Seven-time winner’s comeback fuelled interest and investment on the race
Although he was unable to add to his tally of seven victories, Lance Armstrong’s presence in the 2009 Tour de France was a financial success for race organiser Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), according to Bloomberg. The American’s comeback to the race he’d dominated four years before was a factor in adding $32 million in sales during 2009.
Armstrong’s duel with Astana teammate Alberto Contador reportedly encouraged race sponsors Skoda cars and France Telecom’s cellphone business Orange to renew agreements and the global television audience increased by 10%.
“The Armstrong-Contador duel was certainly not irrelevant to the [race’s] success,” according to the company’s December 1st filing to the company registry in Nanterre, just outside Paris. The Tour’s financial targets were reportedly “slightly” surpassed, according to information sent to Bloomberg.
While sales from ASO events (which include the Paris Marathon, the French Open golf tournament and the Dakar rally, as well as a large number of cycle races) rose by 20% to €145.2 million ($195.4 million), net income actually fell by 1.2% to €31.8 million.
While Armstrong’s fairytale comeback did not go completely to plan, largely due to the superiority of his younger teammate, it went far better for him than many expected. He finished the race in third place behind Contador and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) despite all attempts to assert himself over the riders, who were more than ten years his junior.
It will be interesting to see how much Armstrong’s presence in the 2010 race, which he has declared was his last, had on the ASO balance sheet. Despite apparently undergoing his usual flawless preparation the 39-year-old was unable to compete almost as soon as the race hit the mountains. A series of crashes, and the “Jerseygate” debacle on the final day meant that it was the worst post-cancer Tour for the American; even so, the figures for the race organiser are unlikely to have suffered so much.