Cycling must evolve if it is to grow and compete with other sports in the global race for market interest, according to Michael and Peter Rogers, two of three champion cycling brothers; the third being Deane.
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Michael, the youngest of the three siblings at 42, is a former three times world time trial champion (2003, 2004 and 2005) and winner of two stages of the Giro d'Italia and one in the Tour de France.
Today, he is the Head of Road Cycling and Innovation at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Peter, 47, is also an ex-professional cyclist who competed in Europe and for Australia in two world road championships (1997 and 1998) before retiring in 2002. Deane, 46, won the time trial at the 1994 world junior titles in Quito, Ecuador.
It seems the lineage of high achievement in the Australian Rogers family that hails from Canberra will continue. Peter's 17-year-old son, Cameron whose mother, Raeleigh, is also a former champion triathlete, is the Australian junior road champion. A rising star in Australian cycling, Cameron is racing in the UCI World Road Championships in Wollongong. He placed 14th in Tuesday's men's junior time trial and will also compete in Friday's 135.6km junior road race.
On Wednesday, Peter and Michael Rogers spoke of their pride for Cameron and their views on cycling's future before the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay that was only included on the world titles program two years ago and reflects the UCI's interest in change.
"It is an interesting dynamic," Michael said. "It is a format that the traditional cycling world isn't used to.
"But the UCI is trying different formats to see if there is interest there. I think it is appreciated by the nations, combining the men and women into one event."
Cycling is not alone in looking at revamping their competitions to increase market engagement.
Cricket, once reliant on Test matches as its main form of competition and revenue, is an example.
Cricket saw several new formats added to the game to its competition calendar that shored up the game's future as a drawcard of interest and financial sustainability.
Cycling has many disciplines, including track, mountain bike, BMX, cyclo-cross, gravel and Esports.
But the Rogers brothers believe cycling could also look at how[ those disciplines might change to suit the times.
"There are some exciting potential formats that could really mix things up," Michael said. "Some events have stood the test of time ... but it seems that younger generations could be looking for something more.
"We're even starting to see interest in E-Sports ... in the sense of gaming, but there [also] seems to be quite a lot of interest in what I call physical E-Sports."
Peter Rogers is a proponent for change in Australian cycling, especially the National Road Series (NRS).
"In this day and age with peoples' attention spans getting shorter, there has to be an evolution in then format of cycling around the world that we can package and sell," Peter said.
"It might evolve into] having different and shorter formats. Not taking anything away from the value of traditional events, but in Australia with the NRS, if we are trying to bring life back into it, we should consider different formats.
"We can't just replicate what Europe do here. We need to build it [the NR] for our market. I am not talking about riding around in circles, but it might be like what your one-day cricket is, as opposed to Test cricket."
The future of cycling was not the only focus of Michael and Peter Rogers on Wednesday, but also Peter's son Cameron who hopes to become a professional cyclist.
"There are no expectations," said Peter. "He's just thrown himself into it. We've held him back until recently. He's training full time now. But he's next generation. He's a young fella and the world is at his fingertips."
Michael is impressed by Cameron, now trained by ACT based Glenn Doney who has also coached Australian Michael Matthews, one of the favourites for Sunday's men's elite road race.
"I'm very proud of him," Michael said of Cameron.
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