WHERE IT ALL BEGAN?
It was back in 2016, that several first year U23 South African road cyclists found themselves without teams to migrate into.
Financial backing was also becoming increasingly hard to find, the knock-on effect being little growth and opportunity in the Club teams – who wanted to maintain their Elite podium positions.
Enter PROTOUCH Pro Cycling, a new team set up to cater for U23 South African road cycling talent. With the vastly experienced Tony Harding as Sports Director, this self-funded team set out with a singular focus: to enable young South African riders to perform. And how this goal has manifested itself.
In its first three years, PROTOUCH went from strength to strength, culminating in overall victory at the 2018 SA Road Cycling Series and countless other domestic racing victories. Seven riders were selected for National Team duty that year, and the Team achieved four podium finishes in the toughest of African stage races – the Tour du Rwanda.
Despite this home-ground success, it was clear that focussing solely on South African racing was not preparing our Athletes for international racing. Local events were catering primarily for mass-participation and, shorter racing distances.
Coupled with the limited spectator value and media coverage, attracting sponsorship and investment was still proving to be difficult. The unsustainable Federation model was also impacting on National Team participation by its athletes [as these events were also self-funded].
TIME FOR A NEW BUSINESS MODEL… one less dependent on sponsorship and driven by a sustainable revenue source, that would come from brands and fans aligned with our purpose.
SO, WE EMBARKED ON SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER
In 2019, we registered a Continental Elite Men’s Road Cycling Team – around a core of South African riders – and, with the aim to become the #1 Team in Africa. Our Purpose: to enable more South African riders onto the World Stage.
PROTOUCH Pro Cycling raced in Africa, Asia and Europe – alongside top European-based teams and became the #1 Team in Africa in June 2019. Despite Covid-19 travel and racing restrictions, PROTOUCH Pro Cycling has maintained the number one UCI-ranked cycling team in Africa, for three consecutive years now! We have just signed our first Rwandan rider, the first step to become a truly Pan African Team.
AGGREGATING AFRICAN CYCLING
While continuing to keep [and fund] our number one Continental team racing on the World Stage, our focus this year has been on getting the PROTOUCH AFRICA Fan Engagement Platform live and, using news and content to engage with the African Cycling Fan global community.
With a combined reach of over 1,5 million followers and already engaged with African Cycling, as this base starts to engage, we will monetize it using our Phil Liggett Foundation Merchandise, NFT’s, Broadcast Rights and Events.
“Every cyclist from Africa, we place into the global cycling ecosystem has the opportunity to transform many more opportunities for those that follow. We take our responsibility to enable more African cyclists seriously and believe in the Pay -it Forward concept. This is the basis of the proposed Athlete Impact Fund made up of investors and the athletes themselves, managed by The Phil Liggett Foundation” – Phil Liggett – Global Voice of Cycling.
2022 TEAM PARTNERSHIPS
