Velon, a commercial venture that includes 11 of the 17 UCI WorldTeams, has signed a commercial deal with Giro d’Italia organizer RCS Sport to deliver on-bike footage from the Italian stage race.
VeloNews has confirmed that the Velon teams will benefit financially from the deal.
Event organizers like RCS Sport and its French competitor ASO rely heavily on broadcast revenue, and teams have long sought to share in that revenue. The commercial deal surrounding the Giro d’Italia stages marks a step toward that goal.
The deal applies to eight of the Giro’s 21 stages, including the team time trial on stage 1, the likely sprint finish of stage 2, stage 16 with the famous Mortirolo climb, and stage 20, which climbs the Colle delle Finestre.
“RCS Sport have really got behind this project and we’re delighted to work with them on such an important race. The eight stages chosen will give a great insight into what it takes to win both stages and jerseys in a grand tour and we can’t wait to see the results,” Velon CEO Graham Bartlett said.
The footage will be available in the event’s traditional TV broadcasts — though it will not be available live — as well as on the websites and social media channels of both the Giro d’Italia and the 11 Velon teams.
Velon’s stated goal is to stabilize the business model of pro cycling. BMC Racing, Etixx-Quick-Step, Lampre-Merida, Lotto Soudal, Orica GreenEdge, Cannondale-Garmin, Giant-Alpecin, Lotto NL-Jumbo, Sky, Tinkoff-Saxo, and Trek Factory Racing are all part of the group.
The introduction of onboard video and other broadcast improvements has been a focus of Velon since its inception last November.
Precisely which Velon teams, and which riders within those teams, will have cameras mounted to their bikes will be announced throughout the race.
“It has always been important for us to bring fans close to the action and new technologies are making it possible to bring them into the peloton and show the Giro d’Italia, the hardest race in the world’s most beautiful place, in a whole new perspective to fans all around the world,” Giro d’Italia director Mauro Vegni said.
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