The AIJC created the most media-friendly award in 2015 as a form of recognition of those members of the professional cycling community who make a special effort to work with the media and who respect the media’s independent role in professional cycling. In 2015 the Giant-Alpecin team won the most media-friendly award in recognition of its efforts to work with and assist the media throughout the season. In 2016 the prize went to Colombian Esteban Chaves. In 2017 to Dutchman Tom Dumoulin.

In 2018, most of the members voted for Thibaut Pinot. The French rider is praised by journalists for being available to the media in good times as well as in bad times. After a disappointment, as in the last mountain stage in the Giro d’Italia 2018, he was also available at the end of the stages. And after his great successes in for example Il Lombardia, he tells his story extensively. The award of the AIJC prize is also a reward for the media policy of Team Groupama-FDJ. By attracting Marion Zimine-Gachies (formerly ASO and IAM Cycling), the team shows that it wants to invest in a good relationship with the press.

After Jean-Paul Oliver, Jim Wilcockson and Graham Watson the board of the AIJC honoured Bennie Ceulen with the Outstanding Achievement in the field of Cycling Journalism Award. As a teammate with the French team Gitane of the Tour de France winners Bernard Hinault and Lucien van Impe, Ceulen ended up in the world of cycling. After his active career he was a journalist for thirty years at the Limburgs Dagblad and De Limburger. He also worked as a delegate of the Tour de France in the Netherlands. For years he was the press officer of the Amstel Gold Race. For the last ten years he has been active as press officer of Skil-Shimano, Argos, Giant and Team Sunweb. Ceulen worked in this position mainly with Tom Dumoulin, who lives about 10 kilometers away from him. He made Team Sunweb one of the most media friendly teams.

The AIJC was created in 1976 to bring journalists from different media and different nations covering professional cycling together, with the aim of promoting solidarity among sports journalists throughout the world. The AIJC works with the UCI, race organisers, teams and riders to sustain and develop a professional working relationship and the correct reporting of the sport on a worldwide basis. The AIJC strives to constantly improve the working conditions of its members and as a consequence the reporting of professional cycling.

Raymond Kerckhoffs is the current president of the AIJC, with delegates and representatives in numerous parts of the world. The AIJC has more than 300 members from more than 30 countries.

This challenge is amplified by transformative changes that we’ve all heard about in the broader media industry – the “death” of print, the shift to digital, the focus on “click bait,” the rise of social media as a primary purveyor of news and opinion, seemingly ever shorter attention spans and so on. The way in which news is gathered, reported, and distributed is changing dramatically, and it has created blistering economic pressures on media platforms across all industries. Even flagship icons like the New York Times have seen their revenues essentially halved over the last decade, while the McClatchy group’s sales have fallen by almost two-thirds. Indeed, the journalism profession itself is in steep decline, with the workforce in the U.S. having been cut in half during the last 15 years; more journalists have lost their jobs than coal miners.

There are perhaps some fifty or so significant cycling media entities (CMEs) serving different sectors and regions of the international cycling industry – websites, print magazines, podcasts, video producers, independent bloggers and so on. There are also several “labor of love” CMEs – niche websites/blogs driven solely by their passion for the sport. These CMEs compete vigorously against each other, but from a broader perspective they’re all in the same industry “boat.” Thus it seems worthwhile to objectively evaluate the on-going changes in competitive landscape, and try to better understand the drivers of future success.

Perhaps most importantly, an understanding of these trends, and their underlying drivers, is critical for the ultimate customers in this industry – the readers. It is vital that readers comprehend the challenges faced by CMEs – that they, as consumers, recognize they may also need to change and adapt if they wish to continue consuming good editorial content. This article summarizes the current situation and possible future directions for the cycling media business.

How Did We Get Here? Most CMEs describe themselves as “for-profit” businesses, but since virtually all are players in the business are privately-owned, comparative financial data are scarce. While there are exceptions, it is likely that many CMEs are not actually currently profitable. This assumption is borne out by a number of recent down-sizing or consolidation events:

• The shuttering of print magazines like RIDE Cycling Review, Cycling Active and CycleSport
• The shrinkage or disappearance of various digital media platforms, like the recent closure of BikeRadar’s U.S. operations. (And even much larger mainstream print sports publications like ESPN The Magazine are being shuttered.)
• The loss of quality journalists to advertisers or teams, or to other industries altogether – note the case of former VeloNews writer Matt Beaudin, now with Team EF, or long-time Sports Illustrated cycling writer Austin Murphy, who worked as an Amazon delivery truck driver after he was cut loose from SI, and now reports for a local California newspaper.
• And most significantly, recently ramped-up consolidation activities between competitors – for example, Discovery’s purchase of EuroSport and follow-on investment in Shift Active Media and GCN; the acquisition of Competitor Group endurance sports brands – including VeloNews – by Pocket Outdoor Media, and its recent deal with Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN); the purchase of CyclingTips by PinkBike; and the reacquisition of CyclingNews and Pro Cycling magazine by Future Media.

