For regular readers of the Journal its probably not a surprise to hear that we at TBD are concerned about the state of categorized racing in the US. Between the analysis contained in our State of the Sport series and the detailed discussion of regional challenges in the Race Director Diaries Series, we have spilled a lot of (digital) ink on the topic in recent years. But now, with another year of lackluster racing data in the books and USAC considering significant changes to the current Local Association structure, it feels like the rate of change is only accelerating.

TL:DR - please complete this TBD Racer Survey

Amidst this turmoil, we’re continuing to compile data where available in the hope of offering up new insight into the trends underlying the sport. We kicked the year off with our massive analysis, Road Is Losing. Gravel Is Winning. Here Are the Numbers. and we have our own editorial thoughts on what mass start events are doing well and where categorized racing struggles. But we’re also looking to include broader thoughts and opinions in our next round of State of the Sport articles. As a result, just as we did with our Prize Money Survey years ago (which led to this result), we are conducting a survey on the state of categorized and mass start racing at the end of 2019.

If you have a few minutes, head over to the 2019 TBD Racer Survey and offer a handful of questions for us. Results are totally anonymous, but we’d love to hear whether folks raced more or less than 2019 than last year, and how you’re thinking about the future of the sport both personally and structurally. There are also questions for longer-form answers at the end of the survey. We’ll take a month or so to collect results, and then include the data (anonymously of course) in our next round of State of the Sport entries.