Joe Saumarez Smith, the founder and publisher of Sportive.com, has died aged 53 from cancer.
A lifelong entrepreneur and highly successful businessman, Joe started out in journalism and went on to enjoy an illustrious career. He served as Chair of the British Horseracing Authority until last month, when he stepped down due to worsening health.
Alongside his passion for horseracing Joe was a keen cyclist. He rode his first sportive at the age of 39 after his wife, Wanda entered him into the 2011 Etape du Tour from Modane to Alpe d'Huez, taking in an ascent of the Col du Galibier.
Joe set up Sportive.com around the same time, as a source of information on what was then a nascent but rapidly growing sportive scene.
I first met Joe in 2013 when I replied to a small ad in Cycling Weekly looking for an editor of a cycling website. At the time I was working in medical publishing and moonlighting as a sportive blogger for British Cycling.
Joe invited me for lunch; a few days later his PA was booking us both flights to Zurich to attend Eurobike.
Over the years we'd meet at bike shows or media days (including a track session with Stephen Roche at Herne Hill) although never at a sportive; we planned to ride the 2016 Velothon Wales together, but failed to find each other among the crowds at the start.
I thought I was in decent shape at the time and got to the finish expecting to wait for Joe, only to find he'd finished half an hour earlier and was on his way home!
He was passionate about the major European granfondos, and ticked off several Etapes, La Marmotte, Granfondo Stelvio and the Maratona dles Dolomites to name a few.
Joe was a keenly intelligent, but patient and generous man whose interest in a diverse range of subjects made him fascinating company. Among other things he was a knowledgeable foodie, making the most of business trips to discover hidden gems such as Toronto's finest sushi restaurant. His previews on L'Etape du Tour routes would typically pay as much attention to the local cheese or wine specialities as to the rigours of the climbs - and were all the better for it.
Joe's business interests and passions often overlapped; he was among the original investors in Rapha for example, backing Simon Mottram's vision which would transform the cycling clothing market. But money was not at the heart of his decision-making; Joe declined to carry advertising on Sportive.com or to charge for listings in the sportive calendar, and through his largesse the site has remained a free resource for cycling fans and businesses alike.
On a personal level, I'm hugely grateful to Joe for taking a punt on me as editor at Sportive.com - and letting the bet ride for over 10 years. I owe him a lot.
Thank you Joe; you will be missed.
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