The idea is not going to delight bike fans at all. Asked by West France on the economic model of his sport, in an interview published this Thursday, the president of the International Cycling Union (UCI) David Lappartient puts his feet in the dish. After extolling the virtues of “naming”, since each professional team is attached to the name of its main sponsor, the French leader puts forward the possibility of extending it to the World Tour or the UCI ranking.
Above all, the Breton leader explains that charging spectators “is not a taboo subject”. “When I was president of the organization of the Plumelec Grand Prix, we did it, at 5 €, and people understood that,” says Lappartient. “We do it for track cycling, for cyclo-cross, why don’t we do it more on the road? For me, when a race ends with a circuit, it’s completely understandable. »
The Tour de France not affected
The candidate for the presidency of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) thus evokes possible paying entries “for French championships” or “for French Cup events”.
But the biggest race in the world would not be affected. “I would have a hard time, personally, to see the organizer of the Tour de France which generates income asking for others with ticketing. So are we, frankly. “The Tour now belongs to the French. And asking the French for money for something that belongs to them, in a way, is unheard of. Here we are (a little) reassured.