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Urgent reform needed to remove Team Sky's dominance

Roar Rookie
26th July, 2016
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Is the TDF becoming boring? (Image: Sky).
Roar Rookie
26th July, 2016
20
1002 Reads

On Sunday, Chris Froome rode into Paris to win his third Tour de France (Tour de France) and provide Team Sky’s fourth win in the last five years.

Like in previous years, Team Sky completely dominated the race, blowing all other teams out of the water.

Once Froome slipped on the yellow jersey after the eighth stage, it could not be prised from him. Team Sky controlled the race through his domestiques chasing down attacks or riding at such a high tempo that it has prevented competitors from attacking.

Team Sky’s preparation starts well before the race’s Grand Depart. Riders diets, nutrition and equipment are carefully monitored, tweaked by Dave Brailsford and his team of scientists and engineers to ensure the marginal gains on other teams.

Such is Team Sky’s dominance of the race, Froome is already odds on favourite at 4/5 to win the 2017 edition of the race, which departs from Düsseldorf, Germany.

Cycling Weekly reported cycling insiders claiming the 2016 edition of the race lacked excitement. Others were more explicit calling the race ‘boring’.

The Tour de France is the largest cycling race in the world. The global audience reach, both in terms of people on the side of the road and on their couches, provides the incentive for sponsors to get behind the race and the teams that ride it.

However, Team Sky’s dominance of the Tour de France risks corporate support and viewers turning off their TV sets.

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World cycling is already struggling to secure financial support. IAM cycling and Tinkoff Cycling are leaving the peloton at the end of the year. Orica is also pulling out of sponsoring Orica-BikeExchange at the end of the 2017 season.

Corporates and businesses only have a limited marketing budget. All sports, whether it is football, cycling or tennis, are competing for that limited pool of funds.

Cycling teams need to convince their sponsors they will guarantee awareness of their products or brands. That means TV coverage.

If sponsors think that it is only Team Sky being splashed across the TV sets and newspapers, they will question their investment and walk away from the sport.

What can be done?

The UCI and race owners will be examining the impact of Team Sky’s continuing dominance of the race. ASO also does not want to hear its race being described as being ‘boring’.

1. Eight-person team

Christian Prudhomme told the French newspaper, L’Équipe, that the introduction of eight-person teams rather than the current nine teams may reduce Team Sky’s dominant display.

Given the display of Team Sky’s domestiques during the mountains stages it is questionable whether eight person teams would have any effect.

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Teams like Sky and Movistar are likely to respond by dropping a sprinter from the team roster.

2. Salary cap
Another proposal involves the introduction of a salary cap. One of the reasons behind Team Sky’s dominant display is its financial muscle to buy the best climbers to act as super-domestiques to support the leader.

For example, when Richie Porte left Sky for BMC, he was replaced by Mikel Landa who was equally as strong.

According to L’Équipe, Team Sky’s budget is whopping €35 million per year. Only Katusha has a similar budget. It is not hard to see how with €35 million makes Team Sky become an attractive place for a rider to roll their legs over.

Team Sky’s dwarfs many of the world tour teams, including Movistar, which has an annual budget of €15 million. Most World Tour team budgets are around €12-20 million per year. Although Lampre-Merida competes on the smell of an oily rag with a budget of €7 million.

Salary caps are not a new phenomenon in sports with a number of sports already using them. Salary caps lead to a more financially sustainable model for teams and ensures a level playing field.

3. Point system
A final model that the UCI could adopt is the introduction of some form of points system. There are an infinite number of permutations that this model could take.

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Points would be allocated over the previous 12 months of racing. Riders would accumulate points through race or stage wins. In addition, riders would secure points for securing specific jerseys in stage races.

As cycling is a team event, all riders in the team would also earn points if a rider on that team wins the race. For example, during the the most recent Tour de France Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe and Wout Poels would secure maximum points as their team leader won the event.

Teams could only enter a race with riders up to a specific number of points. This would be the aggregation of each of the rider’s individual points.

Points will vary according to the nature of the event, for example whether it is World Tour, UCI 2.2 or UCI 2.1 event.

If a rider is recruited to a team at the end of their contract they would take their points with them.

World cycling is at the crossroads. IAM Cycling’s problems with securing new sponsors highlight the difficulties for teams.

The UCI needs to help cycling teams by introducing reforms to prevent one team from dominating the biggest race of the year.

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The type of dominance that is bad for the sport.

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