diversity among the Gravel Racing community. I applaud diversity in all forms, but it made me think about just how hard it is to participate in a gravel race event if you don't have the money. Obviously you have to own a bike and pay the entry fee, but beyond that you need to have transportation to and from the event and, if it's several hours away from home, you're probably going to need overnight accommodation. That's a pretty high financial hurtle to participation if you're an economically disadvantaged person trying to make ends meet. It's not any different for road or mountain bike events. The Triathlon community faces the challenge to diversify as well and the expense of traveling to competitions is often sited as an issue.

Is there a way forward for competitive cycling to create more economic diversity among participants? I believe there is. First let me say that most racing cyclists participate in multiple types of racing. Getting started in one cycling type is usually a gateway drug to others and top competitors in one type draw the attention of team sponsors in another, so creating diversity in one type is beneficial to all. But which type is best approach for creating economic diversity among competitors?

Well my answer may surprise you, I believe that it's track cycling, Allow me to explain. At the Lexus Velodrome in Detroit all youth under 18 can learn to ride and race for free. Yes, free. The velodrome's bikes, helmets, and shoes are available for free use. For those who want to race we provide the coaching, again for free. We own and maintain the equipment. Money is not a barrier to participation and, for the kids of Detroit, neither is transportation since we're located in the city only minutes from downtown and many of the Detroit Housing Commission properties. I'm sure many of you are thinking "But you're ignoring the cost to build the velodrome!" The Lexus Velodrome opened in 2018 and only cost $5m to build on 1.5 acres of parkland leased from the city of Detroit, no taxpayer dollars were used. For comparison, last year the Jackson, MI Public Schools approved $11.25m for stadium renovations and a multi-use fieldhouse. Spending tens of millions on a high school football stadium is not uncommon. The velodrome costs were kept down by building a 160m track protected by an air-supported structure which also includes a fitness studio, weights, and 1/8th-mile oval for runners, walkers and skaters. The Detroit Fitness Foundation (501c3) which operates the velodrome has the main?goal of providing?fitness and sports?opportunities for area residents, particularly youths and seniors. To that end, the?velodrome venue provides free daily programs for both groups year round. You have no parkland available in your city? Our approach is a good choice for brown field redevelopment. The foundation is paved concrete thus no direct contact with contaminated soils and, by using an air-supported structure, there's a high air replacement rate as fresh air is continuously pumped in to keep the roof inflated. In addition the positive air pressure inside helps prevent air filtration (radon and any other gases) through any seams and cracks in the concrete.

And what better way to develop future Olympians than to have several facilities like ours built around the country in major metropolitan areas instead of the few large, mostly outdoor, tracks that we currently have in the US? By bringing track cycling directly into our communities we provide opportunities that didn't exist before and we create greater diversity in our sport. When was the last time cycling was a major spectator sport in the US? It was in the early 20th century and it was track cycling. I believe velodromes like ours can make it a major sport again while creating the diversity our sport and society needs.