With the cost to watch pro cycling skyrocketing—from just £7 per month to £30—what does this mean for the future of the sport? 🚴♂️💸 In this episode of Torque It Out, we dive into the impact of major races like the Tour de France and the classics moving behind expensive paywalls. Will this pricing push away casual fans? Could it harm the next generation of riders? And what does it mean for cycling’s popularity in the UK? What do you think?
Subscribe to Triathlon Dan – https://www.youtube.com/@TriathlonDan
Girona 2025 – https://ukbikefit.com/uk-bike-fit-training-camp/
Training Plans – https://ukbikefit.com/training-plans/
Torque It Out is the show where we discuss all things cycling! Look out for weekly episodes here on the UK Bike Fit channel.
Follow Us On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ukbikefit/
#ProCycling #CyclingUK #TourDeFrance #CyclingNews #UKBikeFit #BikeRacing #CyclingPodcast
15 Comments
Agree 100% Dan
Good discussion gents. Do we know the drop off rate on Zwift? I know it’s different but similar price increase….. those seeing value in it will probably be happy to pay.
I'm not sure how you come up with media coverage of a professional sport has "destroyed cycling". It would like saying coverage of F1 on paid channels has "destroyed driving". Personally I find professional cycling is totally irrelevant to my enjoyment of getting out on my bike.
ITV didn’t “lose” the cycling, they decided not to bid for the rights to the TDF due to poor viewing figures. This may be because there hasn’t been a British winner or even a contender for the TDF win since 2018.
Also, tightwads riding round on £5000 bikes who won’t pay £30 a month to watch cycling, that’s the price of 1 cafe stop per week. I’ll still be watching it.
I started riding in the 1970’s, when there was no cycling on TV. Channel 4 coverage didn’t start until the 1980’s.
At our weekend warrior level it's the UK weather that's killing cycling,we're down on our club ride numbers purely down to people being scunnered with weather even in our recent Summers
Might affect the race/ sports side of cycling, but not cycling as a whole….For a lot of cyclists, the racing is irrelevant to them.
At the moment, it's just UK & Ireland, so doesn't affect a lot of teams….If this becomes Europe wide, then I think there'll be issues, as teams/ sponsors won't be happy being behind a paywall.
Don't watch cycling on TV. Got into cycling simply by having the desire to lose weight and having previously been a smoker – do something else. That started with cycling to and from work, I think that's a story shared by countless others.
From my experience as someone who participates in a lot of sport, the declining in some sport participation comes down to A. the amount of time needed to participate (partners get hufty about how long they are out for), cycling, cricket and golf great examples, B. Recency and trend bias – those who want to do whatever one else is doing, based on how they want to fit into society (think all the gear, no idea types)
Cycling participation is going the same way as golf. Golf was the corporate sport, then cycling became the corporate sport. I think some other sport must have taken over
60/40 in favour of none sports cyclists? In my area I'd put it at 90/10. In fact it might be higher than 90. The vast majority of cyclists that I come across are riding cheap hybrid or MTB's, they have absolutely zero interest in the competitive sports side of it. They just want to get from A to B.
Have watched TDF for many years, even before I started road cycling. Found road cycling on 2011, And eventually watched all forms(excluding indoor, tt & tri) inc one day, classics Vuelta, Giro, CX mens & womens, MTB XC, etc. I began subscribing to Eurosport, then was moved over to Disc + for £6.99pm. I don't watch football, rugby. tennis, basketball, athletics or F1, so, the jump from £6.99pm to £30.99pm is one heck of an increase for someone who's only viewing interest in cycling. If they offered me cycling only access for £6.99pm then I would subscribe again. But I fear that they have very little interest in catering for what they percieve to be very small revenue subscibers. p.s. I did cancel mu subs, even after being offered a reduced price of £15.99. Being retired doesn't allow me to generate more income to justify it.. With generally start to finish coverage now being offered, a lot of races are eventfull from the off, especially with races becoming faster and faster. And no, I won't be renewing my subs
Professional cycling today is far removed from the golden era of riders like Merckx, Hinault and Zoetemelk. In those days the sport had a certain mystique and the riders were of mystical proportions. Even today I can remember the names of even the fringe riders of pro teams from that era but couldn't name a single rider in recent years or give you the name of a recent pro team, that's how disinterested I am now with pro cycling. I feel it has become sterile and corporate in nature, it has a real yuppy look and feel about it. All the riders looks the same, you can't see their faces behind the glasses and helmets. I feel the same about pro cycling as I do about City of London traders commuting to work every day. Not fcking interested.
It kind of hurts for watching
If i can not watch it for free it stinks.
What started me into cycling was Giuseppe Saronni winning Milan San Remo 1982 on World of Sport 10 minutes of never forgetting it attacking on piaggio. Im gutted its gone to 31.99.after watching it for 6.99 i cannot afford the hike.
30 quid a month to watch Pogi ride off the front 😂😂
I think your right about its the price increasing so much that's upset so many of us ! But that said being retired I have been watching the Tour Algarve and its made me realise how much I enjoy the racing. So that said I am now hoping they do reduce the price but if they don't I will pay the higher charge. As for teams bikes etc. I have often wondered why teams can't cater more for us fans that aren't so slim and produce team clothing in a more casual cut along with replica helmets. I mean look at international football and rugby kits and how many fans buy them. Cycle racing just needs to get its act together in my opinion.