Introduction: In 2019, The Outer Line published a detailed analysis of the pro cycling media marketplace, highlighting over-capacity and predicting an imminent consolidation and industry downsizing. At that time, we estimated that there might be some 50 viable cycling media entities – ranging all the way from large and well-established legacy print magazines and websites to small podcasters, YouTubers, video producers, and independent “labor of love” bloggers. Print magazine subscription rates were collapsing as publishers increasingly gave away free digital news and editorial content. Endemic advertising was rapidly decreasing,as cycling-related brands migrated more of their ad spend to cheaper and simpler Google, Facebook or other social media and big tech platforms. In addition, more teams, events and athletes were producing their own content via social media – and thereby becoming less accessible to journalists. The confluence of all these disruptions seemed to be hastening the death of print publishing, and presaged an imminent but uncertain transition to a more fully digital future media market.

The challenges that confronted pro cycling media at that time reflected conditions in many other niche sports verticals, and many of those predictions have materialized. Change has happened faster than predicted, and niche sports media players have had to evolve quickly. Many traditional titles and familiar publishers are gone. Financial tightening and broader economic headwinds that began to develop in 2022 only intensified the pressure on media companies – triggering severe cutbacks and widespread lay-offs across all types of media companies. Blowback regarding layoffs and shuttered titles lit up social media, and the dust is unlikely to settle any time soon. This article examines the challenges and opportunities going forward – utilizing pro cycling as a microcosm to illustrate trends that are affecting much of endurance sports and outdoor media.

Background: Consolidation began in earnest in the cycling media arena several years ago. Among the key early transactions were Discovery’s purchase of EuroSport and its follow-on investment in GCN; the acquisition of Competitor Group’s endurance sports brands by Ironman; the purchase of CyclingTips by PinkBike; and the reacquisition of CyclingNews and ProCycling by Future Media.

But the primary consolidating force that eventually emerged in the endurances sports media field was Pocket Outdoor Media. Formed in late 2017, the company acquired a small and struggling sports media business from the World Triathlon Corporation – comprising four legacy sports titles (including VeloNews and Triathlete magazines) that were on the verge of closure. After stabilizing the original platforms, and following the implementation of a new management team and significant new investment in 2019, Pocket Outdoor Media quickly assumed the role of industry consolidator in the outdoor and endurance sports media field. During 2020 and 2021, the company conducted a rapid and broad-based industry roll-up, first acquiring a suite of titles from Active Interest Media, then several assets from Big Stone Publishing, a variety of smaller publishing and related companies, and ultimately purchasing Outside magazine and its various media properties. Shortly thereafter, the company also picked up the PinkBike group of cycling platforms, including CyclingTips. By the end of 2021, the company had aggregated more than 30 different titles, including most of the major brands in North American outdoor sports.

After rebranding itself as Outside Interactive Inc. (“Outside”) and bringing in substantial additional investment, the company tried to set about consolidating these various assets into a more compact and efficient organization. The basic strategy followed the logic common to most industry consolidations: (1) the industry was over-supplied; (2) many media companies were headed toward extinction, as they competed ruthlessly against one another for the same advertisers and readers in a crowded marketplace; (3) by rolling many titles together under one roof, the merged businesses could preserve the strongest assets, combine audiences and subscription bases, and maintain the best editorial talent; (4) the consolidated business could then be complemented with adjacent businesses – like sporting events, mapping services, photo apps and so on – to provide a more comprehensive and value-added bundle of services; (5) this would allow the company to attract and retain more customers; and finally (6) a more diversified and economically stronger player could emerge, able to offer more services to more customers over the long-term. Instead of three cycling titles competing each other to death, for example, one stronger cycling title could emerge – better-positioned to survive for the long-term.

Recent Industry Challenges: Many other social and global economic changes were occurring as Outside undertook this consolidation effort. Above and beyond the unique and unprecedented challenges of COVID, subscription/membership and advertising concerns continued to intensify. All media platforms realized they needed to transition their print operations toward digital – to shift their old paying print subscribers to some form of paid digital subscriptions or memberships, or put at least some of their content behind hastily fashioned paywalls. But – largely due to the widespread availability of free news and content – most companies were still struggling in this effort. Print subscriptions were dropping by as much as 20% per year while costs were rising – postage rates were soaring; newsprint costs doubled just during 2022. This confluence of factors put most media companies in an ever-tighter economic squeeze. Literally hundreds of broader news publications were forced out of business during this time period; others were swept up in consolidation, while fewer and fewer remained independent, fighting to survive. Cycling and other niche sports suffered the same challenges on a smaller scale.

