Staff supervisor Richard Plugge has revealed contemporary particulars of the objectives of the projected ONE Biking ‘super-league’, which Plugge and different backers wish to see launched when the following WorldTour cycle will get underway in 2026.
The ‘super-league’ is claimed to be aiming to create a brand new firm inside the sport that brings collectively groups, race organisers and the UCI to create new income streams. These streams are reported to incorporate the packaging of broadcast rights of smaller races and the advertising of athlete picture rights.
Spearheaded by Richard Plugge, the Visma-Lease a Bike supervisor, not too long ago advised Wielerflits that the undertaking is at the moment on maintain.
Nevertheless, in an interview with the Belgian De Tijd web site revealed final week, Plugge supplied a raft of contemporary particulars about ONE Biking’s objectives, claiming that the “higher outlined” race calendar format of sports activities like Method 1 provided an instance to comply with.
Plugge additionally claimed races containing circuits, such because the Tour of Flanders, provided larger profitability and a safer setting.
Plugge’s place to begin for such a serious reform of biking, he advised De Tijd, was that since taking cost of his group when it was sponsored by Rabobank again in 2012, he had managed to search out new income streams within the type of documentaries, a platform for a enterprise group across the group, fan membership memberships and a webshop.
Nevertheless, in biking on the whole in these areas of economic development, Plugge argued that “far too little has occurred on this regard within the final ten years” and “We don’t capitalize on our potential sufficient.”
Relating to One Biking, Plugge mentioned that the undertaking was aimed toward the place the game might be in ten years’ time and that the game “didn’t realise clearly sufficient that our rivals should not the opposite groups or organizers however all different types of [sporting] leisure.”
After naming a multiplicity of sports activities, together with soccer, golf, basketball (within the US) and martial arts as biking’s actual competitors, Plugge mentioned that the distinction was most noticeable when evaluating fan reactions to the celebs of their sport with youthful supporters {of professional} boxer Jake Paul.
“He will get surrounded by screaming younger followers, these younger folks don’t rush in direction of Jonas Vingegaard or different prime riders. I wish to change that,” he advised De Tijd.
With that change in thoughts, Plugge pointed to the significance of what he known as “recognizability and codecs.”
“Everybody now congratulates us as group of the 12 months, even the diehard biking followers. But it surely was Staff UAE that completed first within the WorldTour,” he mentioned.
“We have to have a transparent calendar with a restricted variety of races wherein the very best riders compete in opposition to one another.”
Plugge pointed to the way more simple Method 1 as setting the course wherein he felt biking ought to go. On the identical time, the grouping of media rights would allow biking to turn into what he known as “a 24-hour media manufacturing unit.”
“At the moment, main media corporations are laughing on the disorganised method wherein race organizations and groups negotiate over rights,” he mentioned. “It explains the peanuts we earn in comparison with soccer.”
The Dutch director is just not the primary particular person to name for a Method 1 type overhaul to biking, none of which have succeeded up to now. However Plugge nonetheless claimed there was “huge assist for reform” from unspecified groups, and likewise he cited one race organiser, Tomas Van Den Spiegel of Flanders Classics, as an “necessary ally.”
Plugge identified {that a} former Tour of Flanders race director had come beneath hearth for redesigning his primary occasion so it now contained laps of a circuit. Nevertheless, Plugge claimed that the brand new course had, in his opinion, improved safety, was higher for the setting – with out specifying how on both depend – and enabled gross sales of tickets and VIP packages. “Which means further revenue,” he mentioned.