How did this challenging situation come about? In addition to the broader media trends mentioned above, CMEs are wrestling with several additional industry-specific challenges:

• As traditional print has declined, few CMEs have yet been able to successfully establish a significant paywall for their emerging digital product.
• Advertisers have shifted away from print and toward digital. But with Google and Facebook already controlling a large share of digital advertising, an appreciable fraction of historical advertising revenues are being irreversibly lost to the CMEs.
• For years, advertisers have also been gradually increasing their use of third-party PR firms or setting up their own internal marketing and social media capabilities – going straight to their customers, bypassing the need for traditional media altogether.
• Due to these pressures, CMEs have naturally tended to become more deferential toward (cynics might say more controlled by) their remaining advertisers. While this tendency has always been there, it has recently become more overt. As a result, the independence and objectivity of editorial content – particularly product review and technology coverage – may have suffered.
• At the same time, the primary subjects covered by the media – teams, athletes and events – have increasingly internalized their own branding and messaging, making access more difficult for journalists. And once they do obtain access, journalists understand that if they rock the boat, they probably won’t be invited back. Indeed, with the increasing influence of social media, it sometimes seems like cycling journalists are in outright competition with the very people or entities they are trying to cover. These considerations affect the objectivity and quality of editorial content on both sides of the coin – that produced by the athletes or teams themselves, as well as that produced by professional journalists.

The Current Challenge: All of these trends tend to interact and reinforce each other. As print subscription and advertising revenues decline, budgets must be tightened, and editorial content may start to suffer. As content quality declines, fewer people subscribe; as fewer people subscribe, advertisers retreat further, causing additional economic stress. With increasingly bare-bones budgets, editorial talent or free-lance writers may start to exit the industry. And so on. On bad days, it can seem like a race to the bottom. A new model is clearly needed.

And CMEs have a tougher challenge in this regard than many other industries – simply due to the effect of scale. Cycling just isn’t a very big market. When one takes into account language and cultural differences within the broad audience, specific addressable markets may be even smaller. The New York Times may face many of these same systemic problems, but it has an audience of millions of potential subscribers. The same can unfortunately not be said for even the largest CMEs.

Finally, making the situation even tougher are the various structural and economic challenges which the sport itself faces – uncertain sponsorship dollars, the lack of easily accessible television coverage, continued doping and reputational concerns, declining audiences, the scarcity of new break-out stars and the absence of a sustainable economic model. And the situation in women’s cycling is even worse.

Individual CMEs are not going to stand in the face of these changes. If they want to survive, CMEs need to better understand and rapidly adapt to the sea change now underway in the industry. One way to look at the basic challenge is this: for quality journalism to be sustained, someone has to pay for it – and that has be either the consumer, the advertiser, or the producer. Historically, cycling media content producers have been financially supported by the consumer (reader) through subscription fees, and the advertiser, through paid ads. But with declining advertising, and with much of the content now freely available on the internet, both revenue sources have declined.

With both of the traditional sources of revenue declining, the cost of providing content seems – at least at this moment in time – to be disproportionately falling on the shoulders of the only other party left at the table – the producer, the CME itself. In other words, many CMEs are effectively covering the difference by paying for the content themselves, burning through cash to keep their operations alive. They find themselves effectively gambling that the current situation is going to somehow stabilize, that people will soon start paying more for internet content – that the current shakeout will soon be over. But these things don’t seem likely to happen in the near future. Cycling is famous for its wealthy patrons, but such investors on the media side will eventually run out of patience – purely philanthropic producer-financed content is not a sustainable model either. Something has to give.

From the individual CME perspective, it seems that future survival reduces down to four critical factors:

• Can we make our content unique and high-quality enough that we become “necessary” or “indispensable” for a certain audience?
• Can we present a significant enough value proposition that our audience is willing to pay for that content?
• Can we then create a large enough audience to be able to attract and monetize the interest of advertisers? and,
• Does that create a large enough financial base for our survival or profitability?

