After a three-year break, the Tour of Austria returns under the new name Tour of Austria. The organisation of the tour is internationally unprecedented: the five Austrian Continental teams are taking over the management of Austria's most important cycling event. Thomas Pupp from the Tirol KTM Team and Thomas Kofler from Team Vorarlberg will act as Tour Directors.
What does the restart of the Tour of Austria actually look like? We asked Thomas Pupp, Managing Director of Tour of Austria GmbH.
TOUR: Why is there a new name Tour of Austria?
Doll: In the past, the Tour of Austria has been known as the Tour of Austria, but that was below the perception threshold - the Facebook account and website already existed under this name. There were also partners who discreetly emphasised its international significance. In our internal deliberations, it was the international significance that the Tour has had for many decades that led us to say: okay, we'll turn the Tour of Austria into the Tour of Austria. We are proud of the long tradition and humbled that we can now continue this long series of tours. The name is new, but the DNA of our tour remains: a springboard for young talents and, above all, because we also have many tourist partners, the most beautiful sightseeing tour through our Austria.
TOUR: The Austrian Cycling Federation (ÖRV) has organised the tour for decades. Are there now payments to the ÖRV and how long does the contract run?
DollWe have had a very constructive process with the presidium and the board of the federation, because I don't think this differentiation between us and the federation is correct: we five Continental teams are a very important part of the Austrian Cycling Federation. You could say it was a deal within the federation that key members, namely the five teams, concluded with the elected committees and board. We have reached an agreement that we can organise this tour for three years with the option of two further years. I assume that if we get off to a good start now, we will be able to organise it for the next five years. I think we've seen over the last few years that it's incredibly difficult for an association to organise something like this and the tour has tied up a lot of resources. The tasks for an association these days are very extensive and challenging and you should be able to concentrate on other things than being tied up for several months organising a tour.
TOUR: Financially, there is no agreement that the association would profit in any way from the Tour of Austria?
Doll: No. The only thing we have agreed with the federation, because that is also part of the DNA of the tour, is that we will support a small junior project if there is anything left over. But this monetary component has never been on the table. It hasn't been a business in recent years. It was more a question of whether it would take place or not. The project is not geared towards it really becoming a cash cow. We simply want to get this tour back on track. If we end up in the black and break even, then we'll all be happy.
TOUR: The economic basis is the five Austrian Continental Teams - they provided the founding capital for Tour Austria GmbH?
Doll: That's exactly what the five Austrian teams have done with their legal form or through individuals, plus Wolfgang Konrad as the sixth partner. He has been the organiser of the Vienna City Marathon for many years and is of course connected to cycling through his son Patrick Konrad. When he realised that we five teams were embarking on this tour, he said: "If you need me, I'd be happy to join you. We are delighted because Wolfgang Konrad is one of the most renowned sports organisers in the country.
TOUR: I imagine the division of labour is difficult with so many people involved?
DollThere is a great deal of trust because each of us contributes experience and talent. We have agreed on a rather atypical time when we hold our weekly telephone jour fixe. This is always at 7.00 a.m. on a Monday. As far as the main work is concerned, we have two managing directors: Thomas Kofler and myself. But basically, each of the five of us has to do our bit, because it turns out that the five teams will organise their stages regionally. And each team will do its own thing in its own federal state.
"The process is incredibly likeable because it has never taken place in this form before"
TOUR: So it's up to each individual team in their region to make contact and ensure that this works?
Doll: Yes, exactly. All the teams have committed themselves to their home region. The process is incredibly likeable, because I don't think it has ever taken place in this form before in a major European tour, with the teams saying that we are taking the reins, because we have simply seen in recent years that we need this tour. It is the biggest cycling event in the country. And that's why I think it's great that we've come together. It's like a classic grassroots movement. Those affected have said okay, we have to do something. And that makes it very exciting and a fun process.
In top-class sport in Austria, we have been more of a cycling nation than a skiing nation in recent years
TOUR: Is it perhaps also a typical Austrian way of working together, because you know each other there and the paths are more direct?
