Jason Donovan, Jeremy Vine, and the Amazing Close Passing Bus Driver; Déjà vu as Ineos and Jumbo-Visma involved in plans for new cycling breakaway league, reports suggest; Jan Ullrich launches aftershave and roll-on deodorant range + more on the live blog

As we edge ever closer to the depths of winter, there are a few things that inform our life routines, that set the rhythm of the year and the passing seasons: the temperatures drop, the nights draw in, the clocks change, Christmas advertisements start appearing at an alarming rate… Oh, and rumours emerge about a brand spanking new cycling breakaway league set to revolutionise the sport.

Yep, professional cycling’s second favourite pastime (the first being doping scandals, of course) is back in the news, with Reuters reporting that a number of big teams, including Jumbo-Visma and the Ineos Grenadiers, are exploring plans to form a new competitive league which, they say, “could reshape the sport’s landscape”, amalgamating new and existing races, and redistributing the profits and TV revenue from races back to the teams themselves.

(Luis Angel Gomez/SprintCyclingAgency)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Pro cycling, a sport built on the often precarious grounds of external sponsorship, has had its fair share of ill-fated breakaway attempts and disputes between race organisers, teams, and governing bodies.

There was the Great ProTour War of the mid-2000s, Lance Armstrong’s bid to buy the Tour de France (that would have been something), Wouter Vandenhaute and CVC’s Cycling 2020 project in the late 2000s, the Rothschild-backed World Series Cycling league of the early 2010s, Velon and its underwhelming Hammer Series, Zdenek Bakala’s OneCycling project… I could go on.

But as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes once said, this time it’s for real – maybe, if we believe the three sources, nothing is imminent, it could all disappear…

According to Reuters’ sources, external investors could help finance the project, which is currently holding early-stage talks with five teams, including Grand Tour clean sweepers Jumbo-Visma and Ineos (there is no confirmation yet as to whether Jonathan Vaughters, the self-appointed spokesperson of cycling’s need for financial and structural reform, and his EF Education team are involved).

Geraint Thomas in a different kind of breakaway at this year’s Vuelta (Luis Angel Gomez/SprintCyclingAgency)

Big Four accounting and consulting firm EY are also apparently seeking expressions of interest from potential investors – with former F1 owners CVC Partners reportedly sniffing around – and have set a deadline for indications this week.

However, one source did say that an agreement is not imminent and a deal may not proceed. Which is shocking, to say the least.

The sources also told Reuters that the project is a response to long-held concerns from teams that most of the profits from cycling’s biggest races go to their organisers, with teams forced to survive on their billboard-esque qualities (the recent seemingly never-ending merger debacle between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step a prime example of the sport’s fragile, but historic, economics).

Those in the know hope the project will follow in the footsteps of sports like golf and tennis, where rival investors pour in to challenge the older, established events. Well, they did say cycling was the new golf after all.

So, when can we expect this new breakaway league to come to fruition, and finally shake up a sport that so many for so long have been crying out is in desperate need of root-and-branch reform? Well, I wouldn’t be setting my watch by it, anyway…

Much-loved children's bike manufacturer Islabikes has announced it will cease sale and production after 18 years in business.

Founder Isla Rowntree, who stepped back from the day-to-day running of the company in 2021, thanked “our many loyal customers” and said it “is a wonderful thing” that so many cycling brands now produce good quality bikes for children.

Pointing out that the company remains solvent and has no outstanding creditors, remaining stock of current models can still be bought and there will be an ongoing supply of spare parts, with existing guarantees also to be honoured, the statement says.

Read more: > Children’s bike manufacturer Islabikes to cease production after 18 years

The rumours that emerged this morning concerning the 115th attempt this century to form a breakaway league and revolutionise pro cycling have certainly raised some eyebrows within the sport.

And it’s safe to say many onlookers aren’t impressed.

