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McLaren Races to the Rescue?

Just as Sky was announcing its departure from the sport a few weeks ago, motorsport giant McLaren signaled that they were on their way in – saying it would join up with the Bahrain-Merida pro cycling team as a sponsor and a reported 50-50 partner in the team’s ownership structure. Such a well-known international brand coming into the sport was quickly hailed as a game-changer for the team, and even for cycling as a whole. The news even caused some speculative observers to wonder on social media if the British-based company might step up to replace Sky as the owner/sponsor of the homegrown team. The ever-changing game of musical chairs in pro cycling sponsorship is one of the biggest challenges the sport faces. So it is fantastic news any time a major brand decides to throw their marketing dollars into professional cycling, given the current downward trend in the sport’s investment...

Pay To Play?

Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and Tour de France race organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) recently backtracked on one of the key WorldTour reforms both parties agreed to this year. The number of WorldTour teams in 2017 will remain at 18 instead of the ratified plan to trim it to 17, a move which enables continuity of the Dimension Data team’s WorldTour license next year, and quite possibly, the team’s longer-term survival.  But by agreeing to make this exception, The UCI and ASO have set a dangerous precedent and a further potential setback to the sport’s investment climate. Control over the sport’s economic future is at the heart of the matter here, just as we have described in several previous articles.  The UCI and ASO seem incapable of breaking their long standing stalemate over how the sport should be run, and as a result, their...

A Crazy Idea, or a Sure Bet?

Two recent news flashes in professional cycling have underlined some key uncertainties about the future of the sport. First, it was reported that Peter Sagan was in talks with Team Astana team about a contract for 2017, after Tinkoff Bank ceases its cycling sponsorship at the end of this year.  More recently, it was confirmed that the IAM Cycling WorldTour Team will be folding at the end of the year, as its management was unable to secure a successor sponsor. These may seem to be two unrelated developments, but there are some intriguing ways in which they might intertwine to create a lucrative opportunity for the right player. In addition to being the current World Champion, Sagan is the peloton’s most charismatic star; he was recently ranked by Sports Pro Media as the 26th “most marketable” athlete in the world – ahead of such global stars as Rory McIlroy, Usain Bolt, and Lionel Messi...