Communication management in professional cycling. The case of the Vuelta a Asturias

Abstract

This research analyzes the communication management of the Vuelta a Asturias, one of the oldest cycling competitions on the Spanish calendar, included in the UCI Europe Tour 2.1 category. The study describes the information management of both the specialized press and cycling teams and organization. A triangulation of methods was carried out, based on a literature review, to carry out a content analysis of the information published in El Comercio, La Nueva España, Marca and Ciclismo a Fondo during the days before and during the 2021 edition. The results of these first two phases were used to conduct interviews with communication professionals in charge of organizing and disseminating the Asturian test. In this way, it has been possible to describe, on the one hand, how the communication management is from the cycling teams themselves and the organization of the event, and on the other, how the coverage of this event is carried out by the journalists in charge of these specialized event. A rapid and progressive application of new technologies by journalists and communication departments, a creative process of information disintermediation by cycling teams, the importance of generating identification processes and sports sponsorship as a key piece of information were detected