Subscribe to L2P News Cycling is the New Golf for Business
London,UK. 03 December 2008
It’s not just the kids who will be getting bicycles left under the Christmas tree by Santa Claus this year - bikes are the new ‘must have’ toy for the big boys too.
Cycling is fast becoming the new boom sport for businessmen, as corporate bosses forsake their traditional playground of the golf course in favour of getting out on their bikes.
Britain’s success at the Beijing Olympics, which included gold medal performances by Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins, has also added to the popularity of the sport. But it’s in the business world where cycling is having the biggest impact.
Left to right, Hoy, Manning, Clancy, Wiggins, Thomas, Kenny, Hoy.
Many chief executives and senior directors say cycling is now the first choice sport for networking. Andrew Gill, IBM’s UK client director, schedules one business ride a week.
“Cycling fits in with the working day, it’s more appropriate for doing business. Maybe it’s the masochist in us, up at the crack of dawn in the freezing cold and out on the road before the traffic, but cycling seems to work in business, you can chat more easily on the bike and we’re in the office and at our desks by 9am,” said Gill.
And it’s not just in Britain where cycling’s flourishing in the business world. The United States, Australia and the Far East are all seeing a growth in cycling in the business sector.
In Kuala Lumpur, 300 corporate cyclists take to the road every Sunday and it’s the same in Singapore where Graham Cockerton a director of global IT distributors, Ingram Micro, organises a cycle ride every Saturday. “A lot of CEOs who used to play golf have switched to the bike. You can meet 200 or 300 people on a cycle ride – a lot more than on a four ball. I’ve done a lot of business on the bike. It’s better than a cocktail party or business breakfast for networking and it’s better for your health,” he said
Sven Thiele, director of the London-Paris ’09 Pro-Am Cycle Tour, the UK’s premier corporate ride, said: “I know of one corporate cyclist who did his biggest deal on one of our rides - $10 million (dollars) worth of business. Business people started getting back on their bikes for fitness, but they’ve soon realised that it’s good for the health of their business too.”
London-Paris is the blue-riband event of cyclosportives and is the closest an amateur rider can get to experiencing the Tour de France. Thiele says that appeals to the competitive spirit business people. “Many of our riders work for blue-chip companies, they’re high achievers and they take their thirst for excellence into their cycling. The camaraderie of the boardroom transfers well to the bike.”
London-Paris ’09 has official backing from British Cycling and its leisure cycling programme www.everydaycycling.com. Everyday Cycling’s Andy Cook said: “The
success of British riders is inspiring people to get back on their bikes. The business community and events like London-Paris are leading the way in encouraging people to get out on their bikes and participate in professionally organised rides.”
More business women are also signing up to ride next year’s London-Paris event. “The achievements of Victoria Pendleton, Rebecca Romero and Nicole Cooke in Beijing have inspired many women to get back on their bikes,” said Thiele, who has chosen former England and Crystal Palace footballer Geoff Thomas’s leukaemia foundation as the lead charity for 2009’s event.
“Despite the credit crunch, it is important for us to maintain a sense of corporate social responsibility and the business community is still keen to support that. It means that our event looks beyond the bike, to people who need our help,” Thiele said.
Left to right: Romero, Pendleton, Cooke
The event will also be supporting the Christel House, Schools for Children in Cambodia and South Africa’s Morning Star, which works with children with HIV.
London-Paris ’09 runs from June 25 – 28th www.londres-paris.com and this year’s sponsors are car giants, Subaru, adidas, Sigma Sport, British Cycling, Everyday Cycling and sports nutrition manufacturer, Science In Sport.
For interviews, photos and more information, please contact Ruscoe Media:
Sybil Ruscoe 07767 77 77 87
Hazel Ruscoe 07970 237 068
December 3rd 2008
Editor’s Notes:
The London-Paris Cycle Tour is a unique 3 day “Tour de France” style endurance event for amateur and cyclosportive riders. It is the "professional event for amateurs". Like a pro event it has full support, rolling road closures and covers 550 km in three days followed by a rest day in Paris. This PRO/AM has attracted riders like double Olympic Gold James Cracknell; Tour de France Giro and World Cup winner Stephen Roche (who will ride again in 09); Sean Kelly, Johan Museeuw, Brian Smith and ex-England footballer Geoff Thomas.
The Geoff Thomas Foundation was founded by former England and Crystal Palace footballer, Geoff Thomas, after he survived leukaemia. The GTF is trying to raise £20 million to fund an integrated network of blood cancer drugs trials at six world class centres in the UK, including Oxford, Cambridge, Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and Bart’s in London. www.geoffthomasfoundation.com
Everyday Cycling is the one stop shop for all things leisure cycling. Whether you're a commuter, mountain biker, mega fit sportive rider or just getting into cycling for the first time, Everyday Cycling has great ideas and information to get you inspired. www.everydaycycling.com is packed full of news, events and routes for everyone to enjoy and has some great interactive features, such as activity logs and challenges, that will help you get the most out of your cycling. The Everyday Cycling event calendar carries information on everything from fun charity events to hard core sportive and enduro rides, while the ‘Where to Ride’ resource includes traffic-free family rides, long distance routes and trail centre reviews. For more information, go to www.everydaycycling.com.
British Cycling is the national governing body of cycling in Great Britain and administers the disciplines of Road, Track, Mountain Bike, BMX, Cyclo-Cross and Cycle Speedway. British Cycling has programmes in place to develop the sport at all levels, from Go-Ride, its grass-roots young people and club development programme, through talent identification, development and academy programmes, to the GB Cycling Team competing on a World and Olympic level. British Cycling also delivers the Everyday Cycling programme, supporting the development of leisure and non-competitive cycling, through the online portal www.everydaycycling.com. For more information on British Cycling go to www.britishcycling.org.uk
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