The Prologue_2 | Giving back to cycling

Blog 2 of 4 leading up to our crowdfunding campaign this Wednesday.

Yesterday, I talked about where our concept started, how we believe in the collective power of creators, and how we, as Domestique, want to live up to our name by empowering them and ultimately benefiting cycling fans with more and better content.

Today, it’s time to share how we introduced Domestique to the peloton.

Serving the peloton

As we continued shaping our concept, we asked ourselves: to what extent could this model also be valuable for the peloton?

First and foremost, by involving those who are the sport: the riders. Not just as subjects of media coverage, but as active participants in shaping the coverage around the sport in a way that gives back to it.

After all, who understands the sport better than them? They live it, race it, and see what others don’t. Fans are waiting for their stories, perspectives, and insights. And from our experience running the Domestique Twitter/X account, we’ve seen that plenty of riders are open to bringing fans along on their journey.

It makes sense. We’re in a time where athletes want to be more than just the person behind the sunglasses. They enjoy showing who they are and hope to inspire others along the way.

For us, that’s the key. It’s all about authenticity. Quality over quantity.

We’re looking for those riders or ex-riders who have a story to tell and who enjoy telling it.

The Voice of Cycling

This is what Domestique stands for: bringing the passion for cycling to life with the people who love the sport most and want to be part of the conversation. That’s The Voice of Cycling, and it’s what you’ll feel on Domestique. Riders taking you on their journey, creators adding depth with their perspectives, and fans engaging, sharing ideas, and even becoming part of the platform starting this Wednesday.

The Voice of Cycling isn’t just a fancy marketing tagline, it’s something we genuinely believe in and want to live by.

Building our roster

So, where do we stand right now?

Dozens of conversations have confirmed what we thought. The riders of this generation are more than athletes and they want to show themselves as a person. That has already led to a peloton of 20 riders who want to be part of Domestique, with many more meetings lined up in the coming weeks. While our revenue share model is a welcome bonus, it’s their belief in our vision that truly drives them. They see Domestique as another channel alongside Instagram, X/Twitter, and YouTube where they can tell their story, but one that stands out for its genuine commitment to giving back to those who are creating value for the cycling community.

What can you expect in terms of content?

Authenticity comes first, so we shape the approach around each rider. But so far, we’re aiming for a mix of:

• Authentic video reports: like this example from Johannes Kulset.

• Written blogs and (audio) columns.

• Podcasts: some riders are considering launching their own or becoming regular guests in our upcoming podcast series.

• Vlog formats: several riders already have their own series and see Domestique as an additional channel to expand their reach.

Starting Wednesday, as our crowdfunding kicks off, we’ll begin revealing our lineup. Just like with the content creators, we’ll continue expanding our roster until the platform officially launches in early May.

And on top of that, we’re thrilled to announce that the belief in Domestique among a number of (ex-)riders is so strong that we are proud to welcome them as investors in Domestique. So stay tuned :)

We’re here to give, not to take

As we described yesterday, many parties (think Big Tech) profit from the media surrounding a global sport like cycling. Driven by our love for the sport, we aim to change that by ensuring that those who create value for the cycling community also benefit from it.

With our model, we’ve taken the first step toward supporting creators and riders, but we see opportunities on a broader scale as well. That’s why this is also an open invitation to teams and race organizers to explore new ways of sharing in that value. Our first conversations about this have been promising.

Of course, we’re well aware that, especially right now, a lot is happening in the cycling world, with many different interests at play. We’re not naive, but we are open-minded about finding ways to contribute positively to the sport’s business model.

• Can we serve as an additional outlet for teams to distribute and monetize their content?

• Are there other ways that we can help teams to create value?

• How can we help races and their sponsors gain more online exposure?

For us, nothing is set in stone. We’re open for discussion with one clear intention: how can we make sure the value generated around cycling online benefits the sport itself, rather than being extracted by third parties?

One more thing

Within our ambition to give back to cycling, we have one more key priority: women’s cycling. We want to elevate its online coverage to the same level we are used to for men's cycling. That means no separation between men’s and women’s cycling on Domestique, just cycling.

The only distinction we do want to make is our commitment to reinvesting part of the revenue from content or partnerships around women’s cycling into a project that truly strengthens its foundation. We are already in discussions with key industry members and leading brands in women’s cycling to explore the best way to do this. If you have good ideas on how we can shape this together, we’d love to hear from you!

That is it. Tomorrow a new blog about how our complete platform will look like next to the content of creators and riders and why the cycling fan will be the big winner.

Eager to have early access to our crowdfunding? Drop us a message at team@domestiquecycling.com, and we’ll send you ASAP all the details.

See you tomorrow! 🚴‍♂️

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Your possible questions, answered

Again a little Q&A for you to answer some possible questions :)

💬 How do you see the difference between social media and Domestique for riders?
We see Domestique as an additional channel for riders to share their stories with fans. Like social media, authenticity and a personal approach are key. At the same time, it also provides extra exposure for the sponsors of the teams they’re connected to, helping to amplify their reach in a meaningful way.

The significant difference? It happens on a platform where riders truly own their content, their audience, and their revenue. A rider’s social media can serve as a teaser or trigger for their content on Domestique.

💬 Are riders exclusively connected to Domestique?
No, we don’t believe in exclusivity. We believe in collaboration and a willingness to share in order to grow the pie (and the sport) together.

💬 What about conflict of interests for sponsors?
Look again at the parallel between social media and riders. On platforms like Instagram, X/Twitter, and YouTube, riders post content without control over the ads that appear alongside it. At Domestique there is one key difference: we do have control over the ads and business rules around them to prevent conflicts of interest.

💬 How will the revenues for riders be generated?
More on that on Tuesday (though we’ve already given a little sneak peek above).

Pictures by Harry Talbot