I’ve spent more than a decade producing grassroots cycling events in the Bay Area, long enough to see a single race grow from a small local happening into a must-attend spectacle. Yet, despite the growing crowds, passionate racers, and vibrant online community we cultivated, our events consistently struggled to secure the resources needed to thrive. I’ve watched legendary series like the Red Hook Crit experience the same paradox: explosive cultural momentum on one hand, fragile financial footing on the other. Having bet on the unique energy of fixed gear racing from the start, I’ve come to believe that the culture fueling this passion isn’t the problem. What’s missing is the framework needed to translate fervent grassroots support into a viable, fan-driven sport.

While my previous article Pedaling Nowhere: Why American Professional Cycling is Stuck at the Start Line outlined the systemic challenges that have stalled cycling’s growth, it is equally critical to highlight how these issues can be addressed. At its core, American professional cycling’s model has failed to build a passionate fan base, leaving the sport reliant on short-term sponsorships and rider entry fees. Prohibitive costs for broadcast coverage, venues ill-suited for spectator engagement, and an exclusionary image further shrink its potential reach. 

With Formula Fixed we aim to close the gap by embracing a fan-first approach that prioritizes accessibility and compelling storytelling. We believe that professional cycling has untapped potential to become a profitable, mainstream spectator sport in the United States, but only if it undergoes a radical transformation. This isn’t about marginal gains; it’s about building an entirely different race.

Spectator-First Events

The most glaring issue with American cycling is its failure to engage spectators. Current races prioritize racer participation over fan experience, which dilutes the impact of professional events by lumping them in with amateur categories. The result sees professional races buried at the end of long, chaotic race days, leaving little room for prestige or fan excitement.

Formula Fixed offers standalone professional races held during prime-time hours when viewers can attend after work or tune in at home. Complete with pre-race entertainment, athlete interviews, and fan-friendly activities, venues featuring grandstands, VIP hospitality, and interactive zones that serve as a hallmark of any other professional sports experience. Our events lean into the spectacle and entertainment of racing as much as the athleticism and competition that anchor them. 

A Unified Narrative

In most professional sports, fans follow a unified season with a clear progression toward championships or playoffs, fostering emotional investment in teams and athletes. By contrast, cycling’s disjointed schedule of standalone events, where teams set their own calendars, offers no continuity of competition, making it difficult for fans to become invested in mounting stakes across the arc of a season, and limiting storytelling opportunities more broadly.

We are building towards a coordinated, season-long series with a consistent roster of engaging and talented racers, culminating in a widely promoted championship event. This structured approach offers fans the opportunity to build connection with their favorite athletes through the narrative arc of a season, complete with rivalries, emerging stars, and high-stakes battles. A well-organized schedule maximizes broadcasting opportunities, boosts fan engagement, and creates predictable time slots for races, driving revenue and viewership. This approach also simplifies administration, strengthens the league’s brand identity, and enables our content team to leverage the season’s narrative arc for compelling storytelling, offering fans various avenues to arrive at their fandom.

Modern Formats for Modern Audiences

Cycling’s traditional long-form race formats lack the continuous action needed to sustain viewer interest, and often fail to capture the attention of modern sports fans, who demand fast-paced, engaging content. Similar to emerging leagues including the TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) and Unrivaled (women’s 3-on-3 basketball) that feature smaller footprints and shorter game times, and to the historic and more recent changes in the NBA and MLB that offer faster game play, our model adapts a legacy sport with formats designed to capture younger audiences and generate viral moments.

In Formula Fixed races, athletes compete on brakeless, fixed gear track bikes in condensed, high-intensity formats including criteriums and short track races, delivering non-stop excitement and event runtimes that are shorter than a typical soccer game. These formats include multiple laps, intermediate sprints, and bonus points to keep the action dynamic and engaging for both live spectators and broadcast viewers. As our league grows, we will introduce cutting-edge technology including rider data, bike telemetry, and on-bike cameras to enhance the viewer experience, bringing fans closer to the action and simplifying the sport’s tactical complexities. Our events represent cultural celebrations, with DJs, striking lighting design, and collaborative merchandise featuring local artists that connect the sport to younger, more diverse audiences.

Optimizing Venues and Broadcast

Cycling’s typical expansive outdoor venues present organizers with three major challenges: fleeting spectator engagement, cost-prohibitive broadcast logistics, and limited capacity to charge admission. Races held on public roads and city streets offer fans only momentary glimpses of the peloton, while capturing high-quality footage can require an entire fleet of motorbikes, helicopters, and production trucks, costs that most events cannot afford. Moreover, without a defined entry point, it’s nearly impossible for organizers to collect ticket revenue, further stunting the sport’s financial growth.

By shifting races to compact venues (initially go-kart tracks, rodeo arenas, and legacy sports stadiums—eventually purpose-built facilities), Formula Fixed offers a transformative solution that provides centralized race action and a defined “front door.” Fixed gear racing, with its short, technical courses packed with dynamic turns, is perfectly suited to these smaller footprints. This setup not only enhances the live spectator experience through continuous visibility of the action, but also streamlines broadcast capture and enables ticketed admission, ultimately reducing production costs and unlocking new revenue streams.

Embracing Culture to Elevate Sport

Professional cycling’s elitist image, high cost barriers to entry, and lack of cultural representation alienate potential fans and athletes and constitute significant barriers to growth. 

Formula Fixed believes that fixed gear cycling provides a powerful antidote to this exclusivity. Rooted in bike messenger street culture, fixed gear racing combines raw speed and bike-handling mastery with fashion, art, and a countercultural edge. Unlike traditional cycling, it’s closer to a skateboarding vibe: fashion-forward, highly diverse in terms of race, gender, and gender identity, and steeped in mutual support, community, and camaraderie.

By embracing this culture, Formula Fixed aims to connect professional cycling with younger, more inclusive audiences. Our races highlight the creativity and diversity already thriving in urban cycling subcultures while dismantling the perception of cycling as an exclusive, insular sport. Our partnerships with cultural and lifestyle brands including Rapha and Red Bull further amplify this energy, bringing cycling into the broader cultural conversation and attracting new fans who see themselves reflected in the sport.

A New Vision for American Cycling

At Formula Fixed, we’re not just imagining a better future for American cycling, we’re building it. Guided by our spectator-first philosophy, we are crafting a revenue model centered on attracting eyeballs, both in-person and virtual. As a new, lean, and nimble organization, we have the unique ability to make structural changes quickly, and we aim to use this to our advantage as we shape our events moving forward. By addressing the systemic issues outlined in Pedaling Nowhere and implementing a fan-first approach, we are redefining professional cycling in the United States.  

Informed by the transformative choices of widely-successful sports leagues like the NBA and MLB in speeding up game play, updating venues, and embracing culture, as well as by the modern blueprints offered by smaller-format, digital-first leagues including TGL and Unrivaled, we are optimizing Formula Fixed for the modern sports fan.

The journey from niche participatory events to widespread cultural relevance won’t happen overnight, but the roadmap is clear. With bold changes and a commitment to fan engagement, storytelling, and accessibility, cycling can finally reach its full potential. For the next generation—kids like my son, racing down the sidewalk on his first “real” bike—professional cycling can become a sport they grow up cheering for, in a league that truly reflects and connects with them. Because who knows? Maybe one day, they’ll end up racing in it themselves.

Do you think cycling has a bright future? Let us know! Drop us an email – info@formulafixed.com