What Can CMEs Do? There are several key strategies and tactics which economically-challenged CMEs should undertake:

• First – from a more day-to-day “blocking and tackling” perspective – it seems obvious that CMEs have to quickly double down on all the standard and classic business strategies employed for survival in highly competitive industries – cross-training staff, exiting less profitable businesses, out-sourcing tasks that can be more efficiently done by others, cross-selling, examining other revenue sources (like newsletters, events, affiliate income streams, etc.) – generally doing more with less.
• CMEs should conduct a frank and critical self-analysis – what are they really good at, and what are they not so good at. Small organizations with limited financial resources in highly competitive markets need to focus on doing what they do best. Too many CMEs today exhibit a “herd mentality” – all frantically racing to do the same thing their competitors are doing – running the same types of articles, seeing who can post news service stories the fastest, starting up a podcast in response to other sites starting podcasts, and so on.
• Quit trying to do what everyone else is already doing – do something different! Cover some different topics! When you have limited resources, why spend them doing what everyone else is already doing? (For example, a 2011 survey found that 78% of all sports journalism is essentially about games and athletes; only 2.7% of articles covered sports politics, and only 3.1% discussed economic aspects of sports.)
• “Sponsored content,” brand partnerships or paid editorial content is increasingly common, though some CME’s provide it in a more shadowy or disguised manner than others. CMEs need to establish a clear strategy and marketing approach for paid content.
• Most CMEs need to better understand what their audience really wants. How many actually and formally survey their key audience? An emerging guideline in digital media focuses is the 7% rule-of-thumb – that small number of readers (typically somewhere between 2% and 12% of total web visitors) who drive more than 50% of the traffic and revenue on the site. CMEs need to hone in on their “seven-percenter” audience and focus on what they are interested in reading and buying. Understanding and converting this diehard audience will go a long way towards determining whether you’re still in business five years from now.
• From more of a strategic perspective, CMEs should step back and better define their real mission. While it may sound simple, the real question that CMEs must ask themselves is this: what is our real product, and who is our real customer? There are two quite different answers to this question:
  1. Our product is good journalistic and editorial content, which we provide to our customers – the readers; or
  2. Our product is our readers, the “eyeballs” which we provide to our real customers – the advertisers Put more bluntly, is the CME’s primary focus on its readers, or on its advertisers?
• Obviously, every CME has to strike some balance between these two competing objectives, but the way you intuitively answer this question provides a lot of direction about how you should run your business and focus your priorities.

The good news is, there are some emerging examples of mainstream media firms reinventing themselves and turning around their economic model, and there are anecdotes about successful CMEs, being run on tight budgets and small staffs – right-sized to economically cater to their specific audience.

The Future: Several broad realities seem clear about the future of cycling media. The consolidation process will certainly continue; all CMEs will have to continue evaluating whether it makes more sense to band together with another party, rather than fighting it out. To date, no significant player has emerged with sufficient capital or the strategic commitment to play the role of a true industry consolidator. But that opportunity remains – to combine some of the strongest CMEs, removing redundant costs, retaining the best journalistic talent, providing a stronger offering of content for readers and a more attractive vehicle for advertisers.

Because the internet has reduced distribution costs almost to zero, the future will increasingly belong to those that can focus in on niche areas for a specific audience. As one media newsletter recently put it, “Success used to come from being broad-based with a geographic monopoly….. On the internet, though, success comes from being narrow while reaching the whole world. It is the exact opposite.” In other words, someone in Timbuktu can now subscribe to your cycling site just as easily as someone in New York City; CMEs need to exploit this advance in terms of building on their strengths, specializing their content and marketing it to the right audience.

The good news for CMEs is that there is still an audience out there – pro cycling aficionados who want to continue consuming interesting news and content about their sport. It may not be a huge audience, but it is still there and it still demands to be served. And those consumers will increasingly recognize that they must play a different role in this evolving industry as well. The internet has changed a lot of things, but it hasn’t made good journalism free. The old models are rapidly changing, and readers must be willing to shoulder their share of the expense of creating that good journalistic content that they want to consume. Readers must be willing to replace their old magazine subscription fee with a new paywall fee, or with some form of on-going donations to help pay for and sustain that good journalism.

This is starting to happen, but it will still take time for both producers and consumers to adjust to the new models. This is an evolutionary process, and there will undoubtedly be more bumps in the road. Not all CMEs will survive this transition. But it’s important to remember that it was the media business – in the form of the French and Italian newspapers – that helped to bring about and define the sport of pro cycling in the early 20^th century. It is the media that has sustained and helped to popularize the sport for many years – and there will still be a critical role and need for a new and reinvented cycling media in the future. Readers must better understand and support the changing dynamics of the industry, and CMEs must adapt and innovate to deliver quality and specialized content in an economically sustainable manner. For those more agile, innovative and daring players, there will be opportunities to survive, perhaps even thrive, in the cycling media world of the future.

(This article appeared previously on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. The author would like to acknowledge critical input and suggestions from the following individuals: Rob Arnold, Luke Beatty, Lionel Birnie, Ted Costantino, Stephen Farrand, Bonnie Ford, Joe Harris, Mark Johnson, Raymond Kerckhoffs, Joe Lindsey, Richard Moore, and Brad Roe.)

Steve Maxwell, June 2019

Steve Maxwell is Co-Editor of The Outer Line – “The External Perspective on Pro Cycling” and a part-owner of Pocket Outdoor Media, the parent company of VeloNews. He is a business consultant and transactional advisor based in Boulder, Colorado.

