The exhilarating world of Track Cycling: The 2023 UCI Track Champions League
The UCI Track Champions League (TCL) was introduced in 2021 in a bid to revolutionise and revive the sport of track cycling. Having completed its third year of competition at the end of 2023, Travel Places has been there every step of the way since its inception. Despite an intense schedule, last-minute changes and an increase in accommodation needs, our team lent on their agile and responsive qualities to provide a winning service fit for this fast-paced event.
The numbers
Riders
Support staff
Room nights
The Challenge
Working for our client and the organiser of the event Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, Travel Places was tasked with the accommodation for 72 of the world’s best riders, and over 140 members of staff required for TV broadcast. In addition to the accommodation, we also assisted in organising flights and other means of transportation between each event.
The UCI TCL is known for its intense schedule, with five rounds packed into a 4-week period. This placed an even greater importance on the role Travel Places played and our work was vital in ensuring the athletes were where they needed to be, and on time, to guarantee they were ready to perform at their best. As with any large-scale event with multiple stakeholders, last minute changes to travel plans can have a big impact. During the months leading up to the first event and the five weeks of intense competition, our dedicated team had to overcome multiple challenges to contribute to the overall event success.
Our approach
Work started months before the first rider took to the track. Planning was crucial with limited downtime between events due to the back-to-back nature of the schedule. Each round needed to be ready before the previous one was finished to ensure it all ran seamlessly.
In addition to the rider schedules, some clients required additional room nights in-between each event, or during an event for their friends and/or relatives. To support this additional service, we set up an online booking portal where riders could request any additional hotel services they needed. It was a popular addition, with 40% of riders using the service. Our team worked hard to ensure all of these additional requests were met, ensuring riders arrived at each location focused and raring to go.
It has been a real pleasure to work with you. Increasing the total number of rooms significantly just a week before the event it was a tremendous challenge. Your professionality in all the matters made everything super easy. We had several issues and these were fixed quickly and elegantly."
The Travel Places team is accustomed to working in an agile way to support our clients and handle last-minute changes. We pride ourselves on our flexible and responsive nature when approached with last minute changes - essential qualities when supporting the sports and entertainment sector, where dynamic schedules are expected. As we approached the first round in Palma, it became evident that due to the increased responsibilities of support staff at the first event, an uplift in over 60 room nights were required for this location.
Our longstanding relationships with global hotel brands, which have been cultivated over our 45-year history, are invaluable in times like these. Phil Webber, our Events Consultant working on-site in Palma, used these strong connections to secure these necessary extra rooms in an already busy location. Phil successfully expanded the capacity at two of the existing hotels and secured use of two further hotels, resulting in a total of 770 room nights - over 200 more than the average for the remaining races. To accommodate the allocation of additional room nights, around 40 clients had to relocate to a different hotel during their stay in Palma. Knowing that these clients would need to be present on-site, our team ensured that their luggage was efficiently transported on their behalf. This extra service was just one of the ways we made sure our clients could focus on their core day-to-day activities rather than the stress and uncertainty of event travel.
I took part in the 2023 UCI TCL series and was absolutely blown away by everything that the Travel Places team did for me. I’ve raced all over the world and never before have I received such hospitality and care with a personal touch. From the concierge services to the quality of accommodation no detail was missed when looking after athletes needs. The level of service I received throughout the entire series removed all stress and created a hassle free experience for me. The final person touch of a Congratulations message with chocolates left in my hotel room is something I will always remember."
The result
We are specialists in managing the complex and dynamic requirements of multiple stakeholders attending major events. Expertise that was vital to ensure the 2023 UCI TCL was a success. Each member of our team - both those working on the ground and in our offices in Worthing - played a vital role in what was a real team effort. Events Consultant Phil Webber, who has a background of working in cycling and a passion for the sport, was instrumental in bringing his experience, resources, and expert knowledge to our clients throughout the five weeks of competition, and the feedback from our clients is testament to the team’s unwavering efforts throughout.
Phil and the team were amazing throughout the entirety of the TCL event. The accommodation we were in was top notch and made the resting between competitions all the more enjoyable. I would recommend Travel Places to anyone."