The financial resources to support niche sport verticals continued to dwindle as equipment and accessory brands endemic to those sectors continued shifting their ad dollars towards simple-to-use and easily configurable social media or tech platforms. In some niche sports, ad page rates reportedly dropped by as much as 80%, while fill rates declined by 60%. All those dollars that previously supported news delivery, story-telling, tech and travel reviews and training programs were increasingly redirected by the big tech companies into their own research and investment areas – things like artificial intelligence, machine learning and the “metaverse.” This left many niche sports media sites struggling to economically provide their legacy content.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the commercial brands that were shifting their dollars and marketplace power away from the sport. Traditional media companies themselves often undercut their own positions by increasingly posting content and links on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Over time, this allowed the social media companies to build better targeting engines and essentially say to endemic brands, “why buy from the publisher XYZ when we can give you the same audience for the same or lower costs?” Whereas fifteen years ago, 100% of these brand dollars were staying inside to support endemic media, much of that spending was now going outside.

All these factors resulted in a fundamental shift of both dollars and market power – away from the original endemic media and sport, toward companies that don’t really care about sports or the outdoors. Although many media companies and their advertisers still don’t seem to fully recognize it, the long-term effect of losing all these dollars represents a fundamental threat to their own sport and livelihood. If this trend is not slowed or reversed, it could eventually spell the death of many sports media brands.

Current Conditions: Financial tightening and economic headwinds began to impact all industries during 2022 – and media businesses were particularly hard hit. On top of the internal and secular changes mentioned above, emerging economic uncertainties led to (1) greater caution and hesitation in terms of spending on the part of advertisers, and (2) a slowdown in the growth rate of long-term subscription or membership fees on the part of customers. Advertising revenue for many media firms collapsed during the second half of 2022; this quickly proved catastrophic for many players.

Cycling print media resembled a graveyard by the end of last year. Some print magazines like RIDE Cycling Review, Cycling Active and CycleSport had long since been shuttered. During 2022 a number of legacy stalwarts such as ProCycling, VeloNews, Peloton, Bikeas well as newer and short-lived efforts like Betaand Stelvio all closed down their print operations to focus solely on their digital platforms. The venerable and more broad-based Bicyclingwas one of the only print publications still appearing on magazine racks. The larger and more digitally-oriented companies also faced an economic challenge, and Outside was no exception – conducting broad staff reductions in both May and November. New podcasts, newsletters and blogs began to emerge as a flood of laid-off former writers and editors struggled to retain their coterie of fans – all competing in a small market for the same readers and advertisers. Acrimony and bitterness ruled social media discourse, as disgruntled employees grappled to understand the larger forces at work, and the inevitable Monday morning quarterbacks vied to explain why new investment and industry consolidation had already failed.

Many observers are labeling 2022 as the worst year ever for cycling media. But it wasn’t just the media. Major bicycle brands – including firms like Specialized, Zwift, Strava and Wahoo – also began to trim expenses, lay off staff and cut back on advertising. Some cycling media insiders seem to believe that the current upheaval is somehow specific to the industry, or the result of bad decisions at a handful of specific companies. However, the general issues facing the niche sports media industry are virtually identical to those facing all media companies – not just sports platforms. Cost squeezes and adjustments to the rapidly changing marketplace have caused Disney, Fox, Paramount and other larger public media companies’ stock prices to fall by 50% or more during the past year. Massive lay-offs have occurred at most of the major companies, including CNN, the Washington Post, Paramount and others. As 2023 dawns, these cutbacks continue and uncertainties are intensifying, with many economists predicting that recessionary conditions will persist throughout the year.

Building Future Success: The cycling media industry may face its toughest internal and external challenges in decades, but there are opportunities to shift direction, adjust strategies and succeed in the future. We believe that there are five key factors which will determine whether and how the cycling media can stabilize and reinvigorate its business model. While some of these factors may seem somewhat obvious, the ability to adopt and actually implement these strategies will largely determine who lives and who dies. Media firms must strive to: (1)  build back original advertising and find new commercial partners; (2)  develop a more authentic editorial brand and strategy – a “personality” to differentiate oneself from the competition; (3)  identify and define the specific characteristics and size of the target market they wish to serve; (4)  seek out and develop other new and complementary revenue sources that can be logically bundled with legacy media content to add value; and (5)  utilize the economic cushion of these strengths to grow digital subscriptions/membership revenues.

