Tour de France organizers ASO dismiss idea of paid ticketing system for spectators at cycling races
Tour de France organizers ASO have firmly rejected the notion that fans could be required to pay for roadside access to key race segments. This idea, which has been circulating for years, gained renewed attention when former team manager Jérôme Pineau proposed it on the Grand Plateau podcast.
The concept of charging for access to road races, already practiced in many track events, has been a topic of discussion. VIP tents are a common feature in cyclocross and one-day races like the Tour of Flanders, which will charge over €700 for its premium 'Grandstand experience' in 2026. In 2023, Visma-Lease a Bike team manager Richard Plugge suggested a more modest €10 fee for access to fenced-off mountain segments, though he viewed it as a deposit to deter crashes rather than a revenue source.
"Maybe you should ask for €10 to go on the mountain because yesterday on Col de Joux Plane was really hectic," he told Cycling Weekly. "Maybe you should ask for €10 and you get it back when you come down if nothing happens."
There have also been calls for more races on circuits to discourage protests that disrupted the Vuelta a España. However, ASO officials dismissed the paid entrance concept, arguing it would contradict cycling's core principle of 'access for all'.
"Cycling is a free sport, and that's what helps it succeed," Madiot told Dernière Heure. "Let's keep it that way."
Despite this stance, the financial challenges faced by cycling teams, highlighted by the Arkéa-B&B Hotels team's collapse and the widening budget gap between top and smaller WorldTour teams, have led to discussions about finding more reliable income streams or implementing salary caps. Alasdair Fotheringham, a seasoned cycling reporter, has covered every Tour de France since 1992, except one, and has reported on various bike races, from the Olympic Games to the now-defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. He has written for Cyclingnews, The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express, and Reuters.
