Five Questions for Thibaud Coudriou
I got to meet Thibaud Coudriou last year at the Tour of California. He works with ASO, the owner of that event, the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, the Paris Marathon, Paris-Dakar, and many other major sports events. The business has huge influence through all of those events as well as L’Équipe, the largest sports newspaper in France. Thibaud has experience working for ASO in strategy, marketing and across many of their events in Europe and across the globe. He’s also a passionate cyclist and marathoner himself. I wanted to find out more about what he does and what is happening at ASO.
1. Tell me about your background and how you ended up at ASO?
I started my career in Strategy Consulting and Private Equity at the Parisian office of Bain & Company, a large US consulting firm. I was and am still very interested in economy, corporate management, innovation and market trends.
That was one of the two faces of my life.
The other was cycling. I trained hard every day, rain or shine, after my long but thrilling days at the office, and competed every week-end on the road. For several years, all my holidays and vacations were dedicated to training, racing, traveling the world by bicycle. I have crossed about 30 countries with my touring bike, in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, most of the time in solo. When not on the saddle, I was reading about history of cycling, or studying and writing about the business of cycling.
It was a kind of exhausting binary life, but I had that passion for achieving the very best in what I was doing, which gave me the energy.
Until I started seeking for more balance in my life. So I chose to join the Strategy, Marketing and Business Development department of A.S.O., global leader in professional cycling business and outdoor sporting events, in order not to have to chose between these two amazing lives I was leading, but to live it all in one.
2. What is your role at ASO, and why is it exciting for you?
I have first spent three years with ASO in Paris, in charge of pro-cycling events development, through events creation or acquisition. We created races in Norway, in the UK, in Japan. I also launched the Women’s race of the Tour de France, named La Course, Tour de France Fan Parks in Europe, and Criteriums in Asia. The international dimension of these projects, and the level of exposure and responsibility were extremely exciting.
After the launch of La Course, I was appointed by the UCI as a Member of the Women’s Commission, whose main mission was to create alignment between the various stakeholders of the sport for the development of Women’s Cycling. I was thrilled about that opportunity to contribute to such a cause as an industry expert representing event organizers.
When AEG partnered with ASO for the production and development of the Amgen Tour of California Men’s and Women’s races, I relocated to Los Angeles to create the US office of ASO. I oversaw the ASO-AEG partnership, and the elevation of the Amgen Tour of California races to the World Tour status. It was not only a huge professional challenge, but also a total change of life.
Over the past three years, on the top overseeing the production and development of the Amgen Tour of California, I have been working on developing the Tour de France brand, community, and revenues in North America, through marketing partnerships, sponsoring and licensing deals, and merchandising.
All of this has been very exciting, but I must say that I am very honored and proud to have contributed to bringing the Tour de France knowledge and expertise to the US.
3. We know ASO owns the Tour de France, but what else do they do?
ASO is the global leader of out of stadium sporting events.
Our main business is cycling, as owner or producers of many cycling races: two of the Grand Tours (the Tour de France and La Vuelta), stage races (Paris-Nice, Dauphiné, Arctic Race of Norway, etc.), one-day races (Paris-Roubaix, La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Course by Le Tour, etc.), and Critériums (Shanghai, Saitama)
But ASO is actually not only in professional cycling, but also in Motorsports (including but not limited to: the Dakar Rally), Sailing (the Tour Voile, a one month sailing event along French coasts), Mass participation events (Paris Marathon, Barcelona Marathon, L’Etape du Tour, L’Etape Series, the Roc d’Azur, The Mud Day, etc.), and golf.
ASO owns about 100 events in 20 countries, including 150 days of professional cycling a year.
4. Do you feel like bicycles and outdoor sport have the power to change the world? Why?
I am not sure if bicycles and outdoor sports can directly change the world, but they can change the way people engage with the world, and the way people perceive themselves, and THIS can definitely change the world.
Cycling is good for the planet, for cities, for the economy, and for health, and this is why as industry experts we have the responsibility to develop the practice of cycling, working at every level of the sport, from grassroots to pro-cycling.
In the US more especially, the impact of cycling development can be huge on cities and on public health. Cities are built for cars and often suffer from congestion or pollution, a slice of the population suffers from obesity. An increase in bicycle use could be a game changer, and of public interest.
But beyond that, cycling makes every individual live extraordinary adventures, at his or her own scale, which shape our personalities, self-esteem, confidence, memories. Whether it comes to riding a bike for a first time as a toddler, riding through a city with a lover, going for a ride with a nice crew of friends on a Sunday morning and racing for signs, or winning an actual race… cycling makes all of us champions of something.
When I was 18, my best friend and I jump one day on our bicycles for a short ride in the outskirt of Paris and we ended up pedaling… until Berlin in Germany. Five days and over 1200km. We had no bib, no sunglasses, no rain coat, regular shoes, knocked doors to get food and hospitality… it was pretty unconscious, but these five days built me as an adult, and my self-confidence for life. To me these intimate and personal stories every one has with bicycles are actually the largest contribution of bicycles to the world.
5. What would you like to accomplish in the next five years?
American road cycling as a sport is currently struggling. It has just lost its largest professional road race due to the lack of sustainable economic model. But we can’t give up, and have to keep trying to find the right model to make bike races sustainable in the US. Having worked in the industry for years in both Europe and in the US, I have a fine understanding of what works and what does not on each continent. I would like to contribute that knowledge to the resurgence of professional road cycling races with a stable economic model in the US.
Also, having worked on the challenge of developing a European sport in the US, cycling, and a French brand, the Tour de France, I would be excited by the challenge of growing either another European sport in the US — such as soccer, or, a US sport in Europe.
