Brits on Tour in 2010?
There’s been a flurry of news in the UK (1, 2, 3) that Dave Brailsford, architect of British Cycling’s dominant track program, is planning a top-flight road team for next year. Not that anyone had to do much digging to find that out. Brailsford has embarked on what amounts to a press tour, outlining his plans in a BBC interview for “establishing a team brand which will be around for the long term, which you can emotionally tie into.” Apparently, he has a business plan ready to go that will derive revenue from sources other than selling naming rights to a title sponsor.
British Cycling seems to be on board but I’m not sure about Brailsford using his position as a publicly funded employee to launch his own private business. Furthermore, his concept sounds a lot like the original model for United Pro Cycling, which didn’t exactly go as planned. However, that model makes more sense for a “Team Britain” with the best British riders racing in the Tour de France than for a “Team America” with second-tier US riders racing on the domestic circuit.
As for Brailsford’s PR campaign, I think it’s a great move. At best, he catches the eye of a sponsor that otherwise wouldn’t have been in the picture. At worst, the embarassment of the team not panning out would be far outweighed by his track program’s near-certain success in Beijing.