One Cycling is a secretive project created by several major teams and race organisers who want to work together to change professional cycling. Spearheaded by Visma-Lease a Bike manager Richard Plugge, the project aims to shake up professional cycling, with an external investor providing the millions needed to build a new business model for the sport and challenge the dominance of Tour de France organiser ASO.
As budgets and rider salaries increase to an average of over €25 million per season, teams want to reduce their dependence on sponsorship and find new ways of funding their organisations. They hope to work with other stakeholders in the sport instead of compete with them, and 'grow the cake' so that everyone in the sport gets a bigger piece. They believe professional cycling is massively undervalued and far too precarious.
“It’s not about becoming rich, it's about creating a better balance in the sport. We want to be fan-centric so that more people can understand and enjoy our sport,” someone close to the One Cycling project told Cyclingnews last year.
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Cyclingnews has investigated and reported on the development of One Cycling from the very beginning, revealing details and updates on the project, despite a veil of secrecy and non-disclosure agreements.
After many secret One Cycling meetings and work with expert consultants on event organisation, television rights, communications and finance, those involved in One Cycling believe they are close to a final agreement, which would see teams sign a deal, form a new management company and kick off the One Cycling project for the start of the 2026 season.
Visma-Lease a Bike, EF-Education Easypost, Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Lidl-Trek, Intermarché-Wanty, Bahrain Victorious, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Picnic-PostNL and Movistar are said to be ready to become shareholders in the One Cycling management company, with other teams tempted to join them.
Jayco AlUla and French teams Groupama-FDJ, Cofidis and Arkea-B&B Hotels are said to be against the project, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG sitting on the fence, carefully not to anger their Emirati backers or Tour de France organiser ASO.
Flanders Classics, the organisers of major Spring Classics such as the Tour of Flanders, is the driving force amongst race organisers keen to join One Cycling, while RCS Sport is also still interested but hesitant about making a final decision.
The ASO have always been against the One Cycling project, fearing it will gradually undermine their dominance of the sport. However, those in One Cycling hope the ASO will eventually allow some of their smaller races to be included in the project without undermining the prestige and revenue of the Tour de France.
The Saudi Arabian SURJ Sports Investment fund, controlled by the huge Saudi PIF sovereign wealth fund, has reportedly confirmed its involvement and is expected to finance One Cycling via a €250 million investment.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the men's teams that sign up to One Cycling will receive €1 million a year for the next three years, while women's teams will receive €250,000 per annum. One Cycling is expected to begin to generate revenue from a variety of sources that monetise racing and the fans but there are few details of how they will do that. Cycling is traditionally a free sport to watch from the roadside, while it is expensive to organise and broadcast.
Het Laatste Nieuws recently suggested that One Cycling could include four new races, including an end-of-season race in Saudi Arabia, plus new races in Asia and North America. The UCI wants to control and approve any new races and formats. Cyclingnews understands that the One Cycling teams plan to carefully direct their biggest riders to clash more often in preferred races that do deals with One Cycling.
Cyclingnews obtained a 150-page document in the spring of 2024 that detailed One Cycling’s strategy. It includes developing VIP hospitality areas at races and perhaps even charging fans to see races at specific locations. Digital technology and modern marketing techniques would be harnessed to monetise event rights, digital platforms, betting, gamification, merchandising and fan membership. No stone would be left unturned to find new revenue and monetise the sport.
Reports of One Cycling first emerged in the winter of 2023, perhaps via a leak from French sources to the Reuters news agency.
The initial report described One Cycling as a 'new competitive league'. However, One Cycling has since changed plans to create a new and alternative race calendar and so spark some kind of 'breakaway league' project as we've seen in golf and other sports. Instead, One Cycling hopes to gradually drive change in the sport instead of sparking a power struggle.
UCI President David Lappartient has set out the UCI's so-called red line limitations for One Cycling, to ensure that One Cycling is not a breakaway league of rebel teams and organisers. The UCI wants to incorporate One Cycling into the current structure of professional racing and make sure those involved follow UCI rules and respect their governance.
That could hinder the ambitions of One Cycling and either spark a rebellion or water down the ambitions of the whole One Cycling project.
One Cycling source has been saying that the project is close to completion and sign-off for the last 18 months but then announcements fail to materialise.
The latest date for launch and information is said to be in early July, before the start of the 2025 Tour de France.