New this year is the ‘Proud Cycling Moment’ category to accompany the existing categories; ‘Professional’, ‘Enthusiast’, and ‘Smartphone / Action Cam’. ‘Proud Cycling Moment’ is a celebration of the moments in life that make us proud of our loved ones and ourselves. An example image could be the thrill and satisfaction of reaching the peak you’ve always dreamed of, or the pure exhaustion. Both equally ‘Proud Cycling Moments.’

CyclingTips.com – who are backing the Awards again – and Leeanne Gatien (Mark Gunter’s wife) invite professional photographers, budding amateurs, and the happy snapper or iPhonologist, from anywhere in the world, to enter. Last week marked three years since the cycling community lost Mark and his talent. Renowned as one of Australia’s leading cycling photographers, he ‘captured moments in time’ and preserved them forever. These Awards are his legacy for all to share, and in the process, we are unearthing new talent from all over the world. The continued impact of Mark’s work is evident through the comments from previous Awards’ entrants: “Mark was one of my first inspirations to pick up a camera.”

“It’s a good cause and fun to have your hobby evaluated by the pros.” “So many of us lived vicariously through Mark – what a gift he gave us!” “The celebration of bikes, life and landscape through photography is a wonderful thing to support and I think this is a great initiative and legacy for Mark.”

Over 2,500 images from 34 countries have been submitted in the past two years. We’ve seen a large presence from the USA, UK and Australia, as well entries from Slovenia, Norway, Monaco, Poland, Israel, Brazil, India, and China. Mark was known for his kindness and willingness to help others. All money raised from the Awards will go to cancer research via Tour de Cure and to the Young Cyclist Assistance, an initiative of the Awards to provide a $1,000 grant for up to three young cyclists.

This year’s judging panel sees the return of Graham Watson, famed for his latest book ‘40 Years of Cycling,’ and who shared a strong professional connection with Mark. He’s joined by Russ Ellis, Team Sky’s pro peloton photographer, and Wouter Roosenboom, the Award’s inaugural Professional category winner. We’re thrilled to announce Marianne Vos – World and Olympic champion and Pro Tour cyclist – as the independent judge for the Young Cyclist Assistance. We’re expecting many more inspiring nominations, all vying for the Young Cyclist Assistance. https://bit.ly/2zK9yrz

If you are not a keen photographer but would like to help, donations can be made directly to cancer research at Tour de Cure. https://tourdecure.com.au/events/events-calendar/?id=2146 The competition is open now, and runs till 3rd January, 2019. More information can be found here: https://cyclingtips.com/2018-mark-gunter-photographeryear-awards/ Promotion on social media via hash tag #markgunterphotoawards2018.

On Thursday 8th November the AIJC held its annual meeting with Unipublic in Madrid to discuss improvements for the working conditions for the media in the Vuelta a España. Alasdair Fotheringham represented the AIJC, whilst Laura Cueto, Unipublic press officer, and Sergio Fernández from the Unipublic Production department, were present for the  Vuelta a España.

In general, from the AIJC point of view,  some areas still need working on, in particular concerning the finishes, the shuttle buses and the attitude of some – but by no means all – parts of the Spanish police towards the media at finishes. But that said, the Vuelta a España continues to have a lot of well-working areas, too,  such as the press rooms, zone mixte specifically for written press/internet at finishes, starts, media guide, wifi and press conferences.

Accreditation and general media handling: straightforward as ever. The Vuelta a España organisers continue to ask international and above all local media to respect the deadlines for accreditation, something which local media are notably lax at doing.

The introduction in 2018 of a  media Wattsapp group in English as well as in Spanish to keep press up to date with logistical changes and press releases/results was widely appreciated and will be continued.

Race website: generally good, and very fast at putting the results up. However, the history section is in need of a major overhaul – there are innumerable errors.

Police: this year from the AIJC’s point of view there was a notable worsening in the way the  Spanish national police –  with units present on the entire race, rather than any particular local police, or the Guardia Civil, or in Andorra –  handled the media (as well as the teams) at the finishes. There appeared to be a  failure at times to comprehend what the media’s role was there, what kind of access they should have and where they could or could not be. It was agreed that Unipublic’s press department would try to meet representatives of the Spanish national police force before the race to explain what the media’s role was and that in the event of direct issues arising during a finish – for example if a police officer refused to let a member of the press access to the finish – then a representative of Unipublic would be contactable by phone to try and clear up this situation.
There was also the problem in one zone mixte in Madrid where the police/security failed to stop members of the public getting in, and one journalist being robbed of his bag as a result. The situation remains pending of a resolution.

Internet: excellent.

Press conferences: generally good quality sound (with the notable exception of stage four, although there was zero phone coverage at the finish and a considerable effort was made by Unipublic’s press officer to try and get us a soundfile of the stage winner’s press conference). Excellent translations.