First, niche media platforms need to work even harder and interact more closely and productively with the primary brands in their markets. And that doesn’t mean just trying to bring back traditional advertisers; it means broadening horizons as well, and identifying new potential partners. In the cycling sector, this includes the major bicycle manufacturers – including components, apparel and equipment – in addition to other retailers, training service providers, tourism destinations, environmental and “green” transportation groups, and so on.

For years now, many brands have been pushing their ad strategies toward companies that will likely never engage in their sport. As that happens, legacy media declines, and customers find it more difficult to decide what products to buy, what events to attend, or what places to visit. If these industry suppliers and endemic brands don’t start to plow more of their advertising dollars back into their own industry, they are ultimately killing themselves. Hence, media companies must proactively work harder to convey the severity of this concern, so that endemic ad dollars start migrating back towards the dedicated media sites which follow and promote their sport. Recent evidence shows that, for the first time, the duopoly of Facebook and Google is beginning to lose some of its share of the $300 billion digital ad business. This is encouraging news for traditional media players, although thus far much of that shift is simply going to other big tech players like Amazon, Microsoft and Apple.

Some obvious ways to repatriate historical advertising revenues include exploring partnerships and diversification of sponsored content, building stronger affiliate relationships, promoting key events or hard good/soft good discounts, and other types of digital cross-pollination. If we want advertisers to help us, we have to look for new ways to help them. And there are plenty of ways to accomplish this
without necessarily compromising independence; journalists will have to pragmatically balance editorial integrity against a tendency to cry wolf when asked to work more directly with clients to achieve better results. At the end of the day, media companies must foster a closer and symbiotic relationship between advertisers and customers; if any of these three parties are substantially weakened, the whole sport is jeopardized.

Second, media companies must strive to better create a unique editorial identity – a unique brand “personality” that is recognizable, and that is independent of any single editor. Companies must differentiate their product to stand out as a distinctive voice within their target community. A common criticism heard today is that many websites look the same – they often mimic each other, chasing after the same news stories, generating similar tech or travel pieces, and failing to differentiate themselves much in the marketplace. If one website doesn’t look that different from another, neither is going to generate much customer loyalty. And even the largest firms shouldn’t try to be all things to all people. It will be increasingly critical for firms to focus on developing this kind of clear brand strategy, and the authentic personality and purpose that will endear them to their specific community of customers.

Third, media players really need to better define and understand their target audience. This can’t be over-emphasized. Even though broad participation in cycling has grown (particularly during the last few years), the cycling media has done a poor job of addressing and expanding its potential market. To their own detriment, most of the cycling sites have chased customers who look, think and ride like their editors, providing elite-focused coverage of interest to only a tiny and often vitriolic sliver of the overall enthusiast base. The main cycling sites often seem to be fighting over the same 250,000 skinny, white guys. Meanwhile, Bicycling magazine – disdained as a “proletarian” product – has maintained a strong business by successfully catering to a broader audience. Absolute scale is important in this business; if parochial cycling sites can’t find it within themselves to broaden their horizons and address new audiences, they may be doomed to repeat the self-cannibalizing practices of the past.

Fourth, media firms must identify and affiliate with other products and services of interest to their customer base. For many, it will no longer be enough to simply provide the news and stories; that ship has sailed. New media companies must seek out opportunities for bundling different services together, to make subscription or membership in their services more attractive and compelling to customers. This could include things like bundled access to multiple paywalled websites, event and registration services, marketplace forums to swap ideas or trade equipment, training programs, collectibles or loyalty programs, and live sports programming. Additional utility-based revenue sources could include mapping or fitness apps, or external commercial and merchandising partnerships. Within the endurance sports market, for example, Outside has estimated that their average consumer is involved in at least three different activities – underlining the potential value of bundling. Highly successful bundling strategies have been developed in other sectors by companies like Disney, Walmart and Amazon. Scale will obviously convey competitive advantages in this regard.

