The economic impact of major road cycling events

Major road cycling events bring about various types of impact. The types of impact and the stakeholders are set out in this chapter. Attention is also paid to activities supplementing the cycling event, aimed at generating additional impact, using the cycling event as a catalyst. Subsequently, economic impact will be discussed in detail.

First, economic impact is defined and it is described how to measure it. Although at first sight conceptually uncomplicated, calculating the economic impact of a cycling event is full of twists and turns.

Second, the strengths and weaknesses of the calculation of the economic impact of an event are delineated, and an alternative method is presented for capturing the money flows instigated by an event. This method is a cost-benefit analysis.

Third, methods for capturing non-monetary impacts are outlined. Evaluating cycling events is often financial in nature, but other types of revenues and costs should not be underestimated.

Lastly, the chapter concludes with an example of an economic impact study of Le Grand Départ in Utrecht in 2015.