Daniel Benson Appointed as Editor-In-Chief of VeloNews

Ah Dan Benson, we know him well. By which we mean we made small talk with him a couple of times at Interbike or Eurobike or something else about a decade and a half ago.

In his role as editor at CyclingNews, he developed the world’s leading cycling website significantly, amassing a strong editorial team who’ve quietly unfollowed us on Twitter as they’ve become more successful. Wait, ignore the last 11 words in that sentence. He also didn’t interview us that one that we applied to work with him, but we’re not taking it as a personal affront. Not sure why we brought it up, really, but wow what closure this is giving us.

Now he’s moved to VeloNews, itself owned by Outside, who are rapidly becoming the Disney of cycling publications and outdoor sporting publications more generally. Outside’s cycling bundle is strong, including both VeloNews and Peloton.

Whether it’s good for independent publishers, and even the industry as a whole, to have a hulking behemoth of a publishing house dominating the sport is an important question. We joked about being available for acquisition by Outside the last time they made a significant move, but now we’d like to be categorically clear: we’d like to be purchased by Outside. Even just for a crate of beer. It doesn’t have to be good beer. We’d take a 48 pack of Tsingtao like we got from that Chinese broadcaster we helped out. Your move, Robin Thurston.

Alright, back to the news. In his new role, Benson will be responsible for running the global editorial team, commissioning content, enhancing WorldTour coverage, and expanding stories into new fields and disciplines.

“Daniel’s expertise will remarkably benefit our cycling titles and their audiences,” said Karl Burkat, VP/GM Cycling/Tri Group, Outside Interactive, Inc. “As we continue to deliver stories that resonate with our readers, I’m confident Daniel’s background in sports journalism, paired with his personal passion for cycling, will take our coverage to the next level and provide our readers with the news, inspiration, and resources they need to fuel their rides.”

They sent us information about their ‘ultimate cycling bundle’ and how to read for free and what you get if you sign up for extra stuff, but we’re not sharing it until we get our Tsingtao.