Finally, firms that are able to make progress on these first four factors will have a cushion for survival, and thus a far better chance to maintain and grow their subscriber or membership base. Building a comprehensive understanding of the size, characteristics and primary desires of targeted customers – and particularly that core audience that represents the bulk of digital engagement – will help facilitate the design of a specialized and high-quality set of products. As a firm builds that suite of products and services, it gradually becomes more necessary or indispensable to its audience, and membership grows.

Major media platforms like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian are often held up as models for other smaller media players to emulate. For some of these publications, digital subscription revenue is now more critical than advertising revenue (though that can bring its own set of problems). One of the best models to consider is the Times, which has been able not only to preserve its news, commentary and opinion content, but has also bundled these legacy services together with new offerings – like sophisticated product review capabilities (Wirecutter), in-depth regional and local sports coverage (The Athletic), an array of games and puzzles, and detailed food and travel coverage – a diversified package which helps to build and reinforce the loyalty of online subscribers. The Times has
consistently grown its digital base to almost ten million subscribers by bundling this more diverse set of offerings.

But there is a hard reality here, which must be understood by niche players – and that is again the issue of scale. The New York Times might have a potential digital audience of, say, 100 million people; if ten percent of that audience actually signs up, it will provide sufficient revenues to run a high-quality journalistic and economically viable business. On the other hand, the potential market for a niche sports digital membership may only be 250,000 people. Even if ten percent of those sign up for the service, it may not provide sufficient revenue to support a viable business.

From this perspective, many niche sports media sites face an existential challenge; for some, the total potential market – even under the most optimistic scenario – is perilously small. To have any chance of success, they will have to work even harder and be even more creative and innovative, in order to capture a significant share of that potential market. They will have to operate with a sharper pencil – assessing more accurately the size and interest level of their potential market, achievable audience conversion rates and subscription fees – in short, determining if the market is big enough to support a financially viable media business.

Maintaining Good Business Practices: While there are unique challenges facing the niche media industry, attention to standard “tried and true” business management fundamentals will always be critical for success. All of the basics that we discussed four years ago are just as important today, including the “blocking and tackling” type of day-to-day management skills; better monitoring and control metrics; better people management, guidance and motivation, and; an ability to recognize your weaknesses and fill in the gaps. Delineate your own strategy and then stick with it – don’t worry about mimicking what everyone else is doing. Finally, maintain the proper balance between creative/content objectives and financial targets.

With respect to the last item, it is instructive to think of media firms as existing on a spectrum – with the creative/editorial features of the business on one end, and the financial/profitability aspects on the other. In firms that are biased toward the creative side, management tends to view the reader as being the customer; with the help of advertisers, their main objective is to provide quality content to their readers. On the other hand, firms that lean more towards financial goals may view the advertiser as the customer, with the primary objective being to deliver maximum eyeballs. The optimal balance here is complicated. We all know media companies with great content that have expired because they failed to create enough revenue; at the same time, it is axiomatic that no media company can survive without good content.

Summary: Over the last two decades, the broad-based shift to digital and the creeping loss of advertising revenue has turned the media business upside down. The old models no longer work; many niche sports media operations find their longer term future in jeopardy. Media firms must continue to bang the drum more loudly on these challenges, while providing the kind of quality content and value that reinforces brand relationships and recurring customer revenue. They must also gently but constantly remind their customers that good quality journalism and editorial content are not free. If we as consumers want good content and more diversified services, we have to be willing to help pay for it.

Change in future media markets will be constant, digital behaviors will continue to evolve, and the pace of that change will probably accelerate. New and rapidly evolving technologies like artificial intelligence will likely complicate the industry in ways we scarcely imagine today. In striving to achieve a good balance between the five critical factors above, firms must be laser-focused on (1) constant innovation to produce and deliver the kind of differentiable and valuable content packages that advertisers are willing to invest in and customers are willing to pay for, and (2) building, scaling and efficiently managing a business that is proportional to the size of their market. When the chips are down, the important guiding light to remember is that there is still an audience out there – fans will continue to demand interesting news, stories, reviews, training programs, recreational suggestions and advice, and other content about their favorite sports. For many niche sports like cycling, it may not be a huge audience, but it is still there, and it still demands to be served. Media brands that can figure out how to build, scale and manage a business to tell the stories of a beautiful sport and satisfy – or delight – their consumers, will be able to achieve long-term financial stability.

