دانلود کتاب اقتصاد دوچرخه سواری حرفه ای جاده

When do we wake up the sleeping giant of procycling? When will procycling start with a blank sheet of paper to reinvent the sport and make it profitable for all stake¬holders? When will procycling live up to its full potential? I believe the time is now!
The first edition of this book was published in 2016. It offered a good insight in how the sport economically works. And it was a source for me to think of solutions, what the challenges are, and especially what the potential really is. Between 2016 and 2022, not much changed. The numbers are different today, you will read that in this book, but the big problem remained the same: lack of business leadership, inno¬vation, and collaboration prevents procycling to become an economically bigger sport. And of course, egos and the fear of losing a bit of power.
First, some facts. Since the previous version of this book, we lost many UCI ProTeams. This second tier of cycling teams is much smaller now: from 23 in 2016 to just 17 in 2022.Three UCI ProTeams come from the native country of cycling (Belgium), while ten teams are registered in the Grand Tour countries (France, Italy, and Spain). In other words, a Grand Tour in the home country seems essential for the survival of a UCI ProTeam. Or, in even better words, the second tier does not deliver enough value itself to the competing teams. They are dependent on the invi¬tation of big races.
In the past years, we also lost some races, especially in North America. The Tour of California as WorldTour event and others. We lost races in Asia. And fingers crossed that Australia will keep their racing spirit, after the high pressure by the pandemic on professional sports Down Under. So, despite striving for a more global sport, road cycling has again become (relatively) bigger in Western Europe and less international.
To put things in the right perspective: also, most of the Western European races are having a hard time to be(come) profitable. Local authorities are less and less willing to support roadblocks for a day let alone for a week. Speedbumps, round¬abouts, and a massive amount of other road furniture make it difficult to keep race routes safe for the riders. Many Belgian races rely on hospitality, instead of having a source of income out of the WorldTour. The state of the organizers, the teams, and therefore the riders is worrying. We’re in a downward spiral. Conclusion: our sport is in need for real reform.
People inside and outside procycling have an opinion on how the sport should be managed. However, historical positions, quarrelling over rights, and fighting over power and of course money prevent the world of cycling to open its full potential, thereby ignoring that working together mostly delivers a better result than doing things alone. Therefore, the first step will be to sit around the table, leave all past fights and feuds behind, and look for an agreement on the basic principles for road cycling as a whole. Everyone must step into the helicopter and look to our world from that perspective.
But there is hope. Business economics always follows a good idea with a great vision and mission. There will be a sustainable model for procycling by creating a better business model for all stakeholders by maximizing the potential of the sport. We will create a global, attractive, and fan-centric sport, in a safe and healthy sports arena for the athletes, taking care of environment and having an eye for inclusivity. We have to look at this as one single business, let’s call it One Cycling.
A change in road cycling should put the fans at the heart: how to create a com¬prehensible, attractive sport for the fans, without losing the historical attractiveness? Fans are, next to the riders, therefore eminent while safety, health, environment, and inclusivity are the pillars that support the new One Cycling world order. We have to realize that the competition comes from outside our sport and that the world is changing. Fans are engaged in other ways; sport has a different place in the world and is being digested differently than before. We have to reform our sport with the world of 2030 in mind.
Procycling has other potentials as well. It could lead by example the health and environmental quest many countries and cities are on today. Cycling is healthy and environmentally friendly. Procycling shows it is possible to travel more than 100 kilometers by bike, without using any fossil fuel, while keeping the body healthy. The message has big potential: “solve traffic issues and health problems, go biking.” And by being the frontrunner of safety, procycling could also show cycling is a safe way to travel. The sport is also inclusive. Cycling is easy to access for everybody: young, old, men, women, rich, and poor. What a big signal for the world!