Velon, a company formed jointly by WorldTour teams, has muscled its way onto the pro calendar with a new kind of race series called Hammer. Cyclist finds out what it’s all about.
As a sport, cycling is about as traditional as it gets. Many of the biggest races have been around for a century or more – the Tour, Giro and all the Monuments are over 100 years old – and the way the sport is run hasn’t changed much either. The UCI (itself over 100 years old) and the big race organisers decide who gets to race, where and when. The teams do what they’re told. They’re at the back of the queue when the rights and revenues from the races are being shared out, and instead rely on sponsorship to stay afloat.
It’s a precarious business model, and is the reason for Velon. A few years ago, 11 WorldTour teams, including Sky, BMC and Quick-Step, got together to create a company that would use the collective power of cycling’s biggest stars to offer something different and give the teams a bigger stake in how the sport is run. Yet that doesn’t mean Velon is involved in some sort of cycling power grab, according to its CEO, Graham Bartlett.
‘It’s related to economics, but it’s not about trying to gang up and take something from somebody else,’ he says. ‘It’s positive. We wanted to come together to offer something that wasn’t already there, adding value.’
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Cyclist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Cyclist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Mur de Montrose
Anondescript city centre shortcut to the shops is destined to become a classic climb when the superstars of the peloton ride it next month
Ventum NS1
Aracy road bike with more character than its looks suggest
Colnago C68 Road
The flagship has been refitted, but it's still very Colnago
Susten Pass
The supersized Swiss climb
What we ride
Behind every cycling journalist is a long history of bikes. Some come and go-test bikes, first bikes, stolen bikes, I'm going to get into BMX-ing now bikes - but some stay, for their practicality, their dreaminess or just for the joy they elicit. Here are three of the Cyclist team's personal favourites
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
Over the past 12 years, Italian racer Elisa Longo Borghini has established herself as one of cycling's great all-rounders. She tells Cyclist about her sporting upbringing, how she conquered her self-doubts, and how she hates coming second
New view on Ventoux
It's possibly the most famous climb in cycling, but Mont Ventoux still has some surprises in store, including this route that takes in the stunning and rarely visited Les Gorges de la Nesque
All in the mind
The mental aspect of cycling can be just as important as the physical. Cyclist talks to two experts about training the brain for when the going gets tough
A moment in time Nicole Cooke tames Ventoux
In 2006, Britain's Nicole Cooke demonstrated her absolute dominance in a bravura performance on the Giant of Provence
Veni, vidi, Vinge?
Felix Lowe makes his predictions for the Tour de France