(Disclosure: Steve Maxwell was one of the founding partners of Pocket Outdoor Media, and is a minority shareholder in Outside. He writes regularly for VeloNews, but is not involved in the management of the company. Previously, he ran a boutique investment banking business serving the environmental industry. He is also the Co-Editor of The Outer Line.)

There have been numerous video calls, in which everyone showed willingness to find solutions and work together. We tried to secure one set of unambiguous rules across all major races but unfortunately this turns out to be impossible.

As is the case with the UCi’s medical protocol for teams and race organisers, it is impossible to give one set of guidelines because every country has different Covid-19 rules and are dealing with different levels of contagion and risk.

The organizers of the races have to follow and respect their governments, provinces and municipalities which all set different rules and conditions for the continuation of a cycling race. As a consequence, the media also have to respect and obey each race protocol, even if they are often different.

What we achieved

The AIJC secured the basic right to work at races for the media and then pushed to have the best possible access and working conditions, to safeguard the health of the riders and teams in their bubbles and also the health of the media at races.

We tried to obtain a safe mixed zone in the paddock around each team bus that including safe distancing, masks, etc. This idea that was received positively by quite a few teams. ASO wasn’t against this either but the Tour de France organiser had to respect the rules imposed by the French government and the UCI. The protection of the team bubble is considered vital. 

The best solution was to create a safe mixed zone near the bus paddock, so that riders can talk before or after arriving at their team bus. We believe this is a safe and reasonable solution. Of course, the work of team press officers will be vital in making this mixed zone work well. However, we have also established good relationships with most teams and press officers and they share some of our goals. 

So far at the races

We noticed a willingness to work together at the Vuelta a Burgos and Strade Bianche.

There was no mixed zone at the team bus paddock at Strade Bianche but despite initial limits in the race protocol, on the day there was access to the bus paddock, the start area, and the finish area where some riders talked to both TV and written media. RCS Sport also arranged a press conference with the winner, which was also streamed online and audio files where available from the mixed zone reserved for TV rights holders. 

Although the number of media accreditations was limited at Strade Bianche due to the size of the press room, there was obligatory social distancing in the press room, checks on entry and even temperature controls access points to the finish. 

In the Vuelta a Burgos social distancing and other precautions were strictly in place for the media, with obligatory PCR tests prior to the race, regular temperature checks in the press room (and the rule of non-admittance and exclusion for any journalist who showed a fever was applied) and the removal of a mixed zone (as decreed by the state’s health regulations) from the start and finish areas for interviews.  There was also a special CoViD-19 committee overseeing the whole situation. The race organisation did an excellent job of sending interviews with the leader, stage winner and other riders leading the classifications. 

 In Spain mask wearing is obligatory in all outdoor spaces and fans were overwhelmingly very respectful of maintaining social distances with riders/teams, although on the last day’s climb the numbers of fans were so great social distancing between people lining the route was not possible. Working was possible for journalists at starts and finishes interviewing (at a distance) staff and some riders (depending on the team) at the team buses area. As stated a mixed zone area near the buses would seem to be the way to go, but it very much depends on teams’ collaboration. One conclusion from Burgos would be that the press officer’s role in facilitating interviews regularly is absolutely critical in this situation and teams need to realise that they may have to boost their press department in order to respond to that if they want to generate maximum publicity. Some teams are truly working hard at this, others are not.

For future races and the right behaviour

We are looking to create similar working conditions and establish access at other races, especially to reward journalists and media who take the trouble and incur the costs of traveling to races at times when it is challenging  both economically, with so many media outlets suffering during the ongoing pandemic, and in practical terms to do so.

Teams and race organisers understand the value of the media attending races and are helping us but also have their own objectives and strategies as in the past. 

The seriousness of the COVID-19 situation should not be underestimated. 

Races are still being cancelled because they cannot be organized within the Covid-19 rules of the countries concerned. 

Six riders haven’t started because of Covid-19 risks Silvian Didier missed the Strade Bianche because of a late positive Corona test. Juan Sebastian Molano, Christian Camilo Munoz and Andres Camilo Ardila didn’t start on day two of the Vuelta a Burgos because they had had contact with a person who had tested corona positive. Alex Dowsett and Itamar Einhorn were not able to start in Burgos because they had previously been at the table with teammate Omer Goldstein who had tested positive. 

These case highlight the risk of the races and COVID-19.

