Little has been heard recently of the One Cycling project aimed to shake up professional cycling - but Cyclingnews has been told that significant private equity to fund it is now in place.
The project could be signed off before the end of the 2024 Tour de France, with a full launch then scheduled for the 2026 season when the UCI will also award new licences to teams and major race organisers.
One Cycling is not a breakaway league but it aims to revolutionise professional cycling in the years to come. The private equity investment would give the One Cycling stakeholders the financial firepower to challenge the current status quo and take a stand against the dominance of Tour de France organisers ASO and the strict governance of the UCI.
Some of the biggest teams are ready to sign up as founding stakeholders of One Cycling, with Belgian race organiser Flanders Classics also listed in the documents seen by Cyclingnews. Other marketing experts such as The Sports Consultancy, Turnstile and Colganbauer are said to be providing advice and expertise.
The huge Sports Boulevard Foundation project in Saudi Arabia is also listed in the One Cycling 150-page presentation document, which details many aspects of the project such as media rights, sponsorship, business plans and development. However, it is unclear if Saudi Arabian private equity will finally bankroll One Cycling.
Visma-Lease a Bike, EF Education-EasyPost, Soudal-Quickstep, Ineos Grenadiers, Lidl-Trek and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have long been part of the project, with Bahrain Victorious and other teams are said to have joined them.
Tudor ProCycling, Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Dstny have also been linked but other squads, including the leading French WorldTour teams, have opted out. Details on what role women’s teams could play in the One Cycling project are also currently very limited.
A source close to the One Cycling project, who did not want to be named, explained some details of the project to Cyclingnews. They said private equity has confirmed funding for the project but refused to say who is providing the funding or how much. In the spring Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was reported to be the frontrunner to back the project and was ready to invest €250 million ($270 million).
A new private company owned by the One Cycling stakeholders would try to generate new revenue and monetize fan engagement and sponsor interests by working with teams and race organisers to shape a new calendar with the goal of a higher profile, season-long narrative.
Digital technology and marketing techniques used in the sports would also be harnessed as part of the One Cycling project, with new strategies for event rights, digital platforms, betting, gamification, merchandising and fan membership.
With the major teams and Flanders Classics both involved, there are claims One Cycling could soon become a unique and powerful stakeholder in the sport, perhaps second only to ASO, which owns the Tour de France and a number of other races.
The One Cycling owners hope their united strength will give them more bargaining power with the UCI, other race organisers, sponsors and broadcasters.
Transforming the calendar
“It’s not about becoming rich, it's about creating a better balance in the sport. We want to be fan-centric so that more people can understand and enjoy our sport,” someone close to the One Cycling project told Cyclingnews.
One Cycling hopes to help transform the current race calendar without impacting the three Grand Tours and biggest Classics and no longer plans to create new races. However, ASO has already said they are against working with One Cycling. Giro d’Italia organiser RCS Sport has told Cyclingnews that they are following the development of the project but are not involved.
It is unclear how the AIGC teams association and the CPA rider association would react to the creation of One Cycling and its possible impact on the sport.
The One Cycling teams could agree to send their best riders to certain races, so that - if their squads form part of it – the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) compete against each other much more often.
However, it has been argued that smaller early-season races or even current WorldTour races would lose out if the biggest riders and teams tried to create an alternative season to the current WorldTour calendar.
The biggest One Cycling teams and riders could clash in 75% of the new-look One Cycling-influenced calendar, far more than in the current WorldTour series of races.
“We want to have a good relationship with the UCI and they understand the One Cycling project. ASO also understands that we have to grow the sport while defending their interests,” the source said.
“ASO has a monopoly on the sport and wants to defend their interests but One Cycling doesn’t want to take away anything from them, we want to work with them. As is always said, we want to make the cycling pie bigger for everyone and create more financial stability.”
Securing private equity to fund the One Cycling project is a new and vital step in the project. After months of meetings and analysis, the project appears to be closer to becoming a reality.
“The project is not 100% sure but we’re close,” the One Cycling source said.
“We’re confident that nothing can stop us. We just need a little more time before we can say it’s going to happen. At the moment we feel like we're in a breakaway that is close to victory. We think it’s an important moment for professional cycling.”
