Jayco-AlUla, tourist showcase of Saudi Arabia

Since 1^is January 2023, the men's peloton discovered AlUla. Co-sponsor of the Jayco-AlUla team, formerly BikeExchange-Jayco, this entity remains quite mysterious for cycling enthusiasts. So I looked for who hides behind this name : a tourist destination in Saudi Arabia. So what are their motivations for investing massively in cycling? ? After the reappearance of the Saudi Tour in 2020, this eastern country continues its development in cycling.

Al Ula, a region of history, culture and tourism

Located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, the AlUla region is at the heart of the cultural and tourist policy of the oil country. Inscriptions and other archaeological traces found on site date the history of this region back to the first millennium BC.. A rich period followed for the region, successively integrated into the kingdoms of northern Arabia (IX^{The Tour of the Pays de Vaud} – I^is century BC), the nabatean kingdom and the roman empire (I^is century BC – IV^{The Tour of the Pays de Vaud} century AD). The arrival of Muhammad in 630 AD comes to upset this region by infusing it with an Islamic culture, still very present today. The region experienced an Ottoman occupation from the 16th century until the unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

This rich history has endowed the region of AlUla with a precious material heritage.. Although Saudi Arabia initially based its power on oil, the enhancement of this heritage has recently been given a new lease of life. Although in 2008, The site of Mada'in Saleh, similar to the world famous one in Petra, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, it is only from 2017 that the region benefits from a real tourism development strategy. Its name comes from the city of AlUla, chief town of the county and which shelters in total 50 000 people in a territory equivalent to Lorraine.

Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) becomes the 21 June 2017 the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Aware of the scarcity of oil, he wants to diversify the Saudi economy and find an alternative to the country's economic system based on this resource. So he sets up the project Vision 2030. One of the axes of this project is to place the tourist and cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia at the heart of an ambitious policy of openness to the world.. Until then, Saudi Arabia deliberately left tourism out of their policy.

A few months after coming to power, in november 2017, while Emmanuel Macron is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, the French president stops on the way home 3 hours in Riyadh (capital of saudi arabia) for an interview with MBS. The exchange program includes, among other things, the country's tourist and cultural projects.. A deal, which links France to the AlUla project, is thus signed between the two powers on 10 avril 2018 in Paris. France agrees to co-lead, in partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCA), the development of the region, through theFrench Agency for the development of AlUla (AFAlUla).

The development of cycling in Saudi Arabia

Saudi authorities understand the importance of investing in sport, massive means of communication. Since that date, and in many sports, we can see a galloping increase in Saudi sports initiatives. Automobile, horse riding, trail… there are many examples but we will mainly focus on cycling. Cycling races, team sponsorship, Saudi Arabia and its regions are firmly established in the professional and international world. Nicolas Lefebvre, Director of Tourism and Hospitality at AFAlUla, reminds us, however, that we must clearly distinguish the investments of Saudi Arabia (on the Saudi Tour) and those of AlUla (in the cycling team). AlUla is only a component of the country and it is this region that has committed to the Jayco-AlUla team and not the country. It is therefore difficult to compare the Jayco-AlUla team with other teams sponsored by Gulf countries such as Bahrain Victorious, which are national and not regional projects.

It's with a train delay, compared to its Gulf neighbors, that Saudi Arabia is embarking on high-level cycling. In 2016, Qatar announces the start of hostilities by organizing the World Cycling Championships. Peter Sagan wins the men's road race there, in the sprint ahead of Mark Cavendish and Tom Boonen. Some time after, the United Arab Emirates enter the race by buying the Italian team Lampre, which takes its name from 2017 UAE Team Emirates.

In 2019, Emirati authorities merge Abu Dhabi Tour and Dubai Tour to create UAE Tour. Integrated into the World Tour calendar, this country now has a guaranteed visibility of its heritage and its landscapes. Qatar has also had its own cycling race (Qatar Tower) but which disappears 2017 due to a lack of funding and recognition. It thus represented a limited interest for the Qatari leaders.. The race was then on the UCI Asia Tour calendar in category 2.HC.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia is also committed to the adventure of professional cycling. Of 4 at 8 February, 128 runners set off for five days of events around Riyadh, the capital. The Tour of Saudi Arabia had not taken place for seven years (editing 2013 won by Murad Tarik Obaid, an Emirati cyclist) ! However, the organizers manage to bring in four World Tour teams, our Pro teams (including four French) and three Continentals. This ambitious startlist for a first edition demonstrates the Saudi will to be at the top level of cycling. During the second edition (in 2022 because the Covid leads to the cancellation of the edition 2021), the riders evolve exclusively in the region of AlUla. The city even welcomes four out of five arrivals ! This choice of course is not trivial.

after the capital, we are witnessing an enhancement of this region and its landscapes. The AlUla region emerges from its anonymity ! Motorsport enthusiasts had already been able to discover this region during the Dakar 2020. Nicolas Lefebvre teaches us more about the relationship between the country and the county (administrative name of the Saudi division) of AlUla in the organization of the Saudi Tour. The Saudi Tour is a project of the Ministry of Sports of Saudi Arabia, ASO a service provider (and not the organizer as for the Tour de France) but the region of AlUla managed to negotiate the fact that the race takes place around its capital to promote its heritage.