“Here we go again,” former UCI president Brian Cookson (who’s always good for a cutting Twitter thread) posted on social media today. “Plans to form a new league to channel some of the profits from race organisers into the teams…”

British Cycling’s former head honcho continued:

Outside of the three Grand Tours and a small handful of one day races, there are no profits from organising bike races. In fact, most races are struggling to cover their costs. Those companies that do make a profit, specifically ASO, aren’t going to share it with the teams, as previous attempts to reform pro road cycling have shown.

If ‘investors’ are to be brought in to make this happen, where is their ROI (Return On Investment) coming from, given that the profitable events won’t share and the other events have nothing to share?

Profits come ultimately from consumers paying to buy a commodity. The answer therefore is that, one way or another, those who want to ‘consume’ cycling, i.e. watch it on TV, online, or at the roadside, will have to pay more than they currently do. That’s you, the cycling fan.

If there’s another way of generating profit from cycling, I’d like to hear about it. Like many others, I’ve said all this before, of course.

Pro cycling’s absolute USP is that if you sponsor the team, it is named after you. Few other sports offer that. That's why pro cycling has existed for decades in a reasonably effective and sustainable way. It’s a complex ecosystem, but it works.

And, yes, like all ecosystems, it’s fragile and needs to be protected. As others have said, if it’s to thrive, it needs a careful balance of all the component parts.

Meanwhile, retired pro Dan Martin – who raced for several years under the management of EF Education boss and historic proponent of breakaway leagues, Jonathan Vaughters – reckons a football-style breakaway league focused on the teams themselves is at odds with cycling’s history and culture, and would solely be a “short-term cash cow”.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

“Another week another rumour in the cycling world! Now a new league?” Martin wrote.

“What makes cycling special is the history. Sure, the riders are the stars but stars change. So do the teams. Correct me if I’m wrong but fans are fans of the races, not the teams/riders.

“Without the major races and especially the Tour de France, a ‘breakaway league’ will not work. A short-term cash cow for a few teams. There’s no doubt that the cycling business model needs to change to create greater sustainability but the shareholders must work together.”

Regularly haunted by my own hubris - tried to set my bf up on a playdate with my coworkers husband because they both “really like bikes.” Anyways, it turns out her husband was in the Tour De France

— C. E. Aubin (@ceaubin) October 25, 2023

Yes, I did spend far too much time trying to work out what Tour de France rider she could be talking about. And yes, I did succeed.

Bike and scooter sharing scheme Beryl is launching a campaign this week encouraging its users to continue travelling sustainably as we enter the colder temperatures and darker nights of the winter months.

According to Beryl’s Annual Rider Report, over 40 percent of all bike, e-bike, and e-scooter riders cited weather as a factor that affected their confidence.

To help reverse this trend – and keep their user numbers up, understandably – Beryl is launching their campaign this Sunday (when the clocks go back) which will “provide helpful advice and challenge common misconceptions about winter riding to try and prevent people from reverting to high emission modes of transport, such as private cars”.

Quizzes (with prizes), how-to sessions, and videos have been designed to ensure cyclists feel safer on the roads, that they can adapt to changing conditions, and boost their confidence.

Phil Ellis, Beryl CEO and co-founder, said: “This campaign is all about making winter cycling advice accessible, ensuring that existing riders are happy to maintain their sustainable transport habits and new ones can warm up to the idea of winter riding.

“We understand that people can be unsure about riding through the winter months, but there are some really simple tips that can help maintain the fun, flexibility, and convenience of shared sustainable transport.

“By helping people feel more comfortable and prepared, we can continue to contribute towards cutting congestion, reducing carbon emissions and keeping people active.”

Jobs have been cut at British Cycling amid “lower than forecast sponsorship and rights fee income growth” and “declining membership” in the financial year when the governing body controversially announced an eight-year partnership with oil giant Shell.

A leaked draft of British Cycling’s annual report and financial statements for the year up to April 2023 showed 11 redundancies had been made out of approximately 250 employees, while membership had fallen by seven percent and there had been a £1.35 million loss in commercial income.

Read more: > Redundancies at British Cycling amid “declining membership”