"Pure sport is entertaining": Interview with Francois Ribeiro on the Track Champions League

Track Champions League: The interview with Francois Ribeiro

The Interview was led by Felix Mattis

TOUR: Mr Ribeiro, how did the idea for the Track Champions League come about?

Francois Ribeiro: Discovery Sports Events is the home of cycling with Eurosport and GCN (Global Cycling Network, editor's note). That's why we wanted to organise cycling events alongside our motorsport events. So I contacted UCI President David Lappartient. Road cycling already has many organisers, but track cycling is the biggest for the UCI. It has by far the most Olympic medals, and the track is always a huge hit with lots of spectators at the Olympic Games! But between the Games, the public's interest wanes considerably. We want to change that and also get a new, younger audience interested in track cycling in the long term.

TOUR: Then why doesn't the Track Champions League include all track cycling disciplines?

Ribeiro: I don't come from a cycling background. So I sat in the stands at the World Cup in Paris four years ago and watched everything. I understood sprint, keirin, elimination and scratch, the rest was difficult. I said to David: 'It's all far too complicated for a new spectator! So we thought about how we could make it easier for spectators to get into the sport.

TOUR: With light shows and loud music, the Track Champions League evenings are somewhat reminiscent of six-day races - only the DJ and dance floor in the interior are missing ...

Ribeiro: There is nothing wrong with pure sport if you want to organise an entertaining event. On the contrary: it is what should be the focus. You just have to find a format that combines sport at the highest level with entertainment at the best level.

TOUR: After four race evenings in 2021, there were five in 2022. Are you planning to expand the series further?

Ribeiro: For me, it's less about more events and more about the intensity and quality over the weeks and on each evening. It therefore depends above all on what is possible for the athletes. Five or six events is good. The Netherlands, for example, is still missing from my calendar. But eight or ten? Then the riders would have problems and might have to skip an event. And that would go against the principle of the format, which is to always have all the stars there.

TOUR: The world's top sprinters are represented in the Track Champions League. In the endurance disciplines, however, some stars who also ride on the road are missing. How can you change that?

Ribeiro: First of all, I will avoid an overlap with the Six Days in Ghent next year and leave a gap. But my dream is that the riders on the track can also collect points for their road teams. That's not up to me, it's one hundred per cent up to the UCI. But that would certainly help so that the teams all start with us.