At the AIJC we feel it is important that the working conditions for our media are safe. We do not want any media to be infected with COVID-19 at races or elsewhere. 

That’s why we’ve indicated to all parties that journalists who don’t comply with the Covid-19 rules and protocols should be first warned of their unsuitable behaviour and then lose their accreditation in case of a second violation. 

The media has to behave professionally in the accredited race areas and away from races in hotels and even at home.  if we want to retain our access at race and with teams. We want to be part of the solution to ensure professional races continue, not part of the problem.

So far, we are happy to see that almost everyone has behaved in a disciplined manner at the recent. 

Strade Bianche and the Vuelta a Burgos where both held safely, with the race organisers respecting the needs and the role of the media. 

The working conditions were reasonably good under the prevailing circumstances and we hope they continue so and even improve going forward. 

We all have a role to play in ensuring this is the case.

Thanks,

AIJC board

Raymond Kerckhoffs
Stephen Farrand
Gregor Brown
Alasdair Fotheringham

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Aigle-Martigny’s Organising Committee have the pleasure to welcome you in Switzerland.

In order to facilitate your accommodation, we are happy to offer you the below preferential rates atseven hotels:

Single Occupancy -between € 112 (CHF 120) and € 230 (CHF 250), depending on duration of stay and room category. Rates include breakfast and Wi-Fi.

Hotels are located in Verbier, located 25 km (45 minutes) from the Championships finish area (Accreditation Centre, the Media Centre and the TV compound) in the town of Martigny.

The Organising Committee will provide a shuttle service from Verbier to Martigny. Details will be communicated at a later stage. If you wanna have more information about the hotels, the AIJC has sent an email to all members. If you didn’t receive this, please contact me: raymond@cyclingopinions.com

– General: compliments for the organisation. The working conditions in the Tour de France were good. Just some small things can be better. Just two days the conditions at the finish were not good: Planche des Belles Filles and Valloire.

– The grey signs pointing to the press room are much more difficult to find than the former green signs. And that increases danger levels because we’re all trying to work out if we’re looking at a sign for a press room or a blank piece of wall.

– Press room and car parks are generally well secured so that you could feel good when you left your things behind.

– The internet functioned well. Only a couple of days it didn’t work out a bit now and then. The price remains expensive. Why not possibility to subscribe to a wifi connection for a device?

– Laundry that is in the press room every two days, is convenient.

– Roundbook is well set up. Only a few times away from the press room to the finish beyond what is written in the book.

– Location press rooms generally good. Only La Planche des Belle Filles and Valloire were poorly arranged. We understand that when you arrive uphill in these places the press room can’t be close to the finish line. In any case, make sure that the press room is close to team buses. Or make sure that at the finish there is a small press room with wifi and TV.

– New rules at the finish with the various zones were acceptable. It’s a pity that we weren’t able to think about this, but were confronted with it in the week before the Tour.

– Many journalists are still looking for a TV screen at the team buses. Some buses have TV outside, but quality is bad. Can organisation do something about this? That way you also keep journalists out of the fences.

– Buffets are generally good.

– Toilets at the press room deserve more attention. Absolutely for woman they were some days not acceptable.

– More needs to be done for us on the hot stages in the press rooms. They know in advance the forecast. But press rooms lack AC and any proper ventilation. In other races in China, they have big portalable AC units.

– The need for TVs beyond the finish line around the buses with BLACK tents so we can see the screens. Than a lot of journ’s won’t also come in the finisharea.

– Also the televisions in the chapiteau in the finishzone; is it possible to put them in a black tent and not a white tent.

– Route book pretty clear in general.

– Good that the total podium comes tot he pressroom fort he final pressconference in Val Thorens. That should be done at all WT-races. A lot of races should follow this example.

– Etappes 1 and 2: Press room Brussels was good. The start was easily accessible by metro for two days. Finish stage 1 was much further than the round book indicated.

– Etappe 3: Next to press room Epernay was a huge parking lot for VIP’s, but it was completely empty. Media had to park cars in the streets around the press room. Not convenient.

– Etappe 3: Beyond the finish line Epernay towards the team busses was a large TV screen. Ideal. This way you could follow the race perfectly and caught the etappers outside the fences while they were on their way to the bus.

– Etappe 4: press room in Nancy in excellent position.

