Almost every discussion about the future of pro cycling comes down to creating a new business model for the sport. Study after study has suggested that cycling’s fundamental challenges are anchored to its reliance on sponsorship, and its related inability to transform the racing calendar into a more exciting, fan-accessible and season-long narrative. Velon, the U.K.-based joint venture of eleven current WorldTour teams, was created to innovate and implement changes to the business model, to introduce new racing formats, and to collaborate with key stakeholders in the sport to spark new ideas and paths to fan engagement. Velon’s growing impact on the sport over the past few years has disrupted and adjusted the traditional business models on two fronts. First, it introduced the Hammer Series, an updated team vs. team format that is raced over three days, and which includes climbing,...

Pro cycling saw a flurry of notable riders pen contracts with new teams for the 2020 season when the UCI’s transfer season officially opened on August 1st. Big names like Tom Dumoulin, Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali, Mikel Landa, Elia Viviani and Richard Carapaz will all ride in new colors. These moves didn’t make much of a splash with fans and the media when they were finally announced however, as nearly all of them had been rumored or had leaked out over the prior couple of months. And as usual, these moves have complicated the competitive teamwork situation within several squads for the rest of the year – as is typical for professional cycling’s transfer circus. Cycling is quite different than almost all other professional sports when it comes to the movement of athletes between teams. A key clause in the UCI rules states that teams are not allowed to recruit a rider from another...