JEAN-ETIENNE AMAURY

RACE PORTFOLIO OWNER

Appointed by his mother, Marie- Odile, to replace Patrice Clerc as president of Tour de France organisers ASO in 2009, 37-year- old Jean-Etienne Amaury is guaranteed a critical role in deciding the future aspect of professional cycling. There have been many different suggestions of what that future might look like but the only two things all of the various proposals agree on are that ASO must share the TV revenues it earns from the Tour and the Tour must retain a key place in any new calendar or organisational structure.

Garmin team manager Jonathan Vaughters has said of ASO: “We need to convince them to see the advantages of reforming the system and the sport.” However, up to now there has been no evident sign that Stanford MBA graduate Amaury is ready to cede any of ASO’s financial grip.

During Amaury’s five-year stewardship, ASO has extended its range of influence significantly. As well as taking control of the Vuelta a España and other existing races in Europe and beyond, his expansion strategy has seen ASO establish events in the Middle East, Indonesia, Japan and, most recently, Yorkshire. This gives the impression that although, ultimately, Amaury and ASO may have to yield to the general desire for change, it will do so from a position of considerable strength.