– Etappe 6: Small press room at the bottom of the climb Planche des Belle Filles had no internet and wifi. Shuttle media drivers didn’t know where to drop off journalists. Badly arranged. This has to be improved. It’s the fourth time that the Tour finishs here and still it’s a problem…

– Etappe 7: Press room Chalons sur Saone was further from the finish than indicated in the round book. It’s a good thing that busses were lying between the finish line and the press room.

– Etappe 9: In Brioude it was necessary to be able to park your car near the finish/bus. Walking the distance was too far.

– Etappe 10: In Albi it was necessary to be able to park your car near the finish/busses. Walking the distance was too far.

– Parking press room Etappe 11 in Toulouse was not well signposted. Also the road from the parking to the press room was far and not clearly signposted. For press parking in Toulouse there was also zero warning that we had to remove our cars from the press park by a particular time. Some journo’s got back there at midnight and it was completely closed off, no access to car! If press carparks have an ‘exit this place by x time of the evening’ they should warn us.

– Route from press room to start time trial in Pau stage 13 was hard to find.

– Press room in La Mongie Etappe 14 Tourmalet was fine. Especially since the buses are parked nearby. It would be useful if there would be a shuttle bus later.

– To understand that on arrival at Prat d’Albis there is not enough room for press room and parking press. Distance press room to buses was still quite large. There was enough space to park by the buses. Again a pity that the last shuttle to the top of the climb leaves so early.

– Etappe 16 The lack of air conditioning in the pressroom in Nimes made it unbearable.

– Etappe 17 press room in Gap is fine. And a nice cool press room. Especially in the heat this is no superfluous luxury! The start at Pont du Gard was chaotic and the parking lot was gone a lot.

– Press room Etappe 18 in Saint Michel de Maurienne is situated a lot further from the finish in Valloire. Also because all teams sleep in Valloire is necessary for many to go upstairs. Shuttle bus drivers gave zero indication of where they would pick us up/what time buses began going back down the hill. Here a solution with a chapiteau should have been found. In Valloire there should be enough place somewhere. This could have been better.

– Tignes. Press room fine. Only a pity that Christian Prudhomme doesn’t come into the press room just after this Etappe to answer questions from writing journalists. Think that if you decide to cancel a Etappe, someone from ASO will have to come to the press room to answer questions.

– Val Thorens, excellent press room on excellent location. General press conferences top three were good. It is also important that the top three come to the press room on this day.

– New press room in Paris near Champs Elysées was fine, better than previous ones by a long way in the Hyatt. BUT access to it on foot was very complicated, no  prior warnings that metro stations on Champs Elysées were all closed,  and signs for press to get there hardly existed. Whilst trying to get in to the press room, some journo’s got completely lost and with all the extra security controls and checkpoints it made it very difficult and stressful to find anything. We appreciate this is one of the most ’security-sensitive’ days and it’s a new press room, but some simple things, like signposts, can be better.

2019 Review

Overall: the Vuelta continues to provide a very satisfactory and well-planned environment for working in, from accreditation through to the website, press rooms and starts. However, the sudden worsening from one year to another in working conditions at race finishes was notable and needs to resolved urgently.

Accreditation and general media handling: straightforward as ever.

The media Wattsapp group in English as well as in Spanish: designed to keep press up to date with logistical changes and press releases/results continued to work well. Particularly appreciated that we get full results and commissaires/medical reports every evening! A great idea and a pity other top races don’t bother doing the same…

Starts: generally run well, with the notable exception (for logistical reasons to do with excessive distances between different events at the start and not the organisation’s responsibility) of Benidorm on stage two. Parking for buses was generally pretty close. The question of whether signing on area needed more work done on it to make it easier to do interviews is an area which needs more checking up on by the AIJC.

Finishes:  clear indications on general access with one or two notable exceptions in the first week. Particularly, the finish at Torrevieja on stage one had very difficult access and poor signalling and the press parking was a disaster. Fortunately, after that, it improved.The distance between team buses and finishes and/or press rooms, which has caused some logistical nightmares in the past for media as well as considerable time losses, was improved compared to 2018. However, we hope for more improvements in the future.

