THE B I G NINE HOLD STRONG

‘Cycling needs a new business model’ is not a phrase that stirs the soul, but it is on the lips of cycling’s bigwigs all the time. Such a lot, in fact, it feels like the Pavlovian response to all the sport’s ills; a catch-all that takes in all sorts: a failure to !ind a sponsor, the UCI's perceived incompetence and dwindling audiences to name just three. It's facetious to say, but the sport has existed through thick and thin for more than a century. The show has gone on. In fact, it’s become better. Riders are faster and stronger and the technology allowing us to follow racing is more advanced and immersive with every passing year.

The sport has a few immutable truths: the nine big, historic races (the grand tours, monuments and the Worlds) will always matter the most and there will always be riders, teams and sponsors who will !ight like hell to win them in front of a passionate audience. Plans for new cycling models usually involve more of something: more races, more formats, more places, more teams. Cycling certainly has structural problems, but just as with a building, such issues are seldom solved by adding more unnecessary weight.

It feels like cycling is going through a period of being talked down, as though it's in a state of perpetual crisis. But teams have always come and gone. So have races. It’s worth remembering that one of the sport’s least celebrated but important characteristics is its ability to remain. And after some great editions of the ‘big’ races, I don't think the sport is in a bad place.