Holy Moly! BMC Racing Team Signs Philippe Gilbert
by Reeppp on Aug 19, 2011 5:16 AM EDT
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PrintHoly moly, BMC is sure looking to be the King Team of next year. After signing Hushovd and Phinney we were already talking about how powerful a team they have, but no-one could stop them from signing the biggest deal of the year. Rumours said one half of Omega Pharma-Lotto had taken over the contract of Gilbert, Gilbert himself only wanted to move to one team. The Belgian champion gets everything he wants this year, so BMC it is.
So who will join Gilbert from OPL? Vanendert, Roelandts, Bakelants?
Here is the full press release:
Belgian national road and time trial champion Philippe Gilbert will join the BMC Racing Team for the 2012 season, further bolstering a roster that will include the reigning Tour de France champion and a number of past world road champions.
Will Play Several Roles
BMC Racing Team President/General Manager Jim Ochowicz said Gilbert – currently UCI world-ranked No. 2 to future teammate Cadel Evans – is a gifted athlete who brings an immense amount of talent to the team. "He will act as one of our leaders during the classics and other races throughout the season," Ochowicz said. "His power and tenacity will play a big role in support of Cadel's defense of his Tour de France title. Additionally, his experience will be shared in a mentorship role to the younger riders on the team like Taylor Phinney and Greg Van Avermaet as they continue to develop their skills in the classics." Details of Gilbert's three-year contract are not being disclosed.
Clear Objectives
Already this season, Gilbert has won more than a dozen races, including the first stage of the Tour de France and a host of one-day classics, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold and Clasica San Sebastian. What attracted him to the BMC Racing Team, he said, was its early interest – before he started winning. "They were interested in me from the beginning," Gilbert said. "Plus, I know the team well. They are well-organized, very professional and a close group." Gilbert said he is most looking forward to helping at the Tour de France, which starts next year in his home country. "My objectives are clear: to go for the one-day classics and then go to the Tour to learn and help Cadel," he said. "Next year with the start in Liege, it's close to my home. So I will try to win a stage and then help Cadel win the Tour."
Evans Excited
Evans said he is excited by the prospect of having a former teammate help him make a run at a second straight Tour de France title. "I'm happy to be back with one of my old teammates," Evans said. "We've always remained friends, but now we get to be teammates again and that's fantastic," Evans said. "I suspect I'll be a domestique in the Ardennes week, but I look forward to it and it will be a pleasure." Joining Gilbert on the BMC Racing Team next year will be reigning world road champion Thor Hushovd, whose signing was announced last week.
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If I were GVA
I’d be a tad peeved.
I didn’t see this happening after Thor signed – is this another Garvelo situation?
But holy crap – what a star-studded team this is now.
P.s. I doubt anyone from OPL will come join him...they seem pretty settled
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 19, 2011 7:38 AM EDT up reply actions
oh yeah...apparently a 3 year deal
that was rumored waaaay long ago though, like around the Tour
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 19, 2011 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Takes some of the fun out of Ardennes week, I thought Evans might really challenge Gilbert there next year.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
this is a bit of a shame I think
We won’t see another season from Gilbert like this one, too many other guys to keep happy.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
Not sure about this.
BMC probably wants to get rid of Bahllan and GVA will want to get out the door asap. Hushovd is on a pension deal and will probably be happy playing in P-R only. Phinney for some flattish 1 week stage races for the next few years and then we have Gilbert as main man for most of the classics and Evans focussed on winning the TdF again.
"will probably be happy playing in P-R only"
based on this year, i doubt it.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
we'll see.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
I'm pretty sure Thor will play.
There’s bigger overlap between Cadel and Phil, IMHO.
Hushovd wants to take his new yatch out in spring in the new year
and keep it in the waters until the World Cup gets closer.
The people who really need to be worried about this
are Trek and Specialized! BMC are gonna hoover up a lot of wins and sponsor time. They surely must have a co-sponsor now.
Well I won't be buying a BMC bike. I think they're fugly.
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
I thought the GT's were pretty cool.
