Flanders Classics enters partnership with Tour de Suisse organisers

Flanders Classics, which organises the biggest races of the cobbled Classics season, has partnered with the Tour de Suisse organisers Cycling Unlimited.

The move will see the organisers of the Tour of Flanders, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and Gent-Wevelgem, among others, become a minority shareholder of the Swiss company as well as share their race organisation experience and knowledge.

Speaking to CyclingPro at the Tour de Suisse, Flanders Classics CEO Tomas Van De Spiegel said that the deal will give the group more power in discussions about cycling's future with the likes of the UCI and fellow race organisers, RCS Sport and ASO.

"I think the Tour de Suisse has always been very tempting to us because it's a very historical stage race," Van De Spiegel said on Tuesday after stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse.

"We didn't have a stage race in our portfolio. I think it's important these days as well when we discuss with other people in the cycling landscape that you represent a bigger number of race days.

"We represent big races but they're all one-day races. Now we can add a 10-day race to our portfolio and the same goes for Cycling Unlimited. I think we strengthen each other."

Flanders Classics runs 60 to 70 events, Van De Spiegel said, with races including Dwars door Vlaanderen, Scheldeprijs, De Brabantse Pijl also in its portfolio alongside the Flanders Gravel series and the UCI World Cup and Telenet Superprestige cyclo-cross series.

Information and knowledge sharing, as well as commercial cooperation, will also be benefits of the new partnership.

"We will exchange operational knowledge of course, and we will look for synergies on a commercial and strategic level," Van De Spiegel said. "Because we all know that there have been discussions going on forever about the reform of cycling. We are important stakeholders in that discussions as well and now we can speak as one voice."

Hans-Peter Zurbruegg, chairman of Cycling Unlimited, said that the partnership would help the two organisers continue to grow, calling the move "more than just a partnership".

"This new partnership embodies a vision of continuous growth," he said. "Cycling Unlimited's aim is to propel the cycling community forward in our key markets, embarking on a journey that celebrates the unity of our shared goals.

"This is more than just a partnership, it's a testament to the power of collaboration in driving transformative change."

The Tour de Suisse continues on Wednesday with the second of three high mountain stages that will prove pivotal in the GC race. Stage 3 winner Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) leads the race. You can follow all the action on stage 4 live on Cyclingnews.