The Attention Crash – How Cycling Media (and the World) Got Rewired

There was a time, and it really wasn’t that long ago, when you could make a 10–15 minute documentary about a bike race, upload it to YouTube, and people would actually sit down and watch the whole thing. Not skim it. Not swipe past it. Not watch it on mute while waiting for their Uber Eats order. They’d watch it. Properly.

Back in 2012, when we launched the GreenEDGE Backstage Pass, we were basically making long‑form cycling documentaries before anyone was calling them that. We didn’t think of it as “content strategy” or “audience capture” or any of the buzzwords that get thrown around now. We were just telling stories that were raw, funny, emotional, chaotic stories all from inside a brand‑new WorldTour team.

The other secret to the series success was reaching out to a broader market.  I made content focusing on my mum and my sister who are not cycling fans.  If they can watch a clip, follow and enjoy it, then we will grow fast.  Because sometimes it’s smarter to go after your toughest market, and let’s face it, there are plenty of partners who would have frowned when forced to sit through an episode of Backstage Pass thinking it as a niche cycling video.  But a lot of the time they realised “hey this is fun, I like this team” because especially pre-race, we barely talked about bikes.

And it worked. We grew fast. We were closing in on 100,000 subscribers, which in 2012 was like having a million today. But here’s the thing: back then, the algorithm was simple. You made something good; people watched it, YouTube showed it to more people. That was it. No dark arts. No hacks. No “optimising for retention curves.” Just storytelling.

Then the world changed — and it changed fast.

The Algorithm: 2012 vs 2026 (Explained Without the Tech Jargon)

In 2012, YouTube’s algorithm was basically a librarian with a clipboard. It looked at three things:

• Did people click your video?

• Did they watch most of it?

• Did they come back tomorrow?

If yes, it pushed your video to more people. That’s how our 2013 Tour de France Backstage Pass episodescould pull 150,000 views on average. We didn’t need to game anything. We just needed a good story and a half‑decent Wi‑Fi connection.

Today? The algorithm is more like a nightclub bouncer with ADHD.

It’s juggling:

• watch time

• retention curves

• click‑through rate

• viewer satisfaction surveys

• session length

• personalised recommendations

• upload frequency

• niche relevance

• creator behaviour scores

• and now… AI‑generated content flooding the platform

And that last one is the real earthquake.

The AI Flood: Why It’s Now 100x Harder to Be Seen

Since 2022, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and every other platform have been hit with a tidal wave of AI‑generated content. And I’m not talking a small bump, I’m talking a full‑blown bus hitting the finish line time impact.

Industry estimates show:

• AI‑generated video uploads increased more than 300% between 2023 and 2025

• YouTube now receives over 3,500 years of content every 24 hours

• Short‑form uploads have grown 10x faster than long‑form since 2020

• AI tools allow creators to produce 10–50x more content than before

So the platforms are drowning. And when platforms drown, the algorithm tightens the tap.

That’s why even big teams with 100,000 subscribers are lucky if 5% of their audience even sees their videos now. Not watches — sees.

If you wanted to hit 150,000 views in 2026, even with 100k subscribers, you’d need:

• a viral hook

• a trending topic

• a strong click‑through rate

• a retention curve that doesn’t dip

• multiple Shorts feeding into the long‑form

• cross‑platform traffic

• and a bit of luck

In 2013, we just needed a good story and a couple of DS’s saying ‘fruit n oats’ into the camera.

The Burnout Era: When Long‑Form Nearly Broke Me

People see the Backstage Pass now and think it was all laughs and music and behind‑the‑scenes gold. And it was, but if I’m honest, it came at a cost. I was basically a one‑man production company inside a moving circus. I’d shoot all day, then sit in some dodgy Spanish or French hotel with internet slower than dial‑up, editing until 3 or 4am just to get the episode out before the next stage.  Some days, especially at the Giro, I would say “bugger this, I’m doing a double banger!”  Which was code for ‘Jonesy’s cooked and folding two episodes into one.’  I would then be met with a barrage of abuse from our loyal fanbase asking ‘Hey where is our Backstage Pass you lazy prick!’

I’ll never forget the end of the 2016 Vuelta. We were at dinner, and I couldn’t eat. I wasn’t sick, I was absolutely cooked. Put a fork in me, I was done. Dr Peter Barnes looked at me and said, “Mate, you’re in full burnout.” And he was right. I’d need weeks to recover after a Grand Tour. Weeks. Because long‑form content at that pace, with that pressure, was brutal.

Fast‑forward to now and the contrast is almost comical. I can shoot better‑quality footage on my iPhone than I could with half the gear I lugged around Europe. I can edit on the spot. I can upload by 6pm. And I can function the next day. No more 4am zombie edits. No more praying the hotel Wi‑Fi holds long enough to export a file.

Short‑Form Won — And That’s Not a Bad Thing

The truth is, the world doesn’t want 12‑minute videos every day anymore. They want 12 seconds. They want reels, clips, snippets, POV moments, quick hits of personality. And honestly, I get it. It’s easier to make, easier to consume, and easier to share.

Cycling teams have adapted. They’ve had to. The days of one person carrying the entire media output of a WorldTour team are gone. Now it’s about bite‑sized storytelling — fast, frequent, and frictionless.

And the riders? They’ve become their own media departments.

The New Pathways for Riders

This is the part I love. Tech has opened the door for riders to tell their own stories in real time. They don’t need a film crew. They don’t need a production budget. They just need a phone and a bit of personality.

Some riders are building audiences bigger than their teams. Some are turning training rides into content. Some are using their platforms to build careers that will outlast their racing days. It’s a completely different ecosystem and a healthier one, in many ways.

And now we’re entering a new phase again.

Oakley Meta Glasses: The Next Leap

The new Oakley Meta glasses are a genuine game‑changer. One click and riders can capture POV footage on the bike with real‑time insights, reactions, race‑day chaos, training moments, all from their own eyes. No GoPro’s strapped to helmets. No follow‑cars trying to get the shot. Just instant storytelling.

Imagine a rider attacking on a climb and capturing the moment as they feel it. Imagine a lead‑out train filmed from inside the train. Imagine a rider talking through a race while actually in the race.

This is where cycling media is heading, raw, immediate, rider‑driven.

The World Has Changed — And That’s Okay

Do I miss the Backstage Pass days? Absolutely. They were magic. They were exhausting. They were some of the best years of my life. But the world has moved on, and so have I.

Short‑form isn’t worse. It’s just different. It’s faster, lighter, more democratic. Anyone can make it. Anyone can share it. Anyone can build something from it.

And the best part? I can still tell stories, but now I can sleep.