HHH has limits
It's pretty simple, the HHH was the first challenge ride in the area and they have the epic finish. Yes it is too bad it is so competative to get in, but, there are limits. The Insane Terrain is the fall back put on by the same folks and it has the epic finish too. early bird fee is also attractive at $55.
The Triple Crown is a novel idea and I have fanned those flames with a couple of the organizers. The challenge there is the total rider pool is what it is year in and year out, it doesn't really change much. Reality is that the DLD has a following of 500-700 riders, the Brute 100+ and the Kicker is new (I actually early registered for the Kicker twice and both were cancelled due to lack of ridership). So it isn't like riders are kicking in the doors to get in these events for one reason or another.
I am puzzled by the chosen marketing plan being deployed where early bird fees are high and mid-season fees are ridiculously high. I guess the naive thought is that riders will come out of the wood work and sign up early. Reality is that some of the usual early birds will sign up, the mid and later registrants will wake up and see $100 fee and quickly abondon. The result will be a few will pay early, the mid season registrants will decline greatly and last minute registrants will be nonexistent. Plus the fact that comp tickets are tossed out like candy. So in the end the few people that paid early are subsidizing the comp riders and there are no other riders. Just too many things wrong with this picture for me.
Many of us are fortunate in SW WI where we ride these same roads all Spring, Summer and Fall for free. That's what I'll be doing.