Cycling is made up of more than just riders who compete in the sport’s biggest races. Cycling is made up of managers, sponsors, team owners, and riders, who all wield their own power. Influential people in the sport of cycling make it tick for good or bad when races such as the Tour de France take place each year. When the 2020 Tour de France begins in August, these influential people will have a major impact on its outcome. Cycling fans can use the monkey knife fight promo code to get a bet bonus on the Tour de France before wagering on the rider they believe will win the race.
So, who are the most influential people in cycling? This list may be subjective, but it is a good look at those who wield a lot of power in the sport for good or bad.
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Dave Brailsford – Team Ineos
Dave Brailsford went from the head of British Cycling to team manager of Team Ineos. The team is the Tour de France’s most successful outfit in recent years. Brailsford has helped form a strong grip around the cycling world making Team Ineos the best roster of riders. Under his management Team Ineos’ dominance doesn’t appear to be ending.
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Peter Sagan – Bora-Hansgrohe
Bora-Hansgrohe rider Peter Sagan is the highest paid cyclist earning around €5.5 million annually. The Slovakian rider is a three-time World Champion, obtained 16 career Grand Tour stage victories, and seven points classification wins in the Tour de France. He is the sports leading light on the bike and the best cycling has to offer right now.
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David Lappartient – UCI
David Lappartient is the current president of the UCI, cycling’s governing body. He is likely to remain president when his term comes up in 2021 and could have four more years to implement reforms in the sport.
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Groupe Amaury – Race Oraganiser
Groupe Amaury is a highly influential group in cycling and a family-run organisation steeped in history. The Amaury family has political power and sway in various industries, but cycling is its main focus. The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) runs the Tour de France, the most prestigious of all cycling races, but also controls the Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Vuelta a España. The ASO dictates cycling and what it wants goes in the sport.
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Lance Armstrong
Individuals within cycling may scoff at Lance Armstrong being the most influential person in the sport today, but the doping scandal that stripped him of his Tour de France titles still rings loudly in cycling. Armstrong’s rule breaking in cycling went far deeper than doping with allegations that he paid a cyclist to throw a race long before he reached the yellow jersey in France. Armstrong is still disgustingly rich and worth around $50 million. He was worth $125m at his height. The disgraced cyclist continues to go on the PR offensive over the doping case that took his Tour titles. He recently appeared in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary to give “his truth” on the doping scandal. Say what you will, but Armstrong is still the most influential person in the sport.
