I wants to grow cycling. Here are my ideas.

Professional cyclists are very lucky. We have the opportunity to live a unique life. Fans are very interested in knowing what the life of a cyclist looks like. That’s why I started a vlog a few years ago and am so active on social media.

With the amount of views I get, you can tell fans are very interested in the sport.

These days it’s very easy to share our experience with everybody. We can make pictures and videos with one click on the phone, you don’t need fancy equipment anymore. Content is part of our business now.

Brands who sponsor cycling want to show what’s behind the results. The results are great but there is an opportunity to show how we get the results. There is a lot of work that goes into a result. In this world of new technologies, this gives us a great opportunity to show people.

I studied marketing for two years at university, so this is something I really enjoy.

I’m grateful to cycling that I can live my dream. Because of that, I think there’s a responsibility to help make our sport better.

Some people argue that Pro Continental teams don’t have the budget to be competitive in a Grand Tour but here’s my view: If we invite 25 teams with 8 riders per team and these Pro Conti teams consistently get invited to the Grand Tours, they will get exposure and it’s just a matter of time before their budgets get increased. But at the moment there is such uncertainty as a Pro Conti team whether you will ride a Grand Tour or not, it creates no sustainability.

Last year they decided to take the Grand Tour teams from 9 riders per team to 8. I like the decision but I feel it is only a small part of the picture that needs to happen. Let me explain.

By taking less than 200 riders to the Grand Tours, good teams are missing out on invites. The teams who received the wildcards for the Vuelta two weeks ago definitely deserve them but you have good teams like Vital Concept and Manzana Postobon missing out.

Right now, there are only 4 teams to invite and it’s hard to make the selection but with more teams there’s more aggressive racing.

If we grow the sport and make is sustainable then eventually you can invite a team from Colombia or Japan to Grand Tours and this will open new markets for the sport.

We need to find a way for every World Tour team to eventually have a women’s team and an under 23 team. WT races should also have a women’s race, under 23 race and a Grand Fondo where possible. We need to incorporate the fans into the sport for increased engagement. The peloton passing fans in 30 seconds isn’t enough anymore. We have to create an experience for them.

It’s slowly happening, we are moving in the right direction.

I like what EF – Education First is doing by sending riders to popular amateur events. We should get more involved with the fans and be where the cycling community is.

Cycling is a complicated sport so it’s difficult for the riders and teams to have a united voice. We come from different countries, speak different languages, everyone lives away from each other. In the races you don’t see the same riders because the line-ups change all the time, these factors make it difficult to get the riders to have a united voice. There are many riders like me who have their own opinion and who would like to make a difference in the sport but we are not organised. We need a simple online application where the riders can voice their opinions and we can make important decisions.

I like the decision to take Grand Tours from 9 riders to 8 because we should look to create a more attractive sport, but the problem when they took the peloton from 200 riders to 176 created a loss of 24 riders which is like losing three teams. I don’t believe it’s good for the sport. [Tweet this by clicking here]

Of course, I can be selfish and say “Yes let’s only have 150 riders in the bunch, it’s better for me, I don’t have to be fighting for position so much,” but I was once on a smaller team too and I think everyone deserves an opportunity.

As professional cyclists we spend many hours on the bike. In training for many of these hours you’re usually alone so I find there is a lot of time to think. This is when I think of the future of the sport.

I was a young rider and came into the sport 10 years ago. I’m benefiting from the work other people did in the past to grow the sport. That’s why I think we have a responsibility to look at the future of the sport.