Doll: That's a German question now (laughs), along the lines of the Austrians, they also let things be. I don't think that's typically Austrian. It grew out of the conviction that we need this project. But the mutual trust to realise this project in the best possible way is paramount. I think the situation we have now is good. I also think it's good for the federation, because it is now free for other things in order to give cycling the public importance it should have here in Austria due to the many developments in recent years. I'm not just talking about elite sport, but also the importance of tourism or the infrastructure in the cities. In top-class sport in Austria, we have been more of a cycling nation than a skiing nation in recent years. If you look at how many professionals are in the top league, how successful the women are. So a lot has happened in terms of sport. I see it as the primary task of an association to create even better structures, to lobby the economy, the industry and the media. That's why we said: the Tour of Austria is a top-class sporting event, but we have to rethink it. Top-class sport is the platform on which you can build all kinds of topics.
TOUR: Are there also plans to organise some kind of amateur sporting event as part of the Tour of Austria?
DollWe discussed that too, but it's an organisational issue - the resources have to be there. When you know how difficult it is to organise major cycling events, with all the official requirements and then also a hobby race, where I'm talking about completely different time periods! Top-class sport is actually much easier to organise than a cycling marathon, where the roads are closed for a much longer period of time because the field of participants is spread far apart. That's why we said we couldn't do it this year.
TOUR: TV coverage is crucial for marketing - are there any contracts?
DollYes, the most important thing in any case is television coverage, in every respect. We have an agreement with the Austrian company K19. K19 has developed very well over the last few years, with many broadcasts, but also bike broadcasts, among other things. That means they are our producer. This means we can guarantee a live stream broadcast. I'm thinking of the last 90 minutes of each stage, with appropriate medialisation in advance. And we then make this material available to television stations for corresponding summaries. We have found a very good partner in the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. Whether there will then be a live stage remains to be seen. If these are short summaries, if we can distribute them widely via online media, then that's fine by us.
The glamour of the Tour de France outshines all other tours
TOUR: One problem the Tour of Austria has had for years is that it is overshadowed by the Tour de France, which takes place at the same time. Have you also discussed alternative dates?
Doll: I see it a little differently because I think the glamour of the Tour de France outshines all the other tours. I think the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta also have the same problem. I don't think it's good that 85 per cent of the media interest and also the interest of the sponsors is concentrated on one event. It's not a problem for the Tour of Austria, because a national tour is closer to the immediate media focus than the Tour de France during these five six days. Both can also exist in parallel in the media in the best possible way. This parallelism also has advantages in terms of invitation policy, because in the past the big teams were always happy to have the Tour of Austria in order to utilise the sporting capacity of a second team. Of course, when you reorganise something like this, you also think about other dates. But the UCI calendar is getting fuller and fuller and where do you find good windows? And so we said: we'll stick with this date.
TOUR: About the sporting concept of the Tour of Austria: You have hinted that you will be adding another lap through the town and the like. But the sporting concept won't change much?
DollAfter working on the Tour myself in recent years, I have found that these slightly shorter stages with the possibility of one or two final laps have also been very well received by the teams. That's why it was said that it's better to have slightly shorter stages where it makes sense to have finals where the spectators can see more. I think that's the case. I think you always have to consider who you are organising the tour for. We are category 2.1, which would give you the opportunity to fill 50 per cent of the starting field with World Tour teams, but we don't want that, because it should also be a tour for the Austrian teams. So I think that the structure of the stages as they have been organised this year is also good in terms of building up tension, because I think the decision will be made on the last day on the Sonntagberg. And we have a lot of what Austria has to offer in these five stages: the Großglockner is a monument and the scenery is very beautiful - the Danube is part of it. On the last stage along the Danube and then the ascent to the Sonntagberg basilica, that has always been a classic in recent editions with a very large audience.
TOUR: Are there any innovative ideas for the future?
DollThe Tour of Austria is the most beautiful sightseeing tour in Austria. There are many regions that have started to focus on cycling - the Tour of Austria can be a great supporter of this. Maybe we can organise the prologue in a slightly more unusual location. In Innsbruck there has often been a cycling race in the Olympic bobsleigh track. That would be a spectacular prologue, for example, if the Tour were to start in Innsbruck again. Our aim is to position this Tour of Austria as a platform for Austria as a cycling country. I think that's the exciting thing - you have to think beyond the sporting event. And if we succeed in doing that, I believe we will also be able to forge completely new partnerships.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
