“The problem with bunch sprints is that you often get a boring run-up. That is difficult to sell" - Renaat Schotte on cycling's struggles to crack worldwide TV market
Cycling
Whilst the World Tour peloton is arguably as multicultural as it ever has been, there is still much work to be done in bringing the sport to as wider audience as possible. At least this is the opinion of Sporza commentator, Renaat Schotte.
“I am a big fan of bunch sprints, but the problem is that you often get a boring run-up. That is difficult to sell on television these days,” Schotte explains of his viewpoint via the De Grote Plaat podcast. Nevertheless, he does see a potential solution. "You have to get rid of integral broadcasts for a wide audience. You put every stage of a Grand Tour behind a paywall and leave only the ending accessible to everyone.”
“Outside Flanders and other cycling-crazy areas, the course is not manageable,” Schotte continues. “If you want to sell the product to the average Argentinian or Chinese worldwide, you have to switch to a different format. In the rest of the world, people are mainly concerned with survival. If you spend an hour and a half of your time watching a sporting event, that's already a lot."
Another note for the Sporza commentator is changing the broadcast time of races to later in the afternoon. "There is nothing wrong with that. I sometimes yearn for that myself," he concludes. "I would like to see the beginning for myself, but if you want to sell it to the general public, you have to shorten the broadcast on television."
It's an interesting debate definitely, but what are your thoughts? How can cycling best showcase itself to the worldwide TV viewership? Let us know what you think!
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
TV Guide - Where and when to watch Tour de Romandie 2024 #Cycling cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/tv-gui…
6 Comments