Vuelta A España Dir General Javier Guillén Updates Status Of Spanish Race, Cycling

Vuelta a España Dir General Javier Guillén "recently reviewed the status of the race and the sport of cycling," according to J.A. Ezquerro of AS. Guillén addressed a number of topics, including the sport's commercial exposure, and said, "Big events are defined by three principles. First is credibility, which is most important. This includes respect for the essence of the sport and the rules, and also for the athletes. Obviously cycling has been very damaged by doping, and because of this, we continuously fight to demonstrate our credibility. Second, consistency, or tradition. Events should be understood in the short and long term. The third is quality." On the "topic of cycling's international audience," Guillén said, "We are present in 190 countries through 33 TV channels. Our biggest audiences are in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, the predominant nations in Spanish tourism. On our website, 73% of traffic comes from outside Spain" (AS, 11/11).