Track cycling has the potential to fill stadiums. With short, fast races, big power numbers and athletes rippling with muscles, it has mass-appeal that other disciplines of cycling lack. The problem is that traditionally, the exciting bits of track cycling are dragged down by a quagmire of complicated itineraries and event categories. For the uninitiated, watching a traditional track event is like watching an old Bond film; you get some action every few minutes, but you’re not quite sure where it fits into the plot.
Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) have set out to resolve that. Having identified track cycling as a diamond in the rough, WBD have adopted a no-holes-barred approach to get track cycling into the mainstream. The centrepiece of this campaign is the UCI Track Champions League (TCL), a bespoke four-part track racing series that this year is entering its third edition.
From the ground up, the TCL is designed to look good on TV. With the help of a slick, simplified racing program, dramatic light displays and blasting music, the people behind the TCL are doing their best to turn track racing into something anyone could enjoy.
In the velodrome, this is most evident in the showbiz sparkle, but the fact is that WBD are doing far more than simply adding razzle dazzle. This is an eight year project to build a narrative and a set of characters within track racing, and ultimately, to turn it into a thrilling, drama-filled sport. At the first round in Mallorca, we spoke to project lead Florian Pavia to find out how he was going to achieve it.
