Interest In Cycling On The Rise In Asia, Nielsen Sports Figures Show

Figures released by Nielsen Sports show the increasing interest in cycling around the world, most notably in the Asian region. Of the markets measured, Hong Kong shows the largest shift in interest in cycling, growing from 39% in '13 to 48% today. Japan shows the second-largest growth over the same period, where the popularity of cycling has jumped from 14% to 21%. The third-biggest grower in terms of national interest in the sport is China. Chinese interest in cycling has grown from 19% in '13 to 25%. Sport's rights owners are already taking advantage of this growth in Chinese interest. The Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) recently announced a new Chinese World Tour race, the Tour of Guangxi, which starts in October. It will run for at least the next three years. The data that comes from Nielsen Sports' Sports DNA, the world's largest syndicated sports research survey, also shows interest growth in cycling's heartland markets (Nielsen).