We chose Atleta for a complete rebranding of our events.
Internation Cycling Events
An interview with Carlo van Nistelrooy. Director of International Cycling events, chairman of the Bikewriters, old rocker and a good cyclist.
Carlo is a marketer in heart and soul, having gained a lot of experience as a publisher in the Netherlands and abroad. As a participant of Tour for Life with the Bikewriters, he thought: a great event, but cyclists who don’t cycle for a good cause want an event like this too.
Not much later he contacted Bert Cocu at Emolife and the first event ’The Ride’ was a fact. Carlo and Bert set up the International Cycling foundation together, which now includes events such as The Ride, The Ride Pyrenees, The Ride Dolomites, The Ride Gravel, Gravel Fest, LtD Gravel Raid, Flanders Gravel and Meewind Koers. An impressive list and what is particularly striking is the proportion of gravel events.
“We quickly realized that gravel is the future in cycling. We came into contact with Laurens ten Dam and came up with LtD Gravel Raid’
“Yes, that’s right, we quickly realized that gravel is the future in cycling. We came into contact with Laurens ten Dam and came up with LtD Gravel Raid. A weekend full of gravel fun, good food, drinks and entertainment. A completely different experience of cycling. Not all that serious stuff that cyclists can sometimes have, but just having a good time. That actually caught on right away. In addition to early adapters, cyclists who were looking for more freedom, nature and less traffic also joined up. My role is different in this event. At The Rides I am mainly the ’Course Director’ and quite visible to the participants on the road and during the evening program.
My day job prior to the events mainly consists of driving and supervising the various events. I am responsible for the marketing strategy together with the marketers at Emolife and also recruiting and engaging with sponsors. Because without sponsors it is impossible to organize our beautiful events.“
The start
It all starts with passion. Carlo is a gifted cyclist who also occasionally participates in races. After a long career as an (international) publisher, he decided he had to change course. He jumped into the deep end, started International Cycling Events and turned his biggest hobby into his job
“I decided to work with Emolife who already had a lot of experience with the organization and marketing of multi-day cycling events for charities including KiKa. We had no need for personnel nor to reinvent the wheel. To this day, that choice works fine and we work with many passionate volunteers along with a number of hired professionals.’
Online
Coming up with a cycling event is one thing, getting participants is another. You will mainly find them online with targeted marketing campaigns aimed at the right target groups. To this end, the ICE Foundation works together with online marketers at Emolife and ICE uses the tools One Community (CRM) and Atleta as additional support.
“Right from the start we opted for a good CRM system and user-friendly online registration tool. Super important in managing your leads and converting them into participants. Initially we worked with One Community in combination with online forms, later we switched to Atleta for the registrations. Which is also a product by the creators of One Community. With no regrets as we were able to segment, analyze and make better choices in what works and what doesn’t. Moreover, we offer our participants many upgrade options, which need to be easy and also user-friendly for our administration. And it really is quite tough to launch a good cycling event in a sustainable way. After all, you want the event to be a long term thing and to grow. We usually succeed, but sometimes things go wrong. It’s part of the job.’
The Ride
A bike ride from Stelvio to Valkenburg in 8 days is the big eye-catcher of the ICE Foundation. In 2022 the peloton will cycle from the Ventoux to the Cauberg as a premiere. Due to all the Corona troubles, the 2020/2021 edition will take place from the French Alps. The Ride has built up quite a name for itself in the cycling world. As a cyclist you really have to do this tour once.
“Looking back, I am most proud of this event and what we have achieved together with the main sponsor Shimano and the other sponsors. A well-oiled organization that allows the participants to cycle on the most beautiful routes and arranges everything for the participants. All they have to do is cycle and have fun.’
Kim Cocu, senior event manager of all the ICE events, former top athlete, previously event manager of charity events such as Tour for Life and Run for KiKa Marathon. Has a good racing bike, but doesn’t use it much now because of her busy schedule.
Atleta
“Recently I started working with Atleta as well. I started using it a little later because of my pregnancy with our twins. I immediately noticed the user-friendliness compared to the registration options One Community offered. You have a great overview of all events and editions. Which is important as we have a lot of repeaters. The new Atleta feature that makes the integration with your event site even better took some getting used to but is great. You stay on your own site and Atleta adapts nicely to our websites in terms of style and color scheme.
Another thing I find important is that Atleta has implemented all the Privacy rules and regulations and takes this seriously. Atleta works with major parties such as the Amsterdam Marathon and Dam tot Damloop. This gives me peace of mind, so that we can focus on the marketing and organization of our various events.’
Upgrades and products
Events are no longer just about arranging the registration process properly. It is also about offering upgrades, products and possibilities to, for example, transfer your ticket to someone else or to cancel it with certain conditions.
“We offer countless combinations of ticket options and upgrades for our events. That took an incredible amount of time, research and administration before using Atleta. With Atleta, this is set up perfectly and saves us so much time!“
Partners and sponsors
Partners and sponsors play an important role in the ICE events. They often receive tickets and VIP packages as part of the sponsor package.
“Our partners and sponsors are happy with the option for them to manage the tickets for their relations directly in Atleta. For example discount codes etc.
And what makes me very happy are the features such as deposits, which are handy because we sell tickets with a value of € 1500. Not everyone wants to or can pay at once. Participants automatically receive payment requests spread over a number of periods. We work a lot of Early birds periods, Atleta adjusts the price automatically, so that I don’t have to quickly adjust a price at midnight...
It is also important to us that the people at Atleta respond to requests for new features. And if it adds value for other customers, they develop the requested feature. At no extra cost, by the way. Atleta is super easy to budget. You only pay a percentage over the financial transactions.
Last but not least, I would like to mention the refund of tickets. That can happen, especially in Corona times. That too is a breeze, with just one click of a button, it is done. Our administration team is happy, we are happy and the participant is happy. Who needs more.“
