Remember 2012? Tom Boonen was imperial in the cobbled classics, Bradley Wiggins wore yellow and then went to the Olympic games? It all seems a long time ago but the UCI’s published its 2012 annual report today. Here’s a look at the income and expenditure of cycling’s governing body for the year.
What’s the secret of Team Sky’s success? One element is money as the squad has one of the highest budgets in the sport.
Sky are the only major pro team to publish their accounts and the latest set have just been filed. So here’s a look at the numbers from the headline budget down items like the spend on travel, rider transfers and equipment.
It might be the Tour of Spain but there’s a French touch here. The event is owned by the French, a lot of the sponsors are French and this weekend the race crosses the Pyrenees for a French stage finish.
There’s plenty of news of rider transfers with several teams making a series of announcements, signing new riders to strengthen the team. It’s exciting and it’s the future.
But what of the others, the riders who are not making the headlines, those who are likely to be out of contract? They’ll quietly leave the sport by the back door.
Cycling represents great value for a sponsor. You’ve probably seen the news that a sponsor can get big publicity for a modest outlay, a big return for a small investment. What’s not to like?
But talk of return ignores the other side of the coin: the risk. Sponsor a pro team and it can blow up in your face with a doping scandal. Even if all your riders are healthy and honest then backing a team still isn’t for every brand.
But whilst several teams are struggling for sponsors, multinational corporates are backing the Tour de France, partnering with the event instead of its participants. Here’s a look at what it costs to get your company name on leader’s jersey and more.
Cycling is popular in many places but few nations claim a trade surplus when it comes cycling goods. Sure there is China’s mass-production but Italy seems unique with a range of premium brands.
In fact you could go for a ride with 100% Italian products. From your helmet to your shoes and a bike with a frame complete with every component. Can any other country match this? Probably… but only just.
Why is this so? Well it seems Italy has a thriving number of small and medium sized firms that rely heavily on blending the personal touch of family ownership with modern machinery and big investment in research and development.
There’s little to preview in the Tour of Qatar. The race doesn’t even bother with profiles as each stage profile is a horizontal line. Every finishing straight is wide enough to land an aircraft.
But at the same time this race matters. First as a tactical training ground, a literal sandbox to test skills and technique and if it’s not compulsive viewing, it’s the equivalent of watching a theatre troop in dress rehearsal as it is a practice session for the spring classics. But the race is also notable because Qatar is very influential in world sports, it is the world’s richest country on a per capita basis and recently won the right to the 2016 Cycling World Championships, deploying sums of money that nobody else could match.
Time for the annual update on the wealthiest people in cycling.
If you thought this meant Alberto Contador, Mark Cavendish or Philippe Gilbert time to think again. They are mere millionaires riding in the service of billionaire team owners. And, new for 2013, the list is no longer exclusively male.
Meet the new boss of cycling, Zdeněk Bakala. Whether he’s the same as the old boss depends but the UCI has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bakala, the Czech billionaire to invest up to €20 million from Bakala alone being cited.
Earlier this week we had news of the UCI launching a consultation exercise, now we have news that a deal is close to being signed, with Pat McQuaid saying “we look forward to making a formal announcement on this as soon as possible.”
Last month I read Tyler Hamilton’s “The Secret Race” and chased it with the USADA Reasoned Decision. There are many references to EPO, the blood boosting hormone that riders inject. So many that it takes on a variety of nicknames, that the method of injection is explained – both subcutaneous or intravenous – and consideration is given to the storage, whether the domestic refrigerator or a thermos flask for portable access. Even the means of hiding it are explained, from making your team mate store the stash to hiding the vials behind the vegetables in the kitchen refrigerator.
But if it was so widely used it’s rarely stated that injecting EPO is bad for your health. From blood clots to cancer the use of this drug comes with risks when administered under normal conditions. When abused by athletes, nobody knows what the risks are and that’s before we get to the mafia and its role distributing this drug.