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 signifies that the UK’s greatest skilled bike bike race could possibly 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 received the rights to take action till 2029.
Reviews 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 mentioned in an announcement issued to Biking Weekly: “We will verify that we’ve terminated our settlement with Sweetspot Group Restricted to ship the Tour of Britain. British Biking stays totally dedicated to the supply of the Tour of Britain in 2024, and can share additional particulars in the end.”
There are issues inside British Biking that the Tour of Britain rights price kind a big a part of governing physique’s earned earnings” and that the alleged unpaid charges might have a monetary influence on the organisation and their capacity to put money into 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 industrial earnings and a decline in membership of seven%.
British Biking not too long ago made eleven redundancies after a serious staffing restructure, with new CEO Jon Dutton admitting that biking in Britain is a part of the squeezed center of sports activities, effectively under 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 could be overcome.
“We’re in very optimistic talks, significantly relating to the Ladies’s Tour, with quite a few stakeholders,” he mentioned. “I’m optimistic that the problems with British Biking could be overcome. We now have to resolve our variations.”
The Ladies’s Tour was cancelled in 2023 as a consequence of an absence 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 Collection, was additionally cancelled in 2023 as a consequence of monetary issues.
Cyclingnews has contacted Sweetspot and British Biking for touch upon the matter.
