Growing the market

The growth of the sport has been a popular topic in cycling and many other disciplines since the start of the Century. The aim to make the sport more widespread, more inclusive and more global has been on the agenda for a few decades now. In this article we make an analysis of the existing, past and possible future markets where cycling can thrive. We look at how things have grown historically and how we can work on the future. First of all, we look at the global picture, and after that we keep going further down till we reach the specific markets where we can quickly grow the sport and bring more talent & money into the sport. Join our hunt for talent & budgets through the next paragraphs.

The founding fathers

After 150 years, the sport is still mostly based in the same 3 countries in the western half of Europe : France, Belgium & Italy. These 3 countries already deliver the most pros for years, decades and even centuries. This is not related to population of due to the size of the economy. Belgium has the highest amount of World Tour riders, this year, despite having a relative small population of 11 million people and not an economy that is smaller than a notable amount of other countries. The dominance of these three countries is mostly explained by existing traditions, development programs and pathways to the sport. After 150 years, no other country has been able to match the traditional pillars of the 'Great Old'. For example football that was founded on the British isles hasn't been dominated anymore by England & Scotland for quite a long time now and has been surpassed by countries, as far away as Argentina & Brazil. This shows that a sport can grow big, far outside it's core regions.

On the way back

But don't be discouraged. Cycling can be bigger then it is today, it actually even has been. Major countries like the United States, Australia, Colombia had more pro riders in the pro peloton than it has today. But even if we only focus on Europe, we notice that the sport doesn't use the same potential as it used to do before. Central & Eastern Europe used to have tons of riders. Countries like Poland & Russia delivered tons of professional riders and even won major races. Today, the amount of competitive riders in the eastern half of the continent has declined a lot, and we see a remarkable shift to the West. But with better infrastructure & bigger economies on the Eastern flank, we should actually be able to do even better than during the previous peak of global cycling, but why not today?

A changing World

The main issues have been a decline of big sponsors around the World. A big French company like Decathlon and an Austrian giant like Red Bull have joined the sport, but we don't see big counterparts anymore in the United States, Colombia or Poland. Apart from a few exceptions, many cycling teams still often choose conservatively for riders from their own nationality over foreign riders who actually delivered better results. Especially if you're a rider from a country as small as Estonia, you have a big problem without a big local sponsor. The UCI has to play a bigger role in regions with potential to reach the big companies in the country who can give chances to riders & local race organization. Many other big sports federations lobby in other countries or establish pathways to grow the sport. The global strategy of the UCI has been to give a World Tour status easily to races in China & the Middle East. Countries with very low potential & that still didn't deliver competitive pro riders for 10 years now, why they ignore markets with potential like Colombia & Poland where potential has been proved and where big local sponsors used to have professional teams. Cycling needs to seduce them again, instead of letting them turn their eyes on other sports. Cycling offers a bigger 'Return on Investment' (ROI) than many other sports, but it doesn't use that advantage enough by not touching the markets where there is potential to grow the sport.

Looking for Gold

Fortunately, there are enough markets with potential where the sport can grow quickly & massively. Below, I line-up why some countries might offer golden opportunities (+) & what are the challenges (-) to overcome.

Colombia

+ High viewership, many local fans, many strong riders

- Football as big challenger, declining stars

Ecuador

+ Growing viewership, more & more talent coming through

- Limited infrastructure, few big potential sponsors

Australia

+ Highest amount of WT riders outside Europe, stable nation

- Geographical isolation, hyper-inflated travel costs, 

United States

+ Big population, big potential sponsors

- Few races, heavy competition from other sports, car is king on the roads

Eritrea

+ Girmay as new star, sporadically talent comes through despite lack of infrastructure

- Lack of local sponsors, lack of infrastructure, authoritarian regime

Poland 

+ Already developed many good riders before, national tour in the World Tour

- Sponsors are looking at other sports more often

Mexico 

+ Growing status of Del Toro, legacy of Raul Alcala

- Dangerous urban centres, lack of multiple stars

Russia

+ A big sports nation, has delivered grand tour winners & worldchampions before

- Sanctions & suspensions make it difficult for local sponsors & no international races allowed.

Conclusion

Cycling has proved in the past that it has been able to be more global in the past. This shows that the sport has the possibilities to grow far outside of its core territory. By targeting the right countries and overcoming the specific challenges that are connected to these countries, cycling can grow rapidly again in the markets where it's not using its full potential now.