Cycling as an advertising tool

The massive arrival of Saudi Arabia is not the result of chance but the conclusion of a more global project, taking part in complex geopolitical issues. The arrival of AlUla as a sponsor of the GreenEdge team does not date from 1^is January 2023. In its ranks is Welays Hagos Berhe, an African hopeful we interviewed. Since July 2021, AlUla region sponsors Team BikeExchange. It is therefore from a well-established sponsor that the BikeExchange inherits at the start of the year.. With this new step taken, AlUla now ensures a permanent presence in cycling, worldwide. They benefit from a particularly important media return, and which compared to the economic investment seems very advantageous. A survey conducted by Kantar Media in 2018 on several cycling teams concludes that the advertising equivalent of a title sponsorship of a team is on average ten times higher than that actually invested.

When it was only crossed by the Tour of Saudi Arabia, the AlUla region only spoke to cycling enthusiasts who are interested in this sport. Today, his name is exported around the world to the rhythm of the racing calendar on the jersey of the Jayco-AlUla riders. very popular sport, invest in cycling (whether as a sponsor or organizer of a competition), turns out to be a very powerful tool for gaining sympathy with the population. Through their cycling team, the committee responsible for the development of the AlUla project manages to reach populations who until then could be totally outside of traditional communication channels. The specificity of cycling makes this communication gain possible. Indeed, international and professional cycling consists of a succession of competitions taking place in front of the door of individuals.

This commitment is therefore one of the many cogs used by Saudi Arabia to implement the Vision project. 2030. Launched in 2016 and worn by Mohammed bin Salman, this project aims to multiply the number of visitors by five in fifteen years. to son terme, in 2030, Saudi Arabia plans to host nearly 40 million foreign visitors per year. By including the tourist movements of Saudis within their country, CAR and AFAlUla are counting on a mobility of 100 million people.

The development project of AlUla is the implementation of the vision project 2030, which takes place at the national level. Many other sites benefit from accelerated development, like that of Red Sea, which plans to host a large seaside resort on the shores of the Red Sea, or the city of Neom, which will emerge from the desert and concentrate the technologies and know-how of the 21st and 22nd centuries. This city organizes and will host the Asian Winter Games 2029, with surrounding mountains exceeding the 2 000 meters above sea level.

Making AlUla a cycling paradise

AlUla does not use cycling as a simple billboard but makes it a real communication slogan. In regional development projects, cycling occupies a considerable place. Nicolas Lefebvre explains to us that “ AlUla wants to make cycling a lever for development ». By including contemporary concerns related to sustainable development and soft mobility, the bicycle occupies a place of choice in the regional project. The investment in cycling and the sponsorship of the Jayco-AlUla team is therefore explained.

By sponsoring the BikeExchange team in 2021, it is above all a partnership with GreenEdge Cycling, who owns the men's and women's team. Property of Garry Ryan, an Australian who has dedicated his life to the development of sport in his country, this group also places the conservation and maintenance of environmentally friendly ecosystems at the heart of its policy. Always dynamic owner, AlUla has found here a partner who shares the same vision of cycling : environmentally conscious, but also who sees cycling as a way to maintain good health and as a means of transport.

All these ideas can be found in the AlUla project, through communication elements but also the construction of infrastructures on site. « Qwhether it's the scenic route or the cycle paths, equestrian and pedestrian, everything has been designed to facilitate mobility, adopt an approach based on the tourist experience, and promote low-carbon journeys » can we read on the AFAlUla website.

This Saudi region sees cycling from two angles. The first is a competitive angle. The second approaches cycling as a sport and a mobility tool. These two axes are at the heart of the Vision project 2030. The Saudi authorities want to see the development of cycling for their population, but also tourists. The archaeological richness of AlUla County will be accessible by bicycle routes. Those responsible for the AlUla project to open up to the world do not, however, neglect cycling as a competition.. In parallel with Saudi Tour 2023, which is currently taking place, a whole series of animations are planned for the 40 000 inhabitants of the city of AlUla to gradually endow the population with this sporting culture. The population is receptive to the integration of this cycling culture.

The participation for the first time of a Saudi team, composed exclusively of Saudis, in this competition testifies to this success ! The project to create cycling clubs is therefore not ruled out, even if currently it is more riding that concerns the leaders. Equestrian endurance races and international polo competitions are held annually in the city. Asked about possible partnerships between French cycling and Saudi cycling, like the one between CAR and AFAlUla, Nicolas Lefebvre from AFAlUla explains that nothing is planned for the moment but that it is possible to see the appearance of joint projects in the future and that they are studying how to associate French cycling players with AlUla, similar to what is done in other sectors of activity (architecture, archeology, hotel, He is still in intensive care today.)

In this study, we mainly stayed on AlUla and the Saudi Tour. It should be noted, however, that this Saudi dynamic does not stop there.. Le 24 October 2022, Movistar and the Saudi Cycling Federation have announced the signing of a partnership. Euzebio Unzué, general manager of Movistar, then clarified that this partnership has a chance to evolve. The Movistar team wants to increase its budget, which requires greater sponsorship. This would allow Movistar to get closer to the leaders that are Ineos Grenadiers (46 millions d’€/an), UAE Team Emirates (35 millions d’€/an) and the Jumbo-Visma (25 millions d’€/an). Saudi projects are not ready to stop in cycling !