Zone mixte: a very welcome innovation in 2018 at the finishes for the written media/internet and one which worked well when  – and it is a big ‘when’ – the security guards allowed the press to get through to the zone mixte which was nearly always situated inside the finish area.

Press avant – press arriere at the start: clearly indicated and separated  presse avant and arriere at the Vuelta’s starts remains one of the AIJC’s longest standing requests  and one which Unipublic have promised to resolve.

Mobile press tent: one of the best examples of how the Vuelta a España is leading the field,  both practical in itself and which allows for a degree of access to difficult summit finishes for the media (on this Vuelta at Lagos de  Covadonga and Covatilla) which enabled us all to work more efficiently, and, therefore, produce more reports and photographs of the race. With a big increase in the number of tvs already in place, this year an effort was made to ensure the tvs weren’t placed in front of lights – which had made the images hard to see.

The one change here is that there should be more toilet facilities – a request we already made last year.

Buffet – food/drink: one of the highlights of any Vuelta a España is the consistently high quality of its buffets. Not to mention the free coffee in the press rooms.

Results: a very good service online, with this year – as requested by the AIJC – all the documents, including medical/UCI reports, all available. However we are still waiting for a fast distribution system for the stage results and overall classification in paper format.

Shuttles: some suffered from a serious breakdown in communication, with the worst issue arising on the last day up to Andorra when there weren’t enough places for all the media. It was agreed, at the AIJC’s suggestion,  that rather than wait for the second last day before taking names of journalists wishing to use the shuttle in question that the lists  for those wishing to use the shuttles would be open permanently, from the start of the race with registry possible online. This option would be explained and included in the media guide as well as the usual explanation 24 hours in advance.

Route book: generally pretty good. The media guide, in English and French, is a hugely useful addition that other bike races would do well to introduce.

Team buses at the finishes: Several journalists complained to the AIJC that their work was rendered hugely complicated by the frequently spread-out nature of the finishes, with team buses parked in one place, the press room in another and the finish itself in yet another, often at a big distance. The distances between the different places could be at times considerable, making for stressful, time-wasted evenings (with finishes already later than we’d like) and on top of that the bus parking for the teams was often not where indicated in the route book.
The Vuelta organisation explained that this spread out nature of the finishes was due to the race’s use of finishes which were often with very limited access and that their over-riding policy was to place the team bus parking area as close as possible to the finish. The AIJC asked – and Unipublic agreed  – that in future where bus parking areas can be placed in equally practical locations but which were closer to the press room, the organisation would go for the latter option to make it easier for journalists to reach the buses.

Signalling: generally very good, although the parking signs at the press room in Andorra were very poorly placed, this was the exception that proved the rule.

Transfers to finish: the AIJC asked, once again, that the route alternatif would have its own indicating arrows next year. Unipublic continued to agree to consider it.

Press room schedules were found to work, by and large, with opening times from 12 noon to 2100. It was agreed that as in 2018, when the mobile press room was used,  it would close at 2030 given the logistical complications of dismantling it. If however, there was an exceptional reason for the press room to remain open, such as a press conference or a breaking news story, then the mobile press room would remain open til 2100.

Finish areas: whilst there were some notable improvements, such as a much bigger tv in the media area at the finish, the continuing problem of an excessively high numbers of guests and VIPs in incorrect zones  was noted, as was the continued presence of team soigneurs in the press tent. Unipublic agreed to try to ‘clear’ the area of those people without a specific job to do in the finishes.

Changes for 2019:

An improved history section in the website

A detailed pre-race meeting between Unipublic, their press officers and the Spanish national police to try and resolve the problems over access at finishes.

More mobile toilets when the mobile press tent is used.

Zone mixte: more information to be passed to the security guards at the entrances to the finish area to ensure that the media can get through to it.

Press avant-press arriere: a solution will be found. We hope.

Results: paper results for stage/GC to be delivered faster in the press room.

Shuttles: It was agreed  that rather than wait for the second last day before taking names of journalists wishing to use the shuttle in question that the lists would be open permanently, from the start of the race with registry possible online. This option would be included in the media guide.

Finishing areas: it was agreed that in future, the  team bus parking at finishes would be placed as close as possible to finishes, as usual, but where various options were available, the one closest to the press room would be taken. Also that an effort would be made to ensure that press had access to the zone mixte and the number of invités blocking the finish area would be reduced.

Conclusion: It was agreed to keep open the lines of communication between the Vuelta and AIJC for what has become a very productive working relationship.

Raymond Kerckhoffs and Stephen Farrand gave this presentation. They worked together on this subject with the editors of The Outerline.

You can download the presentation slides here.

The Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC) has voted to give its annual award for the most media friendly rider in professional cycling to Colombia’s Esteban Chaves of the Orica-Bike Exchange team, with American journalist John Wilcockson given the Outstanding Achievement in the field of Cycling Journalism Award.

