GRAEME Herd is a former national coach for Scottish Cycling and has served at four Commonwealth Games. He has close to two decades experience managing UCI and national cycling teams including three professional women’s squads.

It is Herd’s belief that the time is ripe to launch a Scottish-based UCI-registered women’s cycling team. Here he outlines exactly what that would take.  

Tell us about your ambition to set-up a Scottish-based UCI-registered women’s cycling team?

The idea came about several years ago while I was still working with Scottish Cycling. I had been involved in a couple of partnership projects firstly to develop teams to help Scottish women bridge the gap between domestic competition and the level required to firstly participate in international level competition, and secondly be competitive.

It was always an idea to develop something sustainable that would allow women bike racers to have a self-supporting career in cycling both as athletes and beyond their competitive lifetime to avoid the brain drain which has been a symptom of the underfunding of women’s top level road cycling.

What are your key goals? 

The team will set the bar for competing at an international level and offer a vehicle for the development and retention of future talent in the sport.

It is the priority for the team to offer a credible long-term athlete developmental career pathway in the sport, not only as riders, but also as the coaches, managers and support staff in the future.

The team will support and create opportunities for team members to progress past a racing career into other roles to help keep expertise and experience within the sport for future generations. The end goal would be to have the team owned and operated by people with direct experience of the sport. 

The team will have UK management and a base in Glasgow, but will be truly international both in terms of its rider roster and the programme of racing with televised national and international events in the UK as well as a global competition calendar of internationally ranked UCI events.

Why is it so important for the team to be UCI-registered?

UCI registration is important for several reasons. Firstly to establish the team as a professional entity. This is vital in terms of the level of performance and attitude, not only as a professional cycling team, but also as a viable business product that provides value and benefit for sponsor partners.

Secondly being UCI-registered facilitates entry to the highest levels of competition in road cycling. Further developments include the introduction of the women’s pro tour for the top UCI teams, so it’s important for the riders and the sponsor partners that the team has access to the best competitions internationally.

Thirdly, as part of the team strategy to support long term athlete development through and beyond their bike racing career, it’s important that the athletes see that level of competition as the norm. This is not an exhaustive list – more of a snapshot of the benefits.

The Herald:

At present a mere 0.4 per cent of commercial investment in sport is devoted to women. How do you overcome that?

It has been a hurdle to securing funding in the past. The good news is that it is becoming evident that women’s pro cycling has the potential to be very good value for sponsors.

This is in no small part due to the work of Guy Elliott and Sweetspot who set up the Women’s Tour of Britain last year. That has shown there is an audience for women’s bike racing which can be a viable vehicle for sponsors and also that sustainable teams can be established and developed.

Across Europe there have been developments that are bringing women’s bike racing to a wider audience of cycling fans. The key to making it big time viable is to establish that it’s just a bike race – and bike races are good entertainment.

It’s irrelevant whether its women or men: a good bike race is a good bike race. Case in point, the London Olympic women’s road race was a brilliant bike race irrespective of gender. There are events of that level and entertainment happening all over the world.

People are beginning to take notice of that and realise that supporting such ventures is actually very good value for money.

How has the popularity of women’s cycling grown in recent years?

Certainly the creation of the Women’s Tour coupled with the 2012 Olympics has helped raise the profile in the UK, but events like La Course by Le Tour de France bring women’s racing to a truly global audience.

The development of women’s classic races in the spring running alongside the men’s races has brought the sport to the roadside audiences. Whether it’s better to do this or a standalone event such as the Women’s Tour has been the subject of much debate.

However, the fact it’s being debated at all is indicative of the rising profile. There can be no doubt that the establishment of genuine classic races like the Tour of Flanders and La Fleche Wallonne is good for the sport. The continuing debate on how best to promote women’s cycling only contributes to its profile.

How much would it cost to run a professional women’s team?

There are a multitude of workable funding models that make it viable, depending on the nature and dimension of sponsorship and support for the project.

If it’s considered in terms of team value (as opposed to 100% hard cash), it’s probably something close to £500k of value per year across a three year period.

Obviously there is a need for cash support to cover wages and other programme related expenses. Basically it can be a one partner operation or a combination of title and support sponsors.

Can you give comparative running costs for a men’s team?

It’s always hard to get definitive figures for a men’s team in terms of exact details. However, in the current climate, it’s not dissimilar to a large men’s continental team in terms of cost.

How many riders would you have on your roster?

Probably 10-14 depending on operational budget.

The Herald:

Could this play a crucial role in nurturing Scottish talent?

I would certainly like to think so. A team such as this provides something for people to aim towards in terms of progression in the sport, but it’s also important to establish support from domestic teams and clubs to feed riders into the project.

The team has the opportunity to be inspirational to potential world-level bike racers. It can support those who are at that level and play an active part in supporting and inspiring riders at the entry levels of the sport by demonstrating that it’s a realistic proposition to have the ambition of a career in cycling – not just as an athlete but also as a coach, manager, mechanic in the future.

What will it take to get this project off the ground?

I’m in no doubt that it’s a good idea that would be very effective, not only as a performance bike team, but also as marketable entity that provides good value for sponsors.

As for what it will take? The challenge is getting the idea in front of the right person who likes the concept and is in a position to make a decision to support it.

Easier said than done, but I remain convinced it’s a viable idea that would prove its value and worth.

For more information or to contact Graeme Herd regarding sponsorship opportunities email: duncan.forrester@intotheblue.biz