Could a breakaway endurance body succeed?

The world is littered with the rotting carcasses of breakaway sporting groups.

Some, in high profile sports, have had millions of dollars in backing, yet still failed to prosper. Think Australian media mogul Kerry Packer’s rebel cricket league of the late 1970s and the Australian Super League war of the 1990s.

In the ranks of professional sport, breakaway groups have been formed for a variety of reasons, primary among them being player dissatisfaction over money or conditions, and television rights.

They struggle for much the same reasons that any business venture struggles. These alternative sporting leagues are invariably expensive to set up and face the task of luring fans (and players) from the established version of the sport. If they don’t get the fans at the grounds or in front of television sets, they don’t get the revenue.

So, with this in mind, is there any realistic prospect of success for a breakaway group in the world of endurance?

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