Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) issued a press release today saying it plans pull all of its races from the 2017 World Tour and register them as HC-status events in 2017. This isn’t a technical matter of labelling events but a huge issue for the UCI’s World Tour and the design of pro cycling.
It’s a bombshell but the fuse had been lit a long time ago. ASO look aggressive for deploying it and the UCI looks negligent for not defusing it.
11 of the World Tour teams have linked up to create a company Velon. It’s the public launch of a private project that’s been on the go for at least 18 months under the label of Project Avignon.
We don’t have much to go on. Today has seen a co-ordinated media campaign to mark the launch, it’s gone from a project to corporate reality. Whether it now goes from a start-up to an established business will be the more interesting story to follow.
A two week Tour de France? Non. Or to use the phrase beloved of many a French hotelier, c’est pas possible. Still it’s good to question established ideas and tenets. There’s no rule that says the Tour de France must be three weeks long and if there were, we should question that too.
It’s a current topic since UCI President Brian Cookson was in Madrid to award Spain and Movistar their UCI World Tour prizes. He spoke to the media when asked about a shorter Vuelta and Tour de France implied nothing was off the table. Let’s explore why an abbreviated Tour won’t suit anyone.
As the Tour de France convoy returns to French soil via the port of Calais it passes right by the village of Ardres, a nondescript place except it was once the site of an extravagant display of wealth and power between the Kings of France and England in 1520.
The Tour’s visit to Yorkshire and London has its similarities with pomp, sport, business and exchange.
In recent years, sports betting has become more and more popular. It’s glory days for the bookmakers but also for the event organizers. Due to the rapid increase in sports betting and thereby property and image exploitation, the event organizers naturally want a piece of the cake as well, writes Mikkel Condé.
There’s a growing trend for grand tours and even other stage races to start outside of the home country. Sacrilege or a good idea?
The ultimate one day race? This certainly one of the toughest athletic contests of the year where form and fitness trump brute force and a touch of luck. The 100th edition includes a nod to the past with some classic climbs back on the route.
But there’s plenty to look forward to. Philippe Gilbert and Alejandro Valverde are the prime picks to win but there’s a big field that includes grand tour winners and classics specialists alike. Here’s a preview with the route, climbs, contenders, TV info, weather and more.
199km but this is a race dominated by the final climb of the Mur de Huy. Even if it’s actually climbed three times it’s still the third time that usually determines the winner. But it takes plenty to get to the final climb and more to arrive at the foot of the “wall” in the perfect place. This mid-week classic is always a drama and a great pointer for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège showdown.
The city of Avignon is famous. Once the home of the Papacy many also know it for the song about dancing on the bridge. It’s also where many of pro cycling’s top teams gathered last summer to find new ways to reshape the sport. But just as the famous bridge is broken it looks hard for the pro teams to build bridges.
The Tour de France is cycling’s ultimate prize, the biggest, best and wealthiest race in the world. The sport revolves around July and the publicity available is usually a prime factor behind team sponsorship. But for all the Tour’s success and wealth, teams struggle for stability, many come and go while the Tour has celebrated one hundred editions. Some team owners are becoming increasingly envious of the Tour and other succesful events and want to tap into the revenue streams generated by these races, notably the TV rights money.
But what if there’s no money to share?