Velochimp

Go Clipless has a nice writeup on a recent USA Today article that talks about how cycling is growing in the US. The fans lining the roads of the Tour of California definately show that there is a large interest in the sport, but just how large is this interest?

Race organizers are predicting that the eight-day event that ends in Long Beach Sunday will attract more than 1.3 million spectators and break its own record as the biggest sporting event held in California since the 1984 Olympic Summer Games.

The racers like the conditions here in the US much better too.

“Some of the early season Pro Tour events there are horrible,” says Tom Danielson, a rising star on the Discovery Channel team. “The hotels are small and cramped and the roads are really, really bad. Sometimes there’s hardly anyone at the races, the road and towns are empty when we pass.”

The riders like racing here and the fans turn out. Some of the bigger companies have a stake in the US market too. Owning a cycling team compared to other sports is a bargain where the return is as Lance Armstrong puts it ten fold.

Discovery, the heir to Armstrong’s first six Tour de France wins and title sponsor of his seventh, is dropping its $10 million annual sponsorship at the end of the season in the wake of a management shakeup at the network. Team officials says they’re already talking with potential replacements.

“Its never easy,” says Armstrong. “Ten million a year is a significant financial commitment. But if you look at what we did with Discovery Channel, we can prove that they got $100 million in benefits. Even last year, after I retired, they made money on the deal.”

Ten Million is not much when you compare it any of the major ball sports here in the US. The Indianapolis Colts are trying to restructure Payton Manning’s contract just to freee up Eight Million dollars extra. Petty cash in the NFL is ProTour team cash in cycling. Plus, fans do not have to purchase tickets to go watch the sport.

USA Today Article | http://www.goclipless.com/