The Life Time GP needs to dream bigger, and I'm still thinking of launching a team.
A little brain dump from 38,000ft while I plan some longer reads.
Sometimes I need to do a big brain dump. It helps me centre my thoughts before I write a longer piece. This is one of those times.
I’m sitting on a flight between Denver and Chicago, with the next leg being over to Barcelona. It’s time to head back home. These last two weeks have been pretty special. Trying to race National TT Champs in Wales, and then a 72-hour race 4500 miles away in Steamboat, Colorado, was certainly something.
Then, I had a week of downtime in Colorado with the Lydic’s. I saw old friends, explored the mountains, went sailing, and spent the 4th of July weekend up in Keystone.
Next up, back to Girona for a few days, then I’m heading up to Andorra to spend some time in the mountains with Maggie. We’ll be heading to the MTB World Cup this weekend too, my first time seeing it in person, and I’m excited.
So, what’s on my mind?
Can we launch a team?
I still want to launch a team. There’s a part of me that wishes I could put it to bed, but it always keeps coming back to me. There’s a product to be had there.
A team that focuses on building something for the fans across the US and UK markets. A team that builds a global cycling club alongside it. Imagine being able to line up at Unbound in the same colours as a team racing at the front of the race. Then seeing that same team race the biggest crits or road races in the country. It needs to be performance-oriented, but more importantly, it needs to be fun. Sports teams are entertainment - cycling must remember that.
This is nothing new to those of you who have been following me for a while, but it’s something I simply cannot leave alone. I can only imagine the support we’d get if we launched it.
It’s the funding part which I’m yet to figure out. How do you pull together a good six-figure budget? It seems that you need a healthy dose of luck and skill to do that.
There are a lot of new people here, so if you have any thoughts, hit me on email: jtlcycling@gmail.com
The Life Time GP need to dream bigger
I’m also in the brainstorming phase about a big Life Time Grand Prix series. There’s a very real chance that this reaches 10,000 words similar to my ‘Peloton Economy’ piece.
What Life Time have done for the US racing market is nothing short of incredible, but I can’t help but think about how much room there is for growth. My brain is asking the question of what would happen if the key events were bought out with the goal of building a bigger league? Life Time has nailed the mass participation side of the business, but when it comes to a pro sports league, I have to say they are lacking.
From media coverage to the number of race days, branding, athlete selection, overall strategy, and so much more. What would the series look like if its only goal was to grow? How different would the strategy be if it existed outside of the Life Time portfolio?
The biggest unlock for me is moving it to a spectator-friendly sport. To bring in big sponsorship dollars, there have to be more eyeballs; to me, that tells you exactly where investment should go.
It’s funny how, in a world of sports moving to be more spectator-friendly, gravel continues to embrace long distances. The LTGP is the perfect test ground for new things. Why not introduce a Grand Prix and Wild Card only Short Track race? How about experimenting with having Big Sugar as a 50-mile race, which worked well last year, and a two-hour race is a better product than a 4-hour race.
Expanding the calendar is a no-brainer. It’s ridiculous that the series is only six races, especially when you consider two of them are back-to-back weekends at the end of October. A consistent storyline has to be in place across the year. And, what’s the whole thing with having a two-month break from Unbound to Leadville? It’s nonsensical.
I think we’re going to see a very interesting scenario play out when UCI World Gravel Champs clash with motivations around the LTGP in October. The penultimate round of the Grand Prix, Little Sugar, clashes with the UCI World Gravel Champs in Perth. How many guys will we see go to Worlds over Little Sugar? The $50,000 on the line for winning the series is obviously significant, but racing for money alone is never going to attract the biggest names. The best riders in the world would rather chase the Rainbow Jersey than $50k.
The Tour de France has the yellow jersey, The Masters has the Green Jacket, and the World Cup has an iconic trophy. What does the LTGP have? The series doesn’t have a tangible something that people can understand. The prize is just cash. That needs addressing.
Final word on branding, the Life Time Grand Prix needs to improve here. There’s not a colour, a logo, or really anything that can be attributed to being them. It comes across as very grey and extremely corporate. The series needs to be its own brand. Look at Red Hook, they are the gold standard.
I respect Life Time and the crew so much for what they have done for the sport, and what they are doing. They want to grow responsibly, but for a sports league to take off, it needs big initial investment and even bigger dreams.
There’s more on this to come; I need to sit down with my keyboard and a few weeks.
Firecracker 50
I found myself up in the Colorado mountains for the 4th of July weekend. My old teammate and close friend Cole Davis was on the start line for the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge. What I saw with my own eyes was nothing short of spectacular.
The race started on the town’s main street, which was lined three or four deep for over a kilometre. There must’ve been five thousand people on the side of the road. They were all there to watch the 4th of July parade, but the support for the bike race was incredible. I’ve never seen a bike race in the US with that much support.
The town has made the bike race a part of the parade, a part of that day. It was something special to witness, and I had a huge smile on my face as I walked through a wall of noise.
The World Cup
Football was my first love, and although I don’t follow it nearly as close as when I was younger, watching England brings out nine-year-old Joe. The England-Mexico game was class.
My biggest takeaway from the World Cup has been the whole world experiencing what I’ve been saying about the US for the last couple years. The US is a contentious place these days, and trust me, I get it. Equally, you cannot paint 330million people with one orange coloured brush. The people in the US are amazing and welcoming. The country is full of beautiful scenery.
It’s been cool to see.
Some reading bits
Finally, if you’ve made it this far, thank you. Here are a few bits that I’ve been reading recently that I recommend you check out:
Le Fric: Family, Power and Money: The Business of the Tour de France
The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 Into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport
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What’s the team going to be called? Interesting concept.