Whats the cost of running a British cycling team???

Thanks for taking the time to answer Stefan and I look forward to following the teams progress and hopefully success in the future.

I have been really impressed by the racing this year and the fact that the UCI have started to livestream the races. I agree the social media presence is a key element . I think the work the teams do on making the riders accessible through posting content on youtube and making them available for interviews with folk such as the unofficial womens cycling podcast (one of the most interesting and entertaining podcasts around on cycling) can only aid the profile. It feels like there is a real buzz around womens cycling at the moment.

I find your ambassador model really interesting. The level of investment and importantly what you get for that investment cannot be easily matched in other sports (I think other sports are the useful comparator here rather than mens cycling) without compromising on the quality of the product that you are taking your corporate guests to see.

Really interesting points on the wages, business model and number of teams too. Thanks for your sharing your views/insight here. Its both interesting and refreshing.

Thanks for replying Stefan.

The business of cycling teams is still an area shrouded in a lot of mystery relative to say football for example.

Two quick questions if I may:

Do you see the business model evolving further with the world tour from 2017? (When you consider where women's cycling is now relative to where it started from).

I guess regular TV slots would increase earnings potential and sponsorship potential massively do you think this would then translate to higher wages?

I agree though reading your article the scope to get involved at a manageable affordable level in Womens cycling exists and you do get more for your money.

We have a very different Mechanic and Swanny....gone are the days I hope where they double up. Both of ours are full time, although many teams choose to use "day rate" staff, who are also excellent in many cases.

I did some figures for a conference I spoke at earlier this year and as a guesstimate, the average budget of UCI registered women's team is around 350k to 400k. The top teams are way higher. The lower end way lower.

In reply to notfastenough, you'd be surprised at what you get for your money. If you return needs were training camp, VIP event, and clothing based....you'd have teams lined up have you on board.

One of the issues for the mens continental teams in the UK, is that to be a British registered men continental team, you have to also be a BC registered elite team. Thats fine in principal, but those teams are obliged to ride the Premier calendar. They therefore either need lots of riders (Costs a lot to do that), or run a pretty mixed program of UK and Overseas events. For the women's team (Wiggle and Ourselves at Matrix), we don't have that restriction.

Interesting VeloPeo

It means that the riders do not earn very much at all.

I assume the balance of what the riders subsist will be lottery funding in the UK case? (Could be wrong!)

The cost of a team Wiggins seems high for a domestic series and an invite to the ToB. Pro-conti budgets must be around the £700k mark with the additional requirements to prove your financial sustainability (which I assume means you must hold some operating cashflow (effectively dead cash)). So you would need £xxxk in the bank and then an operating budget of £700k.

In the context of that Womens cycling (as well as being good to watch) provides excellent value particularly with the promise of an increased profile from the forthcoming world tour in 2017.

Spooky - Stef Wyman (DS/Owner: Matrix Fitness) has just updated his "what it costs to run a women's team" article.

http://matrixprocycling.cc/2015/08/24/cost-of-running-a-team-revisited/

PS: Vulpine Nick was not the sponsor I was referring to above.

Indeed.

I had a conversation with a man who runs a company that's heavily involved in sponsoring Women's Cycling. Reckons it's the best advertising bang for buck that they get for any sport

Most top level women's teams run on €250k or less - which in itself is a crying shame but means there's great opportunities for sponsors to get on board

You can get a women's team for a lot less than that (why is another issue) but you'll potentially get a lot more return from a women's team, depending on what you are promoting.

Looking at a side sponsor like Yellow Jersey insurance who sponsor the Matrix women's team, it allows them to leverage a presence at all sorts of events and capitalise on having an olympic medal winning rider on their roster.

Plus they get to support an area of cycle sport that is extremely worthwhile.

Even though it's little in the context of sponsoring a team of elite athletes, it's still a proper wedge isn't it? I have my own business (nothing fancy, just one-man-band stuff), but faced with the prospect of parting with even £5-10k a year from the company coffers, my rational side would have to get stuck right in and challenge where the return was coming from. And that amount isn't going to get me any free kit or a training camp jolly, either. Thank god for nutters like Oleg Tinkov, eh?!