When it comes to BMC, they use so many letter/number combinations in their model names, I can’t keep them straight. I kinda dig the impec, though…just cuz I like the innovative manufacturing technique and trying to keep it local to Switzerland…but, it’s still carbon (Bah!)
†
damn fugly
The seat stays should not join the seat post 6 or 8 inches below the top tube. Then there was the skeleton lock joints or whatever that was called.
I was surprised by this even though I knew BMC had signed everyone including the horse that beat tommy v the other day...
What is up with this quote:
go to the Tour to learn and help Cadel
Does he have GC ambitions or do you think that just reflects that he’s only been to one so far?
Oh, and tgsgirl – my condolences!
Gilbert has been to 5 Tours, finished 4 of them
though the first 4, he wasn’t that visible…nowhere close to this year
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 19, 2011 8:31 AM EDT up reply actions
GT GC's?
interesting
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
Agree - I predict the Vuelta first
BMC now has enough talent to ride the three tours, they were very much non-players before unless Cadel was there. Now they are playing in the big league all the time.
Horses deal never went through!
Horse’s blood passpot looks even worse then Ballan’s. :)
"I love bike races warm up, warm down, cobbles mountains or flats."
perezbike
.
philgil appears to have delusions of grandeur
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Bah, where's MY contract?
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
I came 9th in a cross race once
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
Big money contract on the way.
Seriously, I’m hoping to see/hear more of your cross racing over the next few months (yes we’re talking CX where I live already – WMCCL starts soon).
Yep, I hope to be able to do a decent number of races!
It all depends on how easy they are to get to as I’m a lazy Londoner who hasn’t finished learning to drive yet. Many you can get to by public transport, others not so… Need to actually dust the cross bike off pronto, it’s a bit of a mess!
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
you mean you haven't started training yet?
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Lots of road riding, lots of turbo intervals!
Cross bike is coming out after work :) Needs a new chain though I feel!
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
No need to drive in London...
trust me, its worse than Sao Paulo in rush hour…
But there are XC races around? Might have to check that out, only to go and watch.
Most of the ones I do are in Essex and Suffolk cos I live that side of London.
I find the London league a bit scary as you have to all race together, even with the elite men. Makes me scared out of my wits!
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
Is there anyone in your locality you could travel with to the awkward ones? Ask around the clubs or on event/league forums?
Good luck, and keep us posted.
I'm going to do that, yes. I don't know of anyone, but there might be.
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
are you saying you don't have a team bus?
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
I could...hmm, sing to them or something?
I feel sure that would serve an excellent motivational purpose.
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
I could keep them grounded
Don’t let their heads get too big. Very important.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
I could be the team grandmother
Give them OOOs and XXXs , console them and read them bedtime stories. I can even learn to bake cookies! I already know how to make brownies (actually i am known for my jalapeno brownies….)
by uninformed consent on Aug 20, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
OOOs and XXXs
is shorthand for “hugs and kisses”. What my grandmother always put on her letters to us.
by uninformed consent on Aug 20, 2011 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
I can't wait until next season to see how everything plays out
Ardennes week is gonna be fun next year.
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
well, if either Cadel or Phil go up the road while the other is at the front of the race
It could easily be game over
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
That to me would be much cooler than Frandy winning any of those races
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
that's fun?
that’s “team stack” against everyone else.
I want to see Evans really go for it in these races.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions
It is fun if you are a fan of either Cadel or Phil
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
Err, lets not forget a certain Fabulous Canc
who is known to pedal pretty fast and I don’t think the very ‘fit’, occasionally topless, Tommeke is just going to sit these races out, no?
Well, we are talking about the Ardennes, not exactly Cance's favored terrain
He is strong but not strong enough to peg back those two in the hills when they go.
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
Or Boonen's terrain either
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
naw, I disagree
I’m a huge fan of Gilbert. For me — for my fandom at least — it’s not just about piling up wins, it’s about how the wins come. What’s been so great about this year for Gilbert has been his panache, pure and simple (he’s even commented on it). e.g. L-B-L — so great that even 2 vs 1 couldn’t beat him, and that 2 including a former winner. That’s much more interesting than