Would you pay to watch the TdF ?

[Papparrazzi]

...If they tried to charge you to go up Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Tourmalet, would you pay up?
The UCI do it (Worlds Road Race Mendrisio 2009).
Do you think it will be an attractive option for ASO ?
Some sports are expensive to watch. This year's Champions Leaugue Final at Wembly has seen cheapest tickets rocket from £75 to £175 !
Maybe there's gold in them thar hills ...

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

let's hope this never happens. cycling is the sport of the people. dont waste it like they did with football

 

[Race Radio]

Charging for the Worlds has been the case for years, if not decades

 

[Libertine Seguros]

...If they tried to charge you to go up Alpe d'Huez, Galibier, Tourmalet, would you pay up?
The UCI do it (Worlds Road Race Mendrisio 2009).
Do you think it will be an attractive option for ASO ?
Some sports are expensive to watch. This year's Champions Leaugue Final at Wembly has seen cheapest tickets rocket from £75 to £175 !
Maybe there's gold in them thar hills ...

Buy a ticket for the Champions League Final and you will see at least most of the pitch and the action.

Buy a ticket to go up Alpe d'Huez and you wait all day, then a few people go past, then 20 minutes later a lot of people go past, then you go home. You don't see the whole race or anything, and the mountains are hard to get to, hence hard to make people pay.

For a circuit race (especially one like the Copa América de Ciclismo where the local terrain means pretty much the entire race can be seen from some vantage points - which is why it was a good place to build a race track!) I can see some possibilities, but if the race is only going past or through town, no way.

 

[The Hitch]

And in the champions league only a set number of people can see it. There are only about 90 000 people that can see it live and 50% of those are fifa chronies so your paying for the privelage of being one of the few.

Thats not the same when 1 million people cram Alpe d huez.

 

[ansimi]

I'd never pay anything to the UCI.

I wouldn't mind paying a bit to watch a race as long as it was to support the local cycling community or for environmental protection of the area or something like that.

 

[180mmCrank]

I suspect this isn't what the original post means but... we do pay for it. Just not directly maybe... but through sponsoring companies, media and TV ... we all contribute to the value chain that ends up with guys on bikes racing around France.

Personally I think we get good value. And there some things it would be nice if they were diffeent but I think that's true about most things in the World...except my kids who are perfect (just like everybody elses!)

 

[stainlessguy1]

pay for it ... mmmm if ....

pay for the chance to see them struggle up that hill and cheer . why sure .
AS long as there were giant video screens all over the place so we could see the event in full , and lots of public washrooms so we could be relaxed and not tense . Also we need Kiosks for beer and sausage and lots of Fan paraphenilia .
The price has to be right , places to lock our bikes up , emergency stations to recuperate when the over zealous fans faint from heat stroke . etc etc .
Lots to lug up them thar hills once payment is demanded . Not going to happen folks . An organized event has liability issues and that stops any ideas of payment .

 

[Papparrazzi]

The final climbs of Tour Stages are so over-crowded these days ... and with some 'fans' that you wouldn't want to live next door to .... I wouldn't mind paying a bit, to guarantee a hassle-free afternoon

 

[Christian]

I wouldn't mind paying a bit either. Say everyone who went to the Kronplatz TT paid 1 € that'd already be a lot.

However I don't think that'll ever happen. I do think we'll soon have to pay to watch cycling on TV ... courtesy of Team Sky.

 

[craig1985]

I paid more then $6,300AUD (cost of the tour group and airfares) to go to the 2007 TdF and I still maintain it was worth every penny, so if they charged a euro or two for the biggest stages, I don't think it would matter too much to me.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I wouldn't mind paying a bit either. Say everyone who went to the Kronplatz TT paid 1 € that'd already be a lot.

However I don't think that'll ever happen. I do think we'll soon have to pay to watch cycling on TV ... courtesy of Team Sky.

that's never going to happen as many traditional cycling countrys are no real ppv country's especially belgium, netherlands and spain

 

[pedaling squares]

pay for the chance to see them struggle up that hill and cheer . why sure .
AS long as there were giant video screens all over the place so we could see the event in full , and lots of public washrooms so we could be relaxed and not tense . Also we need Kiosks for beer and sausage and lots of Fan paraphenilia .
The price has to be right , places to lock our bikes up , emergency stations to recuperate when the over zealous fans faint from heat stroke . etc etc .
Lots to lug up them thar hills once payment is demanded . Not going to happen folks . An organized event has liability issues and that stops any ideas of payment .

Well put. Selling tickets means expectations of services and safety measures. Which means insurance. And who's going to check for tickets? It's a tough task on a point to point course, especially in the high mountains.

 

[McClimber]

Money

I thought paying might include PPV TV.

I pay for my satillite TV. 2005 I paid Direct TV for a whole year only to get the Tour de France at a backcountry cabin I worked at.

I do want to see it in person. I don't see how a ticket to watch from the road will work. Maybe at the finish towns but why.

So many people are coming that spend money on water, food, and hotels.

I could see a Tour tour group as way cool. I like VIP passes.

 

[RedheadDane]

I wouldn't pay. Heck, I don't go in the first place, too long too many people... I prefer my own living room!

 

[boomcie]

People in Flanders would simply stagger if they had to pay to see Boonen tame the "Muur van Geraardsbergen" (Grammont). Cycling is a public sport and it should remain that way, that is part of its charm.

 

[dougzz99]

Of course they wouldn't charge, they couldn't, how would it work, fence of the the entire access to a mountain? How? People would just walk around the fences, especially the French who'd walk a long way to pick a fight with anything resembling organisation or authority

Can I also add there are not 1 million people on Alpe d'Huez. That's typical hype.

 

[Winterfold]

You already paid in a lot of ways. bike, clothes, national taxes, local taxes, magazines, looking at internet pages with adverts, eurosport subs, all the money you spend in the local area if you visit. The mayor of Bourg D'Oisans spends a lot of money resurfacing that road and he wouldnt do it if it didnt make money for the town.

As a fan and rider you already paid so road cycling is free for everyone to view live - and it is an essential part of the sport's appeal to me. It is part of the community and environment, not separate from it.

 

[Papparrazzi]

Interesting responses.

Thanks.

 

[royalpig180]

No, people will never pay to view (most) cycling events live. They must be funded by local governments, which do it because hosting the race brings revenue from toursists. Tourists stay at your hotels, eat at your restaurants, buy your souvenirs, yadayadayada... Cycling subsists on this and corporate sponsorships.