A One-Way Ticket to Sporting Success
A one-way ticket to sporting success costs $21,000. At least, that's the price that apparel brand Fusion is putting on it.
The Danish kit-maker is "selling" five one-year pro contracts for €18,000 (about $20,750) each in a hybrid package of performance optimization and marketing stuntery.
"The Fusion Pro Experience is a one-year professional contract, built for those who don't need permission to chase greatness," the brand promises.
"We offer five slots to the complete Fusion performance setup. It includes wind-tunnel testing, engineering knowledge, personalized equipment, and the professional network that surrounds our elite athletes," Fusion wrote.
It's a deal that includes everything an amateur needs for cycling or triathlon success, bar the small things like talent, suffering, and sacrifice.
Fusion marketing chief Troels Vest Jensen told Velo the "pro contract" won't magically put 50 watts on someone's FTP, but it will provide them the motivation to try.
"Being part of a program like this sharpens the motivation, focus, and understanding of every performance element," Jensen told Velo.
"By opening access to the same expert network we normally reserve for our professional athletes, we make sure athletes can approach personal goals knowing they've done everything possible to reach them," he said.
Think the Zwift Academy program which partners Alpecin-Deceuninck and Canyon-SRAM, only for those with more wallet than wattage.
"You might be a professional athlete looking to maximize your potential, an age-grouper who loves triathlon and wants the best foundation for personal success, or a business professional seeking to achieve in sport what you've already mastered in your career," reads the "Pro Experience" blurb.
A 'Pro Contract' for the Midpack
For those not in the know, Fusion partners the Tour de France-bothering Uno-X Mobility men's and women's teams. It also pulled an Ironman championship double last month with sponsored athletes Solveig Lovseth and Casper Stornes.
This April, two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard used Fusion's wind tunnel facilities to dial in his TT fit.
The brand's Pro Experience package includes workshopping sessions, a precision-fitted triathlon suit and full training wardrobe, two days in a wind tunnel, an aerodynamic consultation, and an address book full of nutritionists and trainers.
Oh, and of course, the most important bit – there's an Instagram-pleasing, sponsor-enticing photo session, too.
"We capture both action and portrait images that you can use for social media and your personal brand," reads the blurb. "Your entire visit is documented, and you'll receive the full image package."
Fusion is selling five golden tickets for its Pro Experience on a first-come first-served experience, beginning November 24.
A sixth slot will also be gifted to one applicant in a prize draw.
No Ticket to the Top Step, but Maybe a Start Point
Riders hoping to be competitive at even the grassroots level invest huge amounts into miscellaneous marginal gains. (Photo: Topo Collective)
Fusion's "pro contract" is an intriguing reversal of the way the sporting world works.
It sits somewhere between being a potentially transformative experience and paying to be part of brand marketing.
And while a bunch of aero optimization and some new kit isn't going to make up for crappy training and a dubious diet, it does give some insight into the price of modern performance.
Even at the amateur level, all-in athletes pour more and more of their pay packets into chasing personal goals at lucrative gravel races, age-group triathlons, and road fondos.
A road super-bike will set you back way north of $8,000, shoes can reach $600, and a box of gels can cost more than your weekly grocery shop.
Indeed, selling under the strapline "almost unfair," Fusion's flagship Tempo Pro Tri Suit retails at $920.
Outside of the equipment, gravel privateer Joe Laverick recently estimated that the travel, fees, and entries of his 2024 season cost him around $26,000.
Across the divide, triathlon's "no-draft" ethos has made the sport an aerodynamics arms race.
That's why, even in the midpack, amateurs roll up to races in apparel patchworked with sponsorships from local bike stores, the neighborhood timberyard, and maybe their auntie.
Fusion marketing man Jensen suggested his pro contract is a priceless package worth more than the sum of its parts. It's a complete system, delivered onto an athlete's lap, waiting to be exploited.
All that's left is the endless training, nutritional discipline, and monastic living.
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