Today sees the launch of Velon, the first joint venture of UCI World Tour cycling teams. This group brings together 11 leading teams - over 60 per cent of the World Tour - to drive a financial model that, in line with other international sports, ensures a sustainable future for the teams.
To achieve this the group wants to bring excitement to the sport, allowing fans to engage more with the teams than ever before. Velon’s aims are for a coherent season that excites people from start to finish and uses emerging technologies, such as on-bike cameras, that bring fans closer to the action.
Through Velon, the group will continue to work on partnerships with other stakeholders in the sport, including the UCI, the race organisers, and the AIGCP professional cycling association.
Velon’s founding members are Belkin Pro Cycling, BMC Racing Team, Garmin-Sharp, Lampre-Merida, Lotto-Belisol, Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, Orica-GreenEDGE, Team Giant-Shimano, Team Sky, Tinkoff-Saxo and Trek Factory Racing. The group is open to working with other teams that share their objectives and values, either to join Velon or partner with the company on new business.
The core ideas and objectives for the Teams in Velon are:
- More exciting sport: looking for a race calendar that tells a season long story, and is better understood by a growing international fan base, with more entertaining racing for the fans.
- New technology: bring the race alive from the rider's perspective, showing the fans what it's like from the saddle.
- Underpinned by sustainable, credible teams the fans can follow now and long into the future. Creating a new, better economic future for the sport, through collective action and increased co-operation between the teams and other stakeholders.
The company has been created to work on behalf of these teams for new business creation. Each team is represented on the board and Graham Bartlett (formerly of UEFA, Nike and other major sports brands) has been appointed as CEO.
Bartlett said: “The existing, sponsor only, business model is fragile for all teams. We need to change this to a more rounded one with fans at the heart of it, investing in new technological initiatives to generate greater excitement from the races and bring the sport closer to its fans. The company will look to use the combined commitment of the teams to create new revenues.
“This combined commitment can help to deliver more of what the fans want to see from the sport – exciting races brought to life with great technology. What we’re trying to build will hopefully create a virtuous circle where it’s easier for fans to engage with the teams and riders and gives the teams even greater incentives to maintain credibility.”
The first example of Velon’s work came earlier this year, when these teams got together to work with their riders and the race organisers to implement on-bike cameras during the races.
Bartlett adds: “This could only have been negotiated and delivered with the organisers by having a unified group. Initially co-operating with IMG for the Tour de Suisse and then continuing with A.S.O. at the Tour de France, the Vuelta and a number of other big races in the calendar.
“By using new technology, and by working very closely with the race organisers, the teams were able to capture fantastic, never seen before footage showing the riders in spectacular fashion and the response from the fans was even better than we expected.”
The Tour de Suisse on-bike camera videos syndicated to Cyclingnews and InCycle (which is also an IMG Media/Velon collaboration) were viewed over 1 million times. The videos from other races also gave significant YouTube traffic for the teams themselves, Orica-GreenEDGE’s Tour de France stage-5 footage, for example, was viewed over 108,000 times, creating significant interest for the team.
Fans and financial partners must trust the sport and the teams must be open, honest and transparent. The integrity of cycling is also the foundation for a healthy following, increased investment and further growth. This must be based on a sound, stable business model for the teams.
Team Giant-Shimano general manager Iwan Spekenbrink (NED) gave his thoughts, saying: "With a group of teams, we have been working together for some time to improve the future of the sport. Together, we will keep on working on a credible and viable long-term future of the sport in which fans are more and more engaged. Last year, we have had already big success involving the fans, with the use of the on-bike cameras. With this formal cooperation, we will keep on working on these initiatives to involve the fans more deeply in our sport and give the professional sport of cycling a sustainable, long-term future."
John Degenkolb (GER) added: "Last year, we saw already that the on-board cameras in the races were a great success. The magnitude on positive reactions after my in-race footage show how valuable it can be to involve the fans closely in our great sport. Therefore, it is really satisfying to see that teams are working so closely together to advance the sport of cycling."
"It is really positive to see that teams are working so closely together to advance the sport of cycling," explained Marcel Kittel (GER). "By closely involving the fans in an open environment, our sport will be able to work further on their credibility and long-term future."
Tom Dumoulin (NED) also added: "By making the sport of cycling more accessible and easier to understand for the big crowd, it will be able to reach and activate even more fans around the world. The fact that teams are able to work closely together on this concept, makes it even stronger!"