Tour de India: PDM Sports to give a boost to cycling

India’s early exit from the World Cup 2007 has brands, advertisers and sponsors waking up from the deep slumber called cricket! A lot of people directly linked to the business of sports are cashing in on football, lawn tennis and golf. Well, cycling is not far behind. PDM Sports, the sports marketing and management firm of Percept Holdings, has tied up with the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) to market cycling as a sport.

PDM Sports and CFI have signed a three-year deal, and this CFI’s first stint with entrusting the marketing duties for its events. The size of the business that has fallen into PDM Sports’ lap is worth approximately a crore of rupees. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, president, CFI, says, “CFI wishes to seriously promote the sport of cycling. A lot of cities are supporting the use of cycles, as compared to vehicles due to reasons like environmental pollution and traffic congestion.”

PDM Sports, established in 1994, has managed a series of cycling events such as the BSA Cycle run in Chennai, BSA National track cycling, Hercules Mumbai Pune cycle race, Hercules National road cycle race, Hercules national stage cycle race, Hercules national mountain biking championship, Hercules Pedal for Mumbai, Hercules MB Himachal and PHDCCI Open Cycle Race Delhi.

Talking about what the cycling sport can garner as against cricket, Landers reveals, “No other sport can ever become as big as cricket. But yes, we are definitely trying to get brands and sponsors into believing that sports apart from cricket also bring visibility in a number of ways.”

The sports management firm will look into all activities, encompassing traditional advertising and below-the-line initiatives for CFI. PDM Sports has also proposed to do the Tour of India on the lines of the Tour de France with international partners and the CFI in 2008.