Show Me The Money: Is Pro Cycling Financially Broken?

Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Mitch Docker

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Wilderness, Sports

4.8 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2025

⏱️ 114 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP The sport of professional cycling has everything. Dramatic storylines, heroic champions, tear jerking wins, and more. But, one thing it seems to be lacking is cash. Every year, it seems like teams have to fight harder and harder to get sponsorship to pay their riders. Compared to the likes of soccer and other mainstream sports, budgets in cycling are a drop in the ocean. I wanted to find out how professional cycling is able to keep rolling despite the financial struggles, and see if there’s anything teams can do to increase their revenue and grow the sport as a whole, so I spoke to some key stakeholders in the sport to find out more. In this special edition of Life In The Peloton, I speak to my first team boss and manager of Team Picnic Post NL, Iwan Spekenbrink, General Race Director of Flander’s Classics, Scott Sunderland, current pro seeing out his last season after 17 years as a rider, Simon Clarke, Bas Tietema, owner of TDT Unibet Rockets - the new kids on the block looking to redefine the fan - team relationship through storytelling alongside chasing results, and finally Dr Cillian Kelly; a master statistician with the cold hard facts on the situation to see if it is really as bleak as it seems. Guys, this episode is a deep dive into the sport we all love to find out if it has a future that’s financially sustainable, or if teams are always going to be scratching around for sponsorship or closing altogether. Thanks to all my interviewees for speaking to me, and the wider Life In The Peloton team for helping pull this mammoth episode together. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers! Mitch ----more---- This episode is exclusively being brought to you by the Tour Down Under, stages are set, the 2026 stages have been announced! The most exciting and hardest edition of TDU in its 25 year history! Come and feel the rush! Check out the stages and the race here: https://tourdownunder.com.au_______________This episode is brought to you by our friends at Saily. If you're heading overseas for your next ride or trip? Avoid nasty roaming fees and get set up with Saily, the eSIM app from the legends behind NordVPN. Download the app and use the code PELOSURF for 15% off your next data plan — or hit https://saily.com/pelosurf to score yourself a special listener-only discount. _______________ This episode is powered by Shokz, the world leading open ear headphones pioneer. Want the most comfortable and safest headphones for cycling? Check out https://shokz.cc/LITP-2505 _______________ 🎄 Christmas in July? You bet. We’re running a massive 50% off over at the Life in the Peloton shop all month long! Use code JULY50 at checkout to score half-price tees, caps, and beer cozies – the ultimate kit to keep you cool (and your tinnies cooler) this summer. Support the pod, save some cash, and rep the vibe - https://www.lifeinthepeloton.com/shop

Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, welcome, guys. Welcome to Life in the Peloton, presented by MAP.
0:16.6	Abbott Kinney Boulevard, Venice, California. Yeah, well, get ready, Los Angeles. The Map Lab is
0:23.4	coming soon, the much-anticipated LA Map Lab, a vibrant communal space for cyclists to celebrate
0:31.0	the creative culture, art and progression of cycling. Well, guys, it's prime time cycling at the moment over in France for, of course, the Tour de France
0:41.2	and what a cracker of a race it's been.
0:43.6	But look, a little bit closer to home, some very exciting news last week.
0:47.6	The 2006 Tour Down Under Roots have been announced.
0:52.8	And I can officially say the 2026 race routes are the most
0:58.9	exciting in Tour Down Under history and, well, they're actually the hardest as well. For the first time,
1:04.4	all 15 women's world tour teams and the 18 men's world tour teams are expected to be on the
1:10.7	start line in Adelaide come
1:12.5	January next year. Some highlights on the men's race are going to see the return of the prolog
1:18.3	which is exciting only the second time that's happened. Two ascensions up the corkscrew. The first
1:23.4	time ever this has happened three times up Walunga Hill, again, first time that's ever
1:28.3	happened, and a new final stage around Sterling.
1:32.9	The longest ever women's race this year, 395K, racing up the corkscrew twice, and three
1:39.1	brand new stage starts in Walunga, McGill and Norwood.
1:43.2	But for me, I used to like racing Tour Down Under,
1:46.1	but now as a fan going to Adelaide, the race has transformed so much for me. I almost say I like
1:52.8	it better. It's such an all-in festival of cycling. The whole city shuts down with a Two-Down Under
1:58.8	village where you can see the riders every day
2:01.6	as they prepare for the stages and when they get back and they're cruising back across to the
	...

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