Wanda Group acquisition of WTC

[lrdunc]

Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
If it’s preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run, it is not called a bike race, it is called duathlon or a triathlon. Neither of which is a bike race. Also keep in mind that one should only swim in order to prevent drowning, and should only run if being chased. And even then, one should only run fast enough to prevent capture.

I would be really interested to hear what you all think about this acquisition and what it means / could mean / should mean for cycling. I don't know enough about the business structure of either sport to do any more than parrot back what I'm reading here:

Cycling’s leaders should take notice of the WTC deal, and how triathlon — barely 40 years old — has been able to expand so rapidly. Even a few years ago, no one would have predicted that the Ironman brand would be sold for nearly a billion dollars. The entire and still largely feudal sport of cycling — now well over 100 years old – could likely be acquired and consolidated for considerably less than that.

What do you all think?

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/09/commentary/commentary-triathlon-sprints-ahead-of-pro-cycling_383422

[prendrefeu]

It's inevitable, and hopefully beneficial for the sport - but we will see what happens with WTC's new ownership first.

[KB]

Cycling will probably still muddle along, but it's always been behind the times and sensitive to change. So, I hope it does benefit our sport.

I started cycling in the 60's: downtube shifters, steel frames, quill stems. If it hadn't have been for the growth of MTB and Triathlon we would still likely be caught in that time warp.

[tymon_tm]

depends which part of 'cycling' you take. for manufacturers, it deosn't really matter whether they sell tri or road bikes and gear. I won't claim to know the figures, but just recently (a year ago?) one of the best bike stores around switched almost entirely to tri bikes, covering mtb or road bikes as an additiod. judging by the looks that was a great business decision.

for the events and fans this could mean a huge blow. it's not hard to imagine WTC selling tv rights to major networks who'd eventually drop pro cycling in favour of triathlon. 100 years of history don't mean $hit if the product is unreliable and causes too much drama with the ongoing doping saga that regularly shakes the whole discipline like a freakin earthquake. tri is stable and now has some deep-pocketed professionals running it - two crucial elements pro cycling lacks.

for many amateur riders getting familiar with tri might be sort of refreshing, especially since running storms into being the most popular sport (at least here in poland) and combining the two makes a lot of sense, especially business wise.

does this acquisition bring any direct benefit to pro cycling? the only one I can think of is setting potential investors' attention towards cycling, but it's too much of a stretch IMO to expect someone's just gonna come, kiss the frog and change pro cycling.

[djm]

Tri is the (new) 30/40/50-year old crisis go to sporting activity.

Pro cycling definitely could use several big investors, not one single..

[HammerTime2]

I started cycling in the 60's: downtube shifters, steel frames, quill stems. If it hadn't have been for the growth of MTB and Triathlon we would still likely be caught in that time warp.

I started road bike cycling in the 70's: downtube shifters, steel frames, quill stems, toe clips and straps.

I started serious road bike cycling in the early 80's: downtube shifters, steel frames, quill stems, toe clips and straps.