Rapha Roadmap

[Morgul Bismark]

Based on the lead in to this first installment, Velonews will be publishing the Roadmap in parts during April in May with Rapha releasing the whole thing in May.


Rapha Roadmap: Chapter 1 A road less traveled

There is one conclusion that echoes most loudly from our research, in interview after interview; professional cycling is broken. Despite the obvious passion of countless stakeholders in the sport, and the hugely impressive strides made towards modernization in some areas, the sport has failed to find new audiences or inspire younger generations of fans. Cycling has struggled to keep pace with the changes that have upended broader sporting, leisure and entertainment industries. The basic structure, format, and presentation of the sport has barely changed since its inception. It is regularly argued that those involved have stuck too closely to the sport’s heritage, missing opportunities for innovation. And as a result, the health of cycling has been left to wither on the vine. As the same tired narratives are retold and the same events replayed every year, the sport has failed to create new stories and elevate characters that capture the attention of fans around the world. That seeming inability to evolve is starting to show in its audience. While the number of people on bikes is increasing in every major region of the planet, engagement with professional cycling is stagnating.

[wasfast]

There's been lots of critics (and I agree with them) but somehow action has to be taken. Even odder to me is that the pain points have clearly been articulated by multiple people and could definitely be fixed. Still, it's business as usual.

[shoota]

"Outdated models of broadcast production, content accessibility, viewership measurement, and media distribution systems, as well as failure to champion characters and narratives within the sport on new platforms and a challenging media cycle focusing on doping and safety."

This right here. If my best option is a pirated live stream that regularly gets attacked and taken down then something is fundamentally broken.

Also, I can't speak for Europeans but Americans don't have the attention span for cycling. There, I said it.

[Seamus]

How many Americans watched the Masters last weekend? How many baseball fans are there? Either certainly challenges the attention-span.

[XXtwindad]

I'll read it.

[velofinds]

Originally Posted by wasfast

There's been lots of critics (and I agree with them) but somehow action has to be taken. Even odder to me is that the pain points have clearly been articulated by multiple people and could definitely be fixed. Still, it's business as usual.

Stasis is a hell of a thing.

[grognaak]

I have a few non-controversial suggestions for the purpose of making pro cycling more accessible:

*No motorcycles or support vehicles--annoying to watch a bunch of fossil fuel burning vehicles clog up a good bike ride!
*Riders have to be 100% self-supported in terms of equipment/race repairs. Let's see the struggle and failures!
*Bring your own bike and kit. So boring to see every rider using the same crap.
*Filming is done with drones and mandatory GoPro-type live streaming cameras on riders' bikes/helmets. Ability to switch between riders and cameras at will, thank you very much.
*Mandatory GPS tracking on each bike should indicate that riders stay on course and rider nodes should be visible live on a map of the course. Other stats such as speed, avg, watts, etc. for each rider should be visible in real time in addition to biographies, each respective weight, height, favorite era of Campagnolo parts, etc. Some sort of interactive website.
*No race radio.
*No doping controls. Free your inner chimp, or realize that there is more to life than winning a bike race.
*Riders for Monuments, Grand Tours, etc. are selected at random from a pool of anybody who cares to apply for a spot and pays a modest registration fee! How funny and interesting would that be! No team invites. Fewer people finishing!
*Littering disqualifies you.
*No cash prizes or monetary incentives for winning. All riders are paid the same. Sponsorship deals for riders are verboten.
*Free, high-quality, edited recaps on YouTube.
*Throw in a few uphill sectors where boxed in spectators can try to pelt riders with water balloons.

Okay, just what's on the top of my head. You're welcome.

[corky]

I like the way cycling requires some effort to watch and participate....I don’t want it to be just another sport spoon fed and monetised to the hilt. Vive le difference......

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by grognaak

i have a few non-controversial suggestions for the purpose of making pro cycling more accessible:

*no motorcycles or support vehicles--annoying to watch a bunch of fossil fuel burning vehicles clog up a good bike ride!
*riders have to be 100% self-supported in terms of equipment/race repairs. Let's see the struggle and failures!
*bring your own bike and kit. So boring to see every rider using the same crap.
*filming is done with drones and mandatory gopro-type live streaming cameras on riders' bikes/helmets. Ability to switch between riders and cameras at will, thank you very much.
*mandatory gps tracking on each bike should indicate that riders stay on course and rider nodes should be visible live on a map of the course. Other stats such as speed, avg, watts, etc. For each rider should be visible in real time in addition to biographies, each respective weight, height, favorite era of campagnolo parts, etc. Some sort of interactive website.
*no race radio.
*no doping controls. Free your inner chimp, or realize that there is more to life than winning a bike race.
*riders for monuments, grand tours, etc. Are selected at random from a pool of anybody who cares to apply for a spot and pays a modest registration fee! How funny and interesting would that be! No team invites. Fewer people finishing!
*littering disqualifies you.
*no cash prizes or monetary incentives for winning. All riders are paid the same. Sponsorship deals for riders are verboten.
*free, high-quality, edited recaps on youtube.
*throw in a few uphill sectors where boxed in spectators can try to pelt riders with water balloons.

Okay, just what's on the top of my head. You're welcome.

:d

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by shoota

"Outdated models of broadcast production, content accessibility, viewership measurement, and media distribution systems, as well as failure to champion characters and narratives within the sport on new platforms and a challenging media cycle focusing on doping and safety."



This right here. If my best option is a pirated live stream that regularly gets attacked and taken down then something is fundamentally broken.



Also, I can't speak for Europeans but Americans don't have the attention span for cycling. There, I said it.

I just spent a week in Amsterdam for work, and was pleasantly surprised that cycling was on TV each and every morning! Made working out in the hotel mini-gym much more pleasant

DaveS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by shoota

If my best option is a pirated live stream that regularly gets attacked and taken down then something is fundamentally broken.

Also, I can't speak for Europeans but Americans don't have the attention span for cycling. There, I said it.

fwiw, I find it much easier to watch legal feeds than it was a few years ago. between NBC Sports Gold, FloBikes and Fubo Cycling, you can see pretty much everything you'd want to. not saying one should get all three (esp since FloBikes basically just re-broadcasts Fubo), but you can prioritize based upon what races you care about. comparatively, have you ever tried to follow an NHL team all season, especially if you're out of market? it's just as difficult, if not more so.

as for attention span and general interest of the public, I have a funny anecdote: last weekend my mother in law, who has absolutely zero interest in bikes, but loves sports in general (the big three of course, but also loves hockey, hates golf, goes to NASCAR races regularly, etc), sat and watched two hours of Paris Roubaix with me. she asked many questions, picked a winner, and was pissed when he didn't win.

[geordanh]

Originally Posted by chiasticon

comparatively, have you ever tried to follow an NHL team all season, especially if you're out of market? it's just as difficult, if not more so.

reddit nhl streams. Even more reliable than Gamecenter, no blackouts, and no max devices. The broadcasting business is completely out to lunch.