The Business of Cycling

I have been wanting to have a conversation around the state of cycling marketing in 2024. Joshua Riddle is the marketing manager for Hayes bicycle. We've had Joshua on the show before, and in the conversation we go deep into the current state of marketing in 2024. We talk about topics around channel strategy, social media, website management, campaigns and the evolution of cycling marketing over t...

Cervelo founder Gerard Vroomen is an entrepreneur and an engineer. When I asked Gerard if he is more entrepeneur or engineer, his answer was YES. It was truly amazing to talk with Gerard and hear about his journey from student to building one of the most important bicycle brands in the world. During the conversation, you really get a sense of his firsthand experience. He shared how they gained tra...

In this live panel recording we discussed insights about Channel Strategy and how brands are navigating the delicate balance of D2C, Marketplace, and traditional distribution. My guests were Michael Stimola CEO ENVE Composites Stijn Vriends CEO Vittoria Group Steve Smith Brand Manager Castelli Cycling and Jonathan Sherwood Sales and Marketing at SCHUBERTH. Read the latest 'The Business of Cycling'...

Alex Boyce is a journalist and bike tester for Moto.it, he also has his own YouTube channel, @Alexbiketester. Our conversation revolves around his career path and the constantly evolving intersection of media and cycling. Alex started his professional career through kite surfing photography before transitioning to motocross.  Alex tells us about how his experience in motorcross helped him transiti...

At Eurobike 2024 I did some short interviews with managers that I know in the industry. The idea was to take the temperature of the market for feedback on how things are looking in July 2024. My conversations included Jayu Yang (HARO), Gaspare Licata (Crank Brothers), Samuele Bressan (Pirelli), Martin Banke (Ceramic Speed), and Gary Fisher. Read the latest 'The Business of Cycling' Blog Sign up fo...

The following is my conversation with ENVE CEO, Michael Stimola. Michael is a long-time entrepreneur who started out in the early eighties, founding Carbonite, an R&D materials company that supplied carbon fiber tubes for use in manufacturing, healthcare, and aerospace. Michael then went on to found Sandvik Design-Build, a general contracting company that designed and built storefronts in the...

Stijn Vriends is the chairman and CEO of Vittoria group. Vittoria is based in Bergamo Italy and is among the top producers of bicycle tires in the world.  In our conversation we talk about how he has helped Vittoria grow and flourish since taking over in 2020. We also discuss his experience in the private equity sector and how, when managed well, private equity can be extremely beneficial for busi...

Stefan Reisinger is the Managing Director of FAIRNAMIC GmbH, which is the company that runs the EUROBIKE fair. I reached out to Stephen because I wanted to give the listeners a better look inside the largest bicycle specific trade show in the world.  We dive into the reasoning behind the move from Friedrichshafen to Frankfurt and why the trade show is important, the evolution of the trade show, th...

When I started the Business of Cycling podcast there was definitely one person that I had in mind that I was hoping to interview, and it was Simon Mottram. I've worked in cycling for over 10 years. And what Rapha did in the cycling business is nothing short of incredible. They truly disrupted the industry, and found totally new ways to look at products like cycling clothing.   His story is incredi...

Joshua Riddle is originally from North Carolina and and has been working in the cycling industry in Italy for 15 years. He started his career at Trek Italy 2010 which recently closed their doors due to consolidation of their European offices to Madrid. Joshua has worked in Marketing for Trek, Pinarello, Campagnolo, Basso Bikes, and is currently the Global Marketing Manager at Hayes Bicycles. I spo...

This conversation was recorded at a live panel at the 2024 cycling world event in Dusseldorf on March 15th. The topic of the panel was COVID overstocks and the state of the industry and the aftermath. My guests were ROSE Bikes   Anatol Sostmann ,  Old Man Mountain Products   Erik Fenner   Schicke Mütze   Carsten Wien and provided three unique viewpoints on the causes and lessons learned from the o...

Jayu Yang is one of the most experienced entrepreneurs in the Taiwanese bike industry. Her grandfather started Kenda tire in 1962. And she carried on the family tradition by taking over her father's business Kendstone In 2001. Kendstone is among the top premium bicycle assemblers in Taiwan. In Taiwanese culture, women were not typically considered for running a family business. Therefore her path...

