Cycling’s precarious business model untangled; and who wore what to the Met Gala (and why)

On the eve of the Giro d’Italia, the first grand tour of the cycling year, James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack professional cycling’s business model and examine the tensions at the heart of it.Reflecting on James’ conversation with INEOS-Grenadiers CCO Tom Hill, they discuss the dominant role of Tour de France-organiser ASO in the sport, and the efforts the UCI WorldTour teams are making to try and grow their own revenues in a sport where sponsorship is particularly critical. They also consider the challenges of building brand equity in teams when team names change so regularly, as sponsors come and go.Elsewhere, there’s reaction as UC3, the joint venture between Uefa and European Football Clubs set up to commercialise Europe’s club competitions, confirms a raft of fresh media rights agreements for the next cycle. Plus, why the Met Gala is now firmly part of the annual sports calendar.