Despite the challenges that the Tour de France faced in '18, there are "signs that the race is stronger than at any point in its history," according to Andrew Hood of VELO NEWS. Journalist Francois Thomazeau, who has covered nearly 30 Tours, said, "Thirty years ago, the Tour was a very big French race in France. Since then, it has truly become a global event that draws in millions of people every day." The 2018 Tour de France "may be remembered for the controversy which swirled around Team Sky," and for the smaller crowds and "dip in TV ratings." But by nearly ever metric -- fom those same TV ratings and crowds, to sponsor engagement and the quality of the field -- the Tour "still towers above every other cycling race on the calendar." Cyclist Jonathan Vaughters, who has "long fought to change cycling’s business model," said that when he pitches potential sponsors, he "promotes his team’s media metrics from the Tour de France." He said, "From a media impressions standpoint, the Tour dwarfs everything by a huge order of magnitude. [Other races] are not even close." Teams "still grumble" about the Tour’s dominion over the sport and "unwillingness to share in the riches it generates" from TV revenue. Critics say that "as popular and profitable as the Tour is now," it could be "even more so" if race organizer Amaury Sport Organisation "embraced a more integrated business arrangement with the larger cycling community." Until Madame Marie-Odile, widow of ASO Founder Émilien Amaury, decides to sell the privately-held media company, that likely will not change (VELO NEWS, 11/12).
