After removing the race in 2024 because of Olympic Gamesthe CIC-Mont Ventoux must make its return to the UCI calendar this year. However, Nicolas Garcerarace director, said on LinkedIn face financial worries. To date, nearly 50,000 euros are missing to organize the race, which is to be held on June 17. Few TV rights, no arrival in town, no ticket office, Garcera explained the problems he encountered.
Video – Ruben Guerreiro won the race in 2022
“The economic model of Cycling is very complicated”
“The CIC Mont Ventoux professional cycling race is struggling, but we remain confident and mobilized! The end of the year was eventful for the CIC Mont Ventoux. While the budget had been closed for several months, and the teams' sporting field had already validated, the unstable and difficult economic context is catching up with us. Two of our private partners have announced that they will have to withdraw, and a third will have to drop by 30%. We thank them for the previous editions and wish them a peaceful and prosperous future, because. let's not forget that behind these difficulties there are employees and their families who must be the absolute priority of these companies, and their cash must be routed to them, not to us.”he writes.
“The economic model of cycling is very complicated because it is historically a free popular sport, without a stadium and without ticketing, without merchandising but with professional athletes and professional service providers paid for their work. And, at our level, televising an event costs more to produce than the low TV rights. Organizing an arrival at Mont Ventoux also deprives us of a destination city and the financial resources associated with it. In complete transparency, these new elements mean that €50k excluding tax is currently missing to produce the race and televise it. It's nothing, and it's enormous at the same time”he adds.
Search for sponsors
To be able to produce and televise the race, the organizers are currently looking for sponsors and patrons. “NWe would like to welcome into our organization a major co-sponsor (visibility+++), or one or more patrons (with less visibility but a tax credit reducing the amount invested by 66%)”écrit Nicolas Garcera. “Cand major sporting event must continue to make children dream and make them want to cycle, play sports, with all the benefits that we know for health, living together by integrating clubs, the values of “sacrifice, seriousness, solidarity, sharing, teamwork, effort, these values which will follow them throughout their lives”he explains.
