Team Sponsorship for Amateur Cycling

One way competitive cycling is different from other amateur sports is that sponsorship can be a huge deal.  There aren’t many sports where as an amateur you can get free equipment, clothing,  event entry fees, and travel expenses paid for. But in amateur competitive cycling, there are teams that offer free bikes, free kits, race fees and travel paid for.  I decided to write a post  on how sponsorships are important, and when they aren’t.  Also, what sponsors and teams expect from their riders, and what you should expect from them.  A lot of racers would love to have all the benifits of a sweet sponsorship, but there are pros and cons.  Using my own knowledge and talking with another Cat 2 in the  Colorado racing scene (we’ll call him Rockie), I’ll shed some light on FAQ’s below.

The biggest thing to remember is why sponsors sponsor.  They do this to add visibility to their brand in their target market of the cycling community.  They give incentives to racers and expect racers to be involved respectable members of the community they live in.

What can I expect as a CAt 4/5 racer?

Not much.  As a Cat 4/5 racer, you are a newb.  There are thousands of Cat 4′s and 5′s.  If sponsors and bike shops gave free swag out to these guys, there would be no one to pay the bills.  This does not mean that Cat 4/5 teams are not great to be on. They offer friends to race with, camaraderie, and discounts on parts at the bike shop.  Kits and race fees are usually paid for out of pocket.  There is a lot of flexibility though.  Cat 4/5 racers don’t usually have expectations from their sponsors. If you come out and race, great! But if you skip 3 weeks of racing because you go on vacation, that’s fine too.  You will be expected to represent the bike shop or sponsor well.  Remember that sponsors are after positive VISIBILITY, and if you are getting in fights with car drivers, running red lights, or being a complete jerk at the local races, don’t expect your sponsor to encourage you to wear their name on your back.

What can I expect as a Cat 3 racer?

Cat 3 is where team tactics start to play a big role in the races.  Because of this, sponsors have an interest in getting 4-8 guys out at every race in order to get good results.  Even more important than results is having a good group of people that show up and represent the sponsor well.  Sponsors don’t care as much for results, but more about how the team is representing in the community they are trying to advertise to.  To encourage people to show up, you sometimes see racers getting race entry fees paid for, or a free kit at the beginning of the year.  Racers might also be more inclined to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team if they have entry fees paid for.

What can a Cat 1/2 racer expect?

As a Cat 1/2 racer, you are considered elite amateur.  If you want, you can find a team that pays for kits, travel, and entry fees (and sometimes a bike for the Cat 1′s), but this will come at a cost to you.  You WILL BE expected to race all the races in your community and travel to most races across the state. Some of the really good amateur teams travel state to state racing all of the biggest races with big payouts.  You will  be expected to go to sponsor events or have community involvement events.  Again, sponsors are not as concerned with pure results, but how you represent their brand in the community and how visible you are in the racing community.  This would be the only reason they care about results, because winning races helps you to have that visibility.  Some teams require blogging, tweeting, or other forms of social media.

There are also teams that don’t give much of anything for you to wear their kits, but they don’t expect much in return.  Races and community events are not required on these types of teams, and things are much more informal.  Don’t expect entry fees and kits to be paid for, though.

It can help for a Cat 1/2 racers to have a race resume too.  This is just like a job resume, but with all cycling stuff instead of work experience.  Be sure to include how you will add visibility to their brand and not just how you have been doing in the races.

What’s my personal experience?

Currently, I am on a pretty informal but awesome team.  It’s pretty much a group of friends that like to race bikes.  If you don’t show up to the races, no one will frown at you or wonder why you are slacking.  I really like the people I race with, and don’t feel pressure to perform or be involved if I don’t want to.  Not much is expected of me.  In turn, I can’t expect much either.  I won’t give specifics of the Shama Cycles situation, but in a typical informal team, you would expect shop discounts and nothing else.  This type of team really fits my goals at this point.  I have a couple of Cat 2′s to race with, we are all friends and enjoy racing with each other.  I have a really flexible race schedule that I have complete control over and show up as much or as little as I want.  I don’t have to wear my team kit if I don’t want to.  The big downside to this is team tactics.  There is no incentive to work for one person, and no real way to tell who should be the team leader.  Sometimes I am in the mood to sacrifice for others, but it is not something you can depend on at each race.

At this point, this is exactly what I need, and I’m glad that there is a symbiotic and informal relationship between my sponsor and I.  Other people might want more financial support, but should know that the sponsor will expect things of you when you are getting paid with benefits.  These types of teams will require extra time to insure community involvement and visibility for their brand and racing all year long in different disciplines.

Thanks to my Cat 2 friend in Colorado for his input and thoughts, which were melded with mine in this post.  He also suggested the book “The Athlete’s Guide to Sponsorship” by Jennifer Drury.  If you want, leave your personal sponsorship situation below!