The way forward for the Tour of Britain is in critical doubt after British Biking reportedly withdrew from a cope with race promoter Sweetspot, alleging that the corporate owes round £700,000 in race licence rights charges.
The dispute implies that the UK’s largest skilled bike bike race may very well be cancelled in 2024, ought to no new promoter be discovered within the subsequent few months.
Whereas British Biking owns the rights to the week-long stage race, Sweetspot has run the Tour of Britain since its revival in 2004, and in 2019 gained the rights to take action till 2029.
Studies from Biking Weekly and the Guardian state that Sweetspot owes unpaid instalments for the rights to run the race relationship again to 2022.
British Biking stated in an announcement issued to Biking Weekly: “We will verify that we now have terminated our settlement with Sweetspot Group Restricted to ship the Tour of Britain. British Biking stays absolutely dedicated to the supply of the Tour of Britain in 2024, and can share additional particulars sooner or later.”
There are considerations inside British Biking that the Tour of Britain rights payment type a big a part of governing physique’s earned revenue” and that the alleged unpaid charges might have a monetary affect on the organisation and their capability to spend money on the expansion of the game.
British Biking has apparently revoked the Tour of Britain licence following a squeeze of their very own funds simply earlier than an Olympic yr. In accounts leaked to Biking Weekly final week, British Biking reported a lack of £1.3 million in business revenue and a decline in membership of seven%.
British Biking lately made eleven redundancies after a significant staffing restructure, with new CEO Jon Dutton admitting that biking in Britain is a part of the squeezed center of sports activities, properly beneath the riches of Premier League soccer and different main sports activities.
Each British Biking and Sweetspot have reportedly instructed legal professionals to step in, although Sweetspot’s Tour of Britain CEO Hugh Roberts claimed to the Guardian that he was “optimistic” that the problem might be overcome.
“We’re in very optimistic talks, significantly concerning the Girls’s Tour, with quite a few stakeholders,” he stated. “I’m optimistic that the problems with British Biking might be overcome. Now we have to resolve our variations.”
The Girls’s Tour was cancelled in 2023 on account of a scarcity of sponsorship, whereas the lads’s race as soon as once more went forward and not using a title sponsor. One other Sweetspot-run biking occasion, the Tour Sequence, was additionally cancelled in 2023 on account of monetary issues.
Cyclingnews has contacted Sweetspot and British Biking for touch upon the matter.