The AIJC created the most media friendly award in 2015 to recognise those in the sport that make a special effort to work with and respect the independent role of the media in professional cycling. John Wilcockson is recognised for his pioneering role as one of the first and longest serving English-speaking journalists to cover the Tour de France and European race calendar.

Last year the Giant-Alpecin team won the most media friendly award in recognition of its efforts to work with and assist the media throughout the season. Long-serving French journalist and historical expert Jean-Paul Olivier was given the Outstanding Achievement Award.

The AIJC was created in 1976 to bring together journalists from different media and different nations covering professional cycling with the aim to promote solidarity among sports journalists throughout the world. The AIJC works with the UCI, race organisers, teams and riders to sustain and develop a professional working relationship and the correct reporting of the sport on a worldwide basis. The AIJC strives to constantly improve the working conditions of its members and as a consequence the reporting of professional cycling.

Raymond Kerckhoffs is the current president of the AIJC, with delegates and representatives in numerous parts of the world.

This year the AIJC board selected seven candidates for the most media friendly rider, team or organisation, from which over 200 members chose Chaves as the winner for 2017.

Esteban Chaves finished second at the Giro d’Italia, third at the Vuelta a Espana and won the end of season Il Lombardia, all while fulfilling media questions and requests with professionalism and a smile. In a time when the role of the professional media is proving to more vital than ever but access and availability often limited, Chaves’ attitude and that of his Orica-BikeExchange team should be considered an example for everyone in the peloton.

“It is good that a talented Grand Tour rider like Esteban Chaves understands the importance of a having good relation with the media. This prize is also for his Orica-BikeExchange team who helped develop an excellent working relationship with the media throughout the 2016 season,” AIJC president Raymond Kerckhoffs said.

“The media is a vital link between the riders, teams, races and the cycling fans around the world. Chaves gained huge admiration for the way he raced aggressively and successfully in 2016 and for his sincerity and honesty when speaking to the media, in moments of both success and defeat. One of the highlights of the 2016 season was when Chaves gracefully accepted defeat at the Giro d’Italia and his parents warmly congratulated Vincenzo Nibali despite him taking the pink jersey from their son on the final mountain stage.”

John Wilcockson – A pioneer in American cycling journalism

John Wilcockson is a deserved winner of the second AIJC Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Cycling Journalism.

Cycling has been a lifetime love affair for John. He raced when still young and then became one of the first English-speaking journalists to cover the then-mysterious world of the European peloton.

With his crisp writing, excellent reporting skills, and eye for detail, John introduced the thrilling world of European road racing to generations of English-speaking readers who were hungry to know more about the sport. Before the internet, smart phones and GPS, John was often sought for historical details, statistics and information, or simply how to find the fastest way to the start of a race.

So far in his long career, John has covered over 40 editions of the Tour de France and has served as the Editor of Winning Magazine and Velonews in the USA. He also contributed to many other leading English-language publications and is the author of 12 books, including 23 Days in July, one of ESPN’s Top 10 Sports Books of the Year.

Due to the fact that media landscape is undergoing rapid changes because of the internet, social media and the cutbacks in existing media, the AIJC must stand up and fight for the interests of the cycling journalists and photographers.

This year the AIJC has again enforced a change in our press cards. Last year we made the transition to digitalized press cards, on which one can see whether he or she is active as either J (journalist), PH (photographer), V (video-reporter), TV (television) or R (radio). In doing so, we aspired to create more clarity for the organizers.

Furthermore, the delegates per country will ensure that anyone who has a press card, also gets 70% of its income generated through sports journalism. In case of doubt, the board members of the AIJC will examine the request for a press card carefully.

The contact with our key stakeholders is well maintained. We discuss and the evaluate the larger tours extensively and are currently negotiating with the International Cycling Union UCI and the organization of the Worlds in Qatar to appoint an affordable media hotel with shuttles which will run every hour from the hotel to the press room. We will also consider whether the cycling press can receive special rates for the Worlds from Qatar Airways. We will hopefully have more information on this matter in April.

Furthermore, William Fotheringham will be the new delegate for the United Kingdom. He takes over the job from Mike Price who did great work.

After decades of loyal service, Bertrand Duboux will quit as a delegate for Switzerland and we are still looking for a successor. We are also searching for a delegate for Scandinavia. The positive increase in the number of members is stimulating for the volunteer work that many are performing for the AIJC.

It is in everyone’s interest that we continue to fight for a better position of the cycling press in the realm of media.

Raymond Kerckhoffs
President of the AIJC

Ses présidents ont été Jean Regali (Suisse), Pierre Chany (France), Robert Janssens (Belgique), Bertrand Duboux (Suisse), Jean-Yves Donor (France) et Gilles Le Roch (France), auquel a succédé Raymond Kerckhoffs (Pays Bas) depuis octobre 2012.

