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Licensed Team Apparel Sales a Missed Revenue Opportunity

The global financial fallout from COVID-19 continues to disrupt professional cycling’s traditional sponsorship model, and has already thrown top-flight teams like CCC and Mitchelton-Scott into uncertain futures. As a result, there needs to be a stronger impetus for teams to explore alternative revenue streams in order to insulate themselves from the whims of wealthy benefactors and corporate sponsors. One such under-appreciated revenue opportunity is the sale of officially licensed team gear. This is a potential revenue source often overlooked despite the cycling community’s widespread obsession with the latest and most advanced clothing and equipment. Historically there has only been marginal commercial interest in monetizing current-season team kits (although there is a very successful market for historic team kits, through retailers like Prendas Ciclismo)....

More Creative Cycling-Focused TV Content Is Needed

The head of Flanders Classic, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, recently suggested that the answer to getting more fans interested in the sport would be – in effect – to simply show less of the sport. By cutting the length of broadcasts and only showing the final hour of each race, he suggested that races could capitalize on society’s shrinking attention span. It is telling when a key stakeholder essentially implies that their product is so boring that they need to spare the fans from viewing it. Van Der Spiegel is correct that the sport needs to evolve its broadcast product and presents valid points, but simply reducing the broadcast content to show just the sprint finish isn’t the answer. Instead, all stakeholders should be looking at how to modify events to make them more compelling, and broadcasters should look at new and more creative ways of condensing and packaging the whole...

Canceled Cycling Events — Why Can’t I Get My Money Back?

As the coronavirus has swept across the country, it has shut down virtually all collective gatherings of people. This includes a lot of mass participation sporting events, like bicycling rides and gran fondos, as well as 10K road running races, marathons and the like. Several well-known off-road and gravel events have announced cancellations or postponements in just the last few days. While no one is surprised that some of these events are having to reschedule, some cycling enthusiasts and recreational riders seem to be surprised, or even angry, that their registration fees are not always refunded. A lot of cyclists are asking, “why can’t I get my money back?” The Outer Line reached out to several event organizers to answer to this question, and provide some perspective on the situation. First, we need to remember that event organizers have been hit just as hard by COVID-19 as the rest...

How Pro Teams Can Reach Fans During Pro Cycling’s Shutdown

During this unprecedented time, it is more critical than ever that pro cycling teams find new and creative ways to stay engaged with their fans, and to continue to deliver value to their sponsors. The Outer Line surveys team initiatives in the lockdown situation so far, and throws out a broad range of engagement ideas for teams to consider. This is an unprecedented time for pro cycling teams. Like virtually every other entity across the global community, teams are cautiously inching forward. Without much idea of what the near-term future holds, team managers are anxiously trying to determine the best ways to keep their teams motivated and fit, how to develop new revenue models, how to innovate new methods of fan engagement, and how to provide at least some value to economically challenged sponsors. There really isn’t a roadmap for this kind of situation in any professional sport; yet,...

Coronavirus Poses a Major Threat to Pro Cycling Sponsorships

Pro cycling managers are worried that the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic could spell financial ruin for teams across the sport, as major sponsorship contracts could be annulled or ignored by the unprecedented strain placed on major companies by the virus. This sentiment was one of several alarming perspectives that were shared with The Outer Line by multiple team managers we spoke to about the mounting pandemic and its potential impact on the sport. The Outer Line recently reached out to team managers to find out how they are coping with the racing shutdown in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown. While it’s clear that most don’t want to speculate publicly about where things are headed, several were willing to speak off-the-record. Their general hope is that the sport will still be able to recover some of its season, and that sponsors will receive at least some return on their investments....

How the 2017 UCI World Championships in Norway Went Bankrupt

Background: Countries, regions and cities often compete to host popular sporting competitions. Such events traditionally raise the profile of the host city or country, often creating a long-term increase in visibility and tourism. The Beijing Olympics – estimated to have been viewed by 4.7 billion people – helped spark a major tourism boom in China. At the same time, major sporting events can also change the international perception or reputation of the host country. China softened its hardline communist international image with its Olympics, and South Africa heralded its post-apartheid arrival when it hosted (and won) the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In addition, sporting events can spur major investment programs in public infrastructure and transportation systems which can benefit the region long after the event is over. In turn, this can create hundreds or thousands of local jobs, boosting...