British Cycling has signed a deal with global media rights and events company IMG to "supercharge their ambition" with the men's and women's Tours of Britain, its CEO said on Thursday.
The deal, also announced on Thursday, will see British Cycling Events work with IMG for the next six years, providing "industry-leading expertise in production, media rights distribution, commercial partnerships, digital marketing and advisory services for the Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain events".
A press release continued: "In addition, IMG will provide strategic advisory services for British Cycling Events’ wider portfolio and operations."
The Tours of Britain were both organised by BC this year for the first time, after the governing body took over the rights for the pair. The men's was won by Stevie Williams in September, while the women's was won by Lotte Kopecky in June.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton explained that this was part of the plan to fund other parts of British Cycling.
"A key part of our five-year vision was delivering the Tours of Britain for men and women, which we have done," he said. "The relationships with IMG will help us supercharge our ambition, particularly in the commercial space. In the early days, we are focused on the Tours, but over time, as we extend that vision, we have talked about urban, track and other things, and their expertise across media rights, commercial, digital marketing etc will help with fan engagement and revenue.
"We need to ensure that the races are financially sustainable. We know that we live in a really challenging environment. Things on the public highway are expensive, and they need a high level of commercial revenue to be sustainable. That’s priority number one. Second is to look at the possibility of both events. What do we want them to look like, and what do the cycling community want them to look like? Growth could be multifaceted, whether that’s longer Tours, more riders, or more fans to enjoy the experience.
"It’s really important to get the media and commercial rights into a healthy place so we can continue to invest in other areas of the business."
"If we can get British Cycling Events to generate a return, that return is going to be invested back into BC and it can be invested into community, or events, multiple areas," Dutton continued. "The first thing is we need to get to a point where we have a surplus to invest, and that’s very much the principle.
"The concern is the ability to run sustainable events. We know on the road that it’s harder than anything else, and that it is more acute for National Road Series organisers than for National Circuit Series organisers.
"2024 as a whole has been about rebuilding, and 2025 onwards, we want to kick on. We are realistic, there is no magic wand for where we want to get to, but hopefully people can see continual evolution. Hopefully, some things we’ve done this year is a massive step in the right direction."
Robbie Henchman, president of global partnerships at IMG, said: "This partnership is a unique opportunity to build upon and deliver a new purpose-led vision for British Cycling. The game-changing agreement with Lloyds Bank will help boost access to cycling through innovative events and concepts that have the potential to engage people of all ages in new and meaningful ways.
"Through IMG’s global network and unparallelled expertise, we have the capabilities to help further reinvigorate the sport, attract new fans and drive deeper engagement with its dedicated fan base, enabling British Cycling Events to extend its investment into cycling at all levels."
