News: Tour of Britain up for Tender

Sweetspot respond to British Cycling announcement regarding appointment of Tour of Britain delivery partner

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

SweetSpot Group would like to express their surprise and disappointment at the decision by British Cycling to seek expressions of interest to tender for the right to organise The Tour of Britain from 2014 onwards. SweetSpot fully intend to participate in this process, and retain the right to organise and promote Britain’s biggest professional road race from 2014 onwards, especially given the continued growth and unparalled success of the event under their ten-year stewardship.

In order to protect the interests of cycling fans across the UK, SweetSpot initiated the revival of The Tour in 2004 and they based their plans on a sustainable model to insulate the event from the vagaries of the sponsorship marketplace. This action has been vindicated by the consistent growth and increased profile of the event, despite having to endure one of the worst recessions in living memory.

Do we need any more of an incentive to let Sweetspot carry on than this from the final stage last year … a scene witnessed up and down the country

The team at SweetSpot have created unrivaled relationships with stakeholders around the country, including the police, highway authorities and the regions, counties, cities and towns into which The Tour of Britain has been invited since 2004, taking the race to millions of spectators around the UK. SweetSpot will continue to protect the interests of these stakeholders many of whom can also take much of the credit for the revival of what has become an iconic event.

These relationships have spawned other events, such as The Tour Series, which form the current backbone of the UK domestic cycling calendar. Furthermore SweetSpot have recently been appointed, jointly with The London Marathon Ltd, the delivery partner of the Olympic legacy cycling event, RideLondon, from 2013 onwards.

Not only have new sponsors been introduced to the sport in Britain, but media coverage in all forms has been stimulated, including live daily television coverage on a UK and global platform. By guaranteeing the inclusion of British teams, The Tour has been a catalyst for the development of cycling in this country over the past decade.

The SweetSpot team would like to state its continued commitment, investment and passion for organising and promoting national and international cycling events, and look forward to announcing details of the 2013 Tour of Britain and Tour Series early in the New Year.

BC’s Statement
British Cycling has today announced that the running of its key road cycling event, the Tour of Britain, is to be put out to an open tender to decide who will take it forward from 2014 onwards. Since its reinstatement on the calendar in 2004, the Tour of Britain has been delivered by sports marketing and events company Sweetspot.

British Cycling’s President, Brian Cookson said: “Against the backdrop of our continued success over recent years and the amazing success this summer with our first Tour de France winner and 16 gold medals at London 2012, it’s important that we take a fresh look at how the Tour of Britain can deliver continued growth and profile for the sport.

“Sweetspot has nurtured and developed the event over recent years but the time is now right to assess all options. Most crucially, we want to assure our current and future members and all cycling fans that we will have their interests at heart throughout this process and we look forward to further developing an event that reflects the current status of our sport in this country.”

British Cycling’s existing contract with Sweetspot will continue throughout next year, including the delivery of the event in September. The invitation to tender will officially be launched in January, although expressions of interest are now welcome. The process will be managed on behalf of British Cycling by The Sports Consultancy to ensure fairness and transparency.

 

 

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: , ,