Independent sports marketing consultancy, Inside Edge, has been appointed as the global sponsorship sales agency for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships and will be responsible for marketing the sponsorship rights for the inaugural event to be held in Glasgow and Scotland.

This is a major milestone for the Championships as it looks to establish purpose-led partnerships with brands that will help drive forward the event’s ambition to deliver meaningful societal change by creating and supporting programmes and ideas that help more people to ride bikes more often.

Over the next three years, Inside Edge will have international exclusivity in marketing all available rights for the Championships and through an innovative ‘one partnership team’ approach, the agency will work alongside the host and the cycling governing body to pool all rights and develop a single set of innovative packages for global sponsors.

As well as being the single biggest cycling event in history, the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will be a catalyst for behaviour change across Scotland from now until long after the event. It will celebrate the power of the bike and all it can bring to our everyday lives, whether it’s physical and mental health, easing congestion on the road to help the environment or simply making it easier for people to get around.

It is this vision and ambition that will provide brands with a unique opportunity to gain visibility around a new event concept with long lasting societal impacts.

Paul Bush, 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Chair, said: “The appointment of Inside Edge is a key milestone on our journey to 2023 as we look to bring on board brand partners who will help us successfully deliver this brand-new event and create meaningful societal change by celebrating the unique power of the bike to deliver on our important policy outcomes.

“Inside Edge’s experience, shared vision and data-led approach to help create purpose-led partnership opportunities will be vital to our success, and we look forward to working with them over the next three years.”

Andrew Markham and Jon Naspe, Co-founders of Inside Edge, said: “Inside Edge is delighted to be representing the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships and we will be applying our extensive experience of running international partnership sales processes for best in class rights holders to ensure that this ground-breaking platform is a commercial success. 

“We will start to reach out to organisations that align with the clear objectives of the Championships and its key stakeholders over the coming months. Principally we will be targeting brands that are looking to drive positive societal change through projects that encourage more diversity in sport, enhance physical and mental wellbeing and bring greater awareness to environmental sustainability initiatives.

“Cycling is more than a sport, it is a part of everyday life for over a billion people globally, be that as a way of commuting, spending time with family and friends or just being active. There is a real opportunity for brands to work with us to build a meaningful dialogue with a desirable, highly engaged audience and leave a long-lasting legacy for Scotland, the UK and the wider world.”

UCI President David Lappartient said: “The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland will bring together thousands of cyclists around 13 of cycling's existing UCI World Championships into one mega event for the first time. This landmark cycling festival, celebrating the power of the bike, will delight athletes and fans for what will remain an unprecedented experience in our sport’s history. I am confident that Inside Edge, as global sponsorship sales agency for the Championships, will translate this ground-breaking event into a commercial success.”

Taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland in August 2023, the Championships is being delivered in collaboration between cycling’s governing body the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), Scottish Government, Glasgow Life, UK Sport, British Cycling and VisitScotland with its EventScotland team, with the partnership creating a blueprint for future editions by ensuring the inaugural event is authentic, innovative and distinctive.