C’est une poignée de journalistes spécialisés (12 présents), rendus inquiets par l’évolution et la dégradation de leurs conditions de travail sur le terrain, qui est à l’origine de cette initiative. Il fallait réagir, se faire entendre aussi bien des organisateurs que des dirigeants de la FICP (Fédération internationale du cyclisme professionnel) et de l’UCI afin de mettre de l’ordre dans la famille cycliste. Il fallait jeter les bases d’une nouvelle collaboration et cohabitation entre la presse écrite et audiovisuelle et les différentes parties prenantes de la compétition afin que tous puissent œuvrer en bonne harmonie à l’avenir.

Il est vrai que fin 1970 et jusqu’à l’arrivée de l’électronique et des nouvelles technologies, avec les téléphones portables, internet et les moyens de communication modernes, accomplir sa mission tenait souvent de l’épopée. Les conditions étaient précaires, les liaisons avec les rédactions souvent difficiles. Certes il était plus aisé qu’aujourd’hui d’approcher les coureurs et l’on pouvait encore suivre la course en voiture. Mais une fois en salle de presse surgissait la réalité du moment : difficulté à obtenir des infos, peu de communiqués, résultats tardifs, travail à la machine à écrire mécanique (sans logiciel de traitement de texte !), manque de lignes téléphoniques, voire de télex, etc. Parfois manque de places de travail, de tables et de chaises, comme en 1985 au championnat du monde à Yvoir (Belgique) où beaucoup de confrères ont dû rédiger leurs papiers assis parterre, dans l’herbe, en attendant de pouvoir les transmettre avec à disposition deux standardistes débordés, deux lignes de télescripteur et quelques lignes de téléphone pour près d’une centaine de journalistes !

Après le Japon en 1990 et l’aventure sicilienne en 1994 (Palerme, Capo d’Orlando, Catane et Agrigente), où les badges avaient été distribués à volonté et sans contrôle, ce sont les mondiaux 1995 en Colombie qui faisaient souci ! Comme un remake de ceux de 1977 à San Cristobal (Vénézuela), avec plusieurs sites de compétition et centres de presse qu’il fallait aménager et faire équiper par des organisateurs locaux peu au courant des nécéssités et des exigences de la presse internationale. Sans parler du décalage horaire, des déplacements à l’intérieur du pays et de l’hébergement. Par deux fois il a fallu que notre ami Claude Sudres, alors délégué international de l’AIJC, précieux et infatigable collaborateur depuis les débuts, fasse le déplacement à Duitama, puis à Tunja et Paipa, pour se rendre compte de la situation sur place et anticiper, puis régler tous les problèmes qui ne manqueraient pas de se poser le jour des courses (protection contre les pluies tropicales, alimentation électrique, liaisons téléphoniques, etc). Cette année-là, l’UCI fonctionnait encore sans chef de presse et il avait fallu trouver un arrangement financier avec elle pour la prise en charge des frais de cette collaboration capitale à la réussite commune. Sinon la catastrophe était annoncée… Comme elle le fut d’ailleurs aux JO de Barcelone, puis à Atlanta, Sydney et Athènes où le cyclisme, avec l’entrée en lice des professionnels, n’était pas vraiment intégré à l’organisation des épreuves olympiques et où l’UCI avait du mal à se faire entendre du CIO !

Suite à ces expériences douloureuses, il a été négocié avec l’UCI un cahier des charges « presse » pour les championnats du monde route, piste et cyclocross. Celui-ci stipulait notamment que « l’organisateur est tenu de prendre totalement en charge les frais de voyage et d’hébergement du représentant de l’AIJC à l’occasion d’une reconnaissance sur les lieux des épreuves au moins un an à l’avance. » Une heureuse initiative qui a évité le pire en de nombreuses occasions. Jusqu’à ce que la fédération internationale se dote enfin d’un chef de presse attitré avec la responsabilité de l’accréditation des journalistes ainsi que la mise à disposition d’installations et de structures dignes de tels événements. Mais la transition ne fut pas sans conflits, notamment avec un certain signor Carpani, qui entendait régner comme un petit potentat alors que jusque là c’est l’AIJC qui avait accompli le travail dévolu à l’UCI !

Dans les statuts de l’AIJC, il est dit que celle-ci se réclame expressément de l’AIPS (Association internationale de la presse sportive) et en constitue la commission du cyclisme. Elle est ouverte aux seuls journalistes professionnels. En plus de la FICP et de l’UCI, elle est rapidement devenue l’un des interlocuteurs des principaux organisateurs (ASO, RCS, Unipublic), de l’AIOCC, l’AIGCP et l’AICPRO. Fin 1994, elle comptait quelque 350 membres mais beaucoup avaient du mal à s’acquitter de la cotisation, notamment les membres hollandais… d’où quelques problèmes financiers qu’il a fallu régler en recherchant des partenariats.