David Trimble is best known for founding the Red Hook Criterium fixed gear championship series. David also founded the Midnight Half, both internationally renowned sporting competitions. The Red Hook Crit grew to become such an important cultural event that it was archived at the Smithsonian's national museum of American history. It this episode you'll hear the story of the Red Hook Crit and David...

Claudio Marra is the General Manager of the European division at FSA Full Speed Ahead Vision. Claudio started working in the cycling industry at the age of 14 when for Milan based bicycle builder Rosin, where he learned frame building and welding. during his time at Rossin and then eventually Columbus, he witnessed the transition from steel to aluminum frames in the 1990s. Claudio Marra is among t...

UK native Matt Stevens had an extensive road cycling career starting in the late eighties through the nineties and into the two thousands. He holds the title of 1998 UK national road race champion. Matthew is most well known for his work at the global cycling network, as he was part of the core team that started the channel in 2015. in 2018, he left GCN to focus on commentary work, live events, as...

Guy Kesteven is a professional bike tester and journalist in the cycling industry. He's been testing bikes and kit for over 25 years for UK magazines and global websites. Guy came on my radar when i read his piece on BikePerfect.com titled 'The Mountain Bike industry is Dying, Long Live Mountain Biking. You can read it here . His take on the cycling industry, and the business of cycling is candid,...

Martin Banke is the Managing Director of Ceramic Speed. Ceramic Speed is a manufacturer of high-performance bearing technology. They also produce high-performance bottom brackets, pulley systems, pulley wheels, and headsets. Martin has worked in the cycling industry for over 20 years. Initially on the distributor side with EnergySport in Denmark and then on the brand side. Martin was the first emp...

Alessandro Basso is the Chief Executive Officer at StarDue Group. StarDue is the parent company of the brands Basso Bikes and Lee Cougan Mountain Bikes. Alessandro comes from a family of bike enthusiasts and entrepreneurs in the industry. Alessandro's Father and Uncle founded Basso Bikes in 1977 and his Mother's family is responsible for creating the mega motorcycle protection brand Alpine Stars....

To end the year I put together a collection of interesting moments from 2023 conversations focused around COVID and the after effects of the pandemic. I thought it would be an interesting take a look back at some of these anecdotes and experiences these cycling professionals went through to take a look closer to that moment. In the recap provide clips from my conversations with Jonathan Sherwood o...

Simon Summerscales is the VP of Marketing at Canyon Bicycles. Before joining Canyon in 2018, Simon was the Head of communication strategy at the prestigious Wieden+Kennedy agency in London. Simon was also Director of communication strategy at 72andSunny in Amsterdam. During his tenure in the agency realm, Simon was responsible for creating numerous global campaigns for both Nike and Adidas. Simon...

Marco Galli is the marketing manager for the cycling division at Kask Helmets in Italy. Marco started his career at Red Bull, where he spent time coordinating sports events, motor sports events, as well as athletes. He then worked for Scott Sports in Switzerland where he was the marketing coordinator for their motor sport division. Marco has been the head of marketing at Kask in Italy since 2022....

Samuele Bressan is the head of Global Marketing of the cycling division at Pirelli tires. Samuele got his start in cycling as the product manager for Vittoria Tires. He also worked as the product manager for Bianvhi Bicycles, as well as line builder and product manager for clothing brand RH+. In our conversation, we really explore how closely related the product teams are with marketing. And how t...

Jacob Dudek was until recently the VP of commercial operations at SIGNA Sports United for the USA entity. Jacob came onto my radar recently when I saw his article on LinkedIn titled 'A Postmortem of the Collapse of SIGNA Sports United'. It's a deep look at what happened from an insider's look as a VP. I highly recommend it as it goes deep into the reasons behind the collapse. It gives a clear pict...

On October 27th online cycling retailer behemoth Wiggle has entered into administration due to financial turmoil at its parent company Signa Sports United. This news sent shockwaves through the cycling industry as Wiggle is essentially the 500 pound gorilla of online cycling retail. I spoke with industry veteran Jonathan Sherwood to try to make sense of the news. Read the latest 'The Business of C...

Rocket Espresso is a darling of the cycling world and the coffee machines could be found in every pro cycling team bus starting in the 2010s. In the podcast I speak with Rocket Espresso founder and New Zealand native Andrew Meo about how he captured the imagination of cycling. We also discuss Andrew's early career as an auto repair and restoration shop owner and restaurateur, how he left a profita...