Global Spread Don't Mean a Good Thing
by EDWARD PICKERING, EDITOR Procycling magazine, ISSUE 236 / DECEMBER 2017 Professional cycling usually takes it as a given that the spread of racing into new territories and countries is a Good Thing. And on the face of it, who can argue? Ex-UCI president Hein Verbruggen’s ‘mondialisation’ project (built on the foundation of cycling’s earlier forays into the USA and Colombia) has turned cycling into a major international sport. We have big, televised races in South America, Canada, the USA, Asia and all over Europe. And the riders of those countries have grown in quality and number. The races of the old cycling countries have prospered, and they’re bolstered by new and interesting events in new and interesting countries. Everybody’s happy – the fans get more varied racing while the beancounters tap into new markets. However, recent developments have given me pause for thought. The Tour of Turkey may have been a washout on a sporting level, but I also wonder whether cycling,...