L’un des sponsors de l’époque, la société World Travel Agency, proposait également des billets d’avion à tarif réduit grâce à la précieuse collaboration de son représentant, Daniel Bélier. Pilote de presse sur le Tour de France pendant plus de trente ans, celui-ci fut dès 1995 au volant de la voiture que l’AIJC avait décidé d’accréditer à l’échelon « course » pour offrir une assistance occasionnelle et provisoire à des confrères qui en avaient besoin, le plus souvent étrangers et de passage.

L’AIJC était très active sur tous les fronts où surgissaient des problèmes relatifs à la presse (classiques, grands tours, principales épreuves de la saison, championnats du monde, etc). Son implication était nécessaire. Cela exigeait une grande disponibilité de son président et du délégué international, qui était indemnisé en raison de son incessante activité. Petit à petit la mise en place de structures nouvelles, modernes, efficaces a contribué à appaiser les tensions et à faire admettre ces améliorations souhaitées afin que tous les acteurs du sport cycliste y trouvent leur compte.

Bertrand Duboux
Trésorier dès 1982
Président 1990-1996

Mark was born in the New South Wales country town of Cooma at the foot of the Snowy Mountains but he soon spread his wings by combining his love of cycling with his talent behind the camera lens.

Mark joined the cycling media peloton more than a decade ago to pursue his passion and over the years was a welcome sight at track, road, mountain bike and BMX events both in Australia and internationally. His work for AFP from the Tour Down Under appeared in publications world wide and he was also a regular contributor to a range of magazines and websites.

Cycling Australia presented Mark with the Photo of the Year Award four times during his career.

In April this year Mark, his wife Leanne and their toddler son Lucas, embarked on a life adventure when they moved to New York to pursue their dreams. But months later Mark was diagnosed with Stage IV oesophageal cancer and the family returned to Australia in August so he could undergo treatment.

Despite the best efforts of his medical team, strong support from family and friends and Mark’s own determination to beat the disease, it proved to be a fight he could not win.

We will miss the talent, the offbeat humour and the generosity of spirit that made Mark Gunter a cherished and respected member of the cycling family.

We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Leeanne, son Lucas and his family and friends.

Rest in Peace Mark.

Considering we were informed just before the gala took place that it would be possible to award those trophies during the official ceremony, we had to make a quick decision about the winners. The AIJC board met as a consequence to consider who deserved both trophies.

Giant-Alpecin received the AIJC Trophy. That team did indeed many efforts to build excellent relations with the media. Both at the start and at the finish of the races, they used a special mixed zone close to the team bus. Riders ware always available whatever the circumstances are. The day after their rider lost the Vuelta a España, Giant-Alpecin organized a full hour meeting to allow the media to interview Tom Dumoulin.

In agreement with the UCI and RCS, the AIJC Management Committee decided to award the UCI/RCS/AIJC Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Cycling Journalism to Jean-Paul Ollivier. The Frenchman achieved an incredible amount in cycling, working for radio, television and written press. He moreover wrote a lot of books about cycling in general and the Tour de France in particular. He is also a pioneer in combining cycling and tourism.

For the AIJC, that important presence at the UCI Cycling Gala of the Year, confirms the outstanding place of our journalists association in cycling.

Next year the AIJC Award will be awarded according to a different vote procedure. The board will chose five candidates during the month of September and all the AIJC members will be able to vote for the AIJC Award 2016 winner sending an email.

The Board of the AIJC is satisfied about 2015. More and more AIJC members are collaborating actively and the number of members keeps on increasing, particularly in new cycling nations, which means that the AIJC is also contributing to cycling globalization.

In 2016, the AIJC will continue improving several aspects. Membership and AIJC press card are attributed only to professionally active in cycling media. New requests will be more carefully analyzed. In case of doubt about their relevance, the Management Committee will take the final decision.

The new AIJC press cards (plastic with inserted pictures) received a warm welcome. Not only the members appreciate them but also cycling other stakeholders who considered it represent a new step towards AIJC professionalism. The collaboration with Wings, which prints the AIJC cards, is excellent.

In 2016, new cards will be published on three different dates: January, April and June. New members who register after that date will be added on our website but will receive their card only the year after.

New symbols will be added on the cards: J, V, PH, R or TV. It will help the organizers knowing immediately if the member is a journalist, a videographer (camjo) a photographer, a person working for the radio or a person working for television.

Our goal will remain the same one in 2016: to improve media working conditions and we will therefore collaborate together with the UCI, the organizations, the teams and the riders.

Raymond Kerckhoffs
Alasdair Fotheringham
Gregor Brown
Stephen Farrand
Guy Van den Langenbergh

Board members AIJC