The relaunch of Professional Cycling League undertaken by P, which arrived directly at the cycling body from the Italian Parliament, also passes through a new vice president designated by the FCI. Marco Toni he is a man of great experience, president of theSangiulianese Cycling Union and in the past president of the Provincial Committee of Milan, regional councilor of Lombardy and president of the National Technical Structure in the Olympic four-year period that led to the successful Sydney 2000 edition. In the last few days, Toni gave an interview touching on some very sensitive topics such as The need for our cycling to have a team in the WorldTour. Yes, but how can we achieve it, and in what timeframe?
We therefore wanted to contact Toni again to get in-depth answers on this and other topics, starting with his approach to the new organization.
"I found the League in good financial health, a significant achievement considering that until a couple of years ago it was under special administration, a rather dark period overall. Now, however, it has not only recovered, but has become a healthy reality also from an organizational point of view, with a much more adequate structure than some time ago".
From an organizational point of view, there is a lot of talk about Italian Regions CupWhat's your impression of it? How is it working?
It is certainly a prestigious showcase, thanks to the live television broadcasts, which allow us to convey a particular image of our country abroad, because There is no sport, other than cycling, capable of providing such long, effective postcards of Italy and therefore this represents in some way an added value, the element from which also arose the will on the part of various ministries involved in setting up this Italian Regions Cup which is nothing more than a sort of tourist trip, obviously as well as a sporting one.
Many races that they are presented at the beginning of the year in the Cup, but then they don't come to fruition, they can't be realized. What's the main problem?
We need to structure calendars on a multi-year basis, because If institutional partners such as local authorities but also private sponsors are involved over a slightly longer period of time, the costs of the initiatives themselves can also be optimisedUnfortunately, we're not yet at that level, in that dimension. It's true that some races that had been included in the calendar have been dropped, but in the meantime, new ones are being added, such as the week in Sardinia, or the return of the Giro di Campania in September after more than twenty years of absence.
Is the problem exclusively economic?
Mainly, for this reason we need to involve those who support us on longer timescales, on structured proposals. These are already some of the building blocks that they are putting together a time mosaic that should have a broader scope starting next yearWe are working to structure a calendar that has its own weight and dignity, but also to provide continuity for Italian athletes, especially those who are not part of the WorldTour circuit.
Speaking of the WorldTour, he said the foundations are being laid to build a WorldTour team in Italy. But how do you build a team from scratch?
It's a very big problem, there's no denying it, in the sense that it's not something that can be done overnight. In the past there have been projects that have failed mainly due to budget, because a WorldTour project must have a scope of at least five years., where starting costs of at least 30 million euros are needed, eventually reaching closer to 50 million. A significant structure must be built, multi-year contracts signed with the main sponsor and collateral sponsors, and revenue must be diversified somewhat, including through a pool of technical partners for bicycles, components, and clothing. And then there are the relationships with the UCI, because acquiring an existing license is not easy.
So the idea is to repeat what usually happens in basketball, monitor what happens around and find the right team and license to acquire to enter the WorldTour?
Yes, from an administrative and regulatory point of view considering that there are stable hierarchiesBut we're still talking about building a proper WorldTour team, managing a roster like in all team sports, so buying the most suitable riders, making the selection, buying the leader for the stage races, the sprinters, a team of 25-30 riders, because that's the range we're aiming for. Those riders dedicated to the stage races, the sprinters rather than finishers for the classics, and a loyal and solid group of so-called domestiques.
But there's also a supply chain to support...
That's right, there is also the obligation to establish at least one I have to team up, a satellite team for the category to develop the under-15s. This would be the optimal plan, have a WorldTour team and a youth team behind it that gradually bolsters the leading team.
Considering this, and especially the current, certainly not easy, situation of Italian cycling, is it more advisable to choose a classic, therefore multinational, WorldTour team or focus on an example like Uno-X, which is a sort of Danish and Norwegian national team?
It's clear that we want to aim for a WorldTour team with a high presence of Italian riders, therefore we must try to bring our youth team back to a suitable international reputation levelThere are athletes who, in my opinion, have all the credentials to compete at a high level. Now is not the time to go and get Lorenzo Finn as an example, but there are many others that can reach excellent levels.
So should we look for riders already on the circuit or focus on new talent?
We can think of a double track, relying on the experience of those who are already in the WorldTour but it is important, I believe, to start from the valorisation of the new elements, as Slovenia did, for example, following the enormous message conveyed by Pogacar, look at our pool of athletes and therefore at a team with a strong Italian content.
Given the situation we're in, the first thing to do is find funding, sponsors, and people who will invest in cycling, at any level?
Absolutely yes. Now I'm not saying we should do like Bahrain, which directly sponsors its WorldTour team as a government. But it is also done to act as a sounding board for the development of tourism in one's own country, which we know is also a primary form of income for us.We can definitely start from this. The Italian state has many subsidiaries that sponsor, from football to other sports, a lot of events. So we can, we must start from there. And then Italy also offers large business groups that can certainly be reliable subjects and partnersThis depends largely on reputation, attractiveness, and, as we were saying, the intention to implement long-term, structured, robust projects, backed by a credible business plan. It can be done.