Working at finish areas: probably the area that most needs resolving, and where after several years where there has been general improvement, in 2019, things took a significant turn for the worse.From Unipublic’s point of view, the main problem is an excessive number of media and other race staff at the finishes, which in the Vuelta are often very limited in terms of space causing problems of safety and excessive pressure on riders.Unipublic argue that journalists, in particular the radio media, did not respect riders enough after finishes, and that teams are also bringing in too many staff to the finishes.  Some stages, particularly in the second week, ended up being excessively crowded and it was all but impossible for some sections of the media to work.From the media’s point of view, there was also not enough space in the media tents at the sides of the finish. Access to riders was very patchy and needs clearly establishing.  Also the types of journalists and team staff  authorized to be present at the finish needs re-organising and the access to the team buses, if improved, would reduce the necessity of journalists at the finish line. Unipublic and the AIJC have agreed that a further meeting is necessary in April when the protocol for finishes is clearly established, and that the AIJC will attend the pre-race meeting in September between team press officers and Unipublic.The AIJC appreciates the major efforts being made by Unipublic/ASO to resolve these questions, but also sees an urgent need for ongoing contacts,. Access in some format  at the finish is not a luxury for journalists, it’s a professional necessity and in a sport which lives off sponsorship, where the line is drawn between access, safety and other questions is one which needs considerable discussion.

Signalling: satisfactory. If we get a hors cours signalling it would be wonderful…

Press rooms: generally very good, with the notable exception of Toledo, which was terrible. Working in an auditorium is ok, but the seating arrangements and seats themselves in Toledo were too cramped and small. Unipublic have agreed that in future years they will try to resolve this issue if an auditorium is used again.
The mobile press room worked well in general, with the exception of Alto de la Cubilla, where it was too far from the finish, but logistically it would have been impossible to get it any closer!
Buffets were mostly excellent, there was plenty of free water, the free coffee machine was great til it broke (thankyou TVE journalists), and space was generally acceptable. Wifi worked very well.The question of the quality of video conferences was resolved after a first few difficult days, and to their credit, Unipublic worked very hard to get it resolved.

Press avant – press arrierre at starts: Introduced this year and only patchily successful. In need of improvement.

Media questions/translations: it was agreed by Unipublic that in future priority in press conferences would be given to journalists rather than the current situation where there is no distinction between organisation media officers and journalists.  Translations were excellent.

Race website: satisfactory and very fast with results.

Route book: no complaints. The media guide, in English and French, is a hugely useful complement that other bike races would do well to introduce.

Roglic: This year’s overall winner of the Vuelta a España was notably extremely uncollaborative in his press conferences, refusing to answer more than three questions on any single day to the written press on any stage. From the AIJC’s point of view this attitude is understandable if say, there is no change in the leader for several days, or there is a long transfer after the stage. But the situation reached a ridiculous point after the second last stage when, having won the Vuelta, Roglic refused to take more than four questions, making this the shortest ever winner’s press conference in a Grand Tour that this correspondent can recall in 30 years and showing a general lack of collaboration/interest which is anything but beneficial for both the media and the race. Apart from insisiting to the teams that they must ask for a greater degree of collaboration from the riders, the AIJC will try to investigate with the UCI what can be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Shuttle buses: barely used this year and absolutely fine when they were, on the second last day.

Zone mixte: innovation in the finish area in 2019 and although very occasionaly there were some problems with security for journalists trying to access there, notably less than in previous years. It was noticeable that when not in areas covered by Spain’s Policia Nacional, apart from Andorra, security at the finish was not as effective. Like, for example, in Igualada in Catalonia.

Changes for 2020

A detailed pre-race meeting between Unipublic, their press officers and the AIJC to try and resolve the problems over access at finishes will be held in April. The AIJC will also attend the pre-race meeting between Unipublic and the team press officers each September to explain journalists’ needs at finishes.

Press rooms: Unipublic have agreed that in future years if an auditorium is used again as a press room they will double check on the conditions before giving it the green light.

Press conferences: Trying to ensure a greater degree of collaboration between teams and riders when it comes to press conferences.More mobile toilets when the mobile press tent is used. This is the third year we’ve asked for this.

Press avant-press arriere: Unipublic promise to continue to build on improvements here from this year.

Media questions: it was agreed by Unipublic that in future priority in press conferences would be given to journalists rather than the current situation where there is no distinction between organisation media officers and journalists.

Press conferences: More discussion needed on how to ensure press conferences last longer than two minutes and three questions.

History section: A new search engine for the Vuelta’s history section is expected to be introduced into the website.

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.