"Taking part in the Tour de France costs us money" - Visma boss explains why One Cycling is necessary for the sport

Richard Plugge is one of the leading men behind the ambitious project called One Cycling. It's main goal is to make cycling less relying on individual sponsorships and more on direct revenue. A noble goal, but first it's needed to clear several obstacles and that's why since the announcement in 2023, there are still no specific plans to revolutionize professional cycling in effect yet.

"Cycling has the potential to be much bigger for so many parties involved," Plugge began in the In de Waaier podcast. "If you look at football or Formula 1, those are much more commercially developed because there’s more collaboration. 95% of our revenue comes from sponsorships, whereas in those other sports, a big part of the income comes from the sport itself. That’s something we want to change."

Team Visma | Lease a Bike boss comes with a rather shocking revelation that even the team of two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard still loses money riding one of the most watched sport events globally. "In the Tour de France, for example, we do receive a start fee, but it’s never enough to cover all the expenses. Taking part in the Tour often costs us tens of thousands of euros. Meanwhile, the organizer makes an enormous amount of money."

So where do all the money go? Plugge points at the organiser ASO. The company seems to Plugge reluctant to the values of the One Cycling project - obviously as it'd make them lose some of the money.

"ASO wants to keep everything the way it is, but that’s not how you help the sport move forward. I believe you should always look for ways to improve the sport, especially if you’re such a powerful and influential organization. I respect their decision, but I find it disappointing. I really think the entire sport would benefit from change."

The packed calendar also makes it difficult to attract new viewers, Plugge believes. "Try explaining why Jonas, for example, doesn’t race against Tadej in the Tour of Flanders. I can explain that easily, but try doing that for someone who doesn’t follow cycling. The UCI needs to ensure that the big names race against each other more often in the major events, but right now, there are simply too many races."

Plugge draws a parallel to football with clearly lined out levels of competition with the Champions League at the top. "When Messi was still playing in Europe, it was unthinkable that he wouldn’t play in a Champions League match," Plugge adds as a comparison.

Such a format could bring in many new viewers also to cycling, he suggests. But right now, the best of best only meet up on two or three ocassions each season, which is not enough. "Of course, not every rider has to do all the big races, but currently, only about 30% of the top riders show up. That should really be closer to 70%."