Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has criticised the much-discussed One Biking reform mission {of professional} biking, confirming that ASO just isn’t concerned and so very a lot in opposition to the mission.
“This isn’t our mission. It is an concept that has been launched however I am unable to say way more than that. ASO just isn’t a driving power,” Prudhomme informed the French Cyclismactu web site, with a warning.
“In every single place and each time biking has tried to rework itself solely with cash, it has failed,” Prudhomme stated.
The Tour de France grew globally and have become an important race within the sport within the seventies and eighties and has all the time defended their place and vital tv revenues.
Completely different initiatives and proposals have been made by groups and former UCI presidents through the years however ASO has all the time used its energy and affect to stifle them, forcing groups to depend on simply sponsorship.
The One Biking mission is supported by plenty of main groups together with Visma- Lease a Bike, Ineos Grenadiers and EF Schooling-EasyPost and hopes to draw enterprise capital to launch a brand new mission that brings collectively a collection of races and groups.
Final week the Reuters information company prompt that an funding firm owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Funding Fund (PIF) was contemplating investing $250 million within the mission. Nevertheless, there are contrasting stories on that funding after latest conferences in London.
A majority of WorldTour groups have dismissed the plans after being informed of the main points and obligations and Reuters reported that Flanders Classics was the one main race organiser concerned, sparking questions on if One Biking will ever occur.
ASO has refused to remark to Cyclingnews concerning the One Biking mission in latest months.
Throughout a protracted interview concerning the Tour de France and his 18 years as race director, Prudhomme refuted that he and ASO could by some means really feel threatened.
He additionally dismissed concepts of monetising roadside followers by charging them to look at key elements of races similar to a mountain end on L’Alpe d’Huez.
“Menace? No. I do not need to get into that. Initially, it would not curiosity me, and I am not satisfied that many individuals are thinking about it,” Prudhomme stated of the One Biking mission.
“The best energy of biking is that it’s a free sport for individuals on the aspect of the roads. That should keep.
“The Amaury household has all the time wished to hunt tv contracts with free, normal and, if potential, public service tv channels. Solely then will we earn cash when we’ve loads of viewers. There needs to be no mistake concerning the that means of that.”
“The Tour is a big. It’s broadcast in 190 nations, adopted by 2,000 journalists. You possibly can see the world along with the highway, even when we’ve had difficulties with an excellent bigger, youthful and due to this fact extra “dynamic” viewers.
“That (dimension) is the truth of July and of the largest biking race on the earth. Whoever wish to change one thing about it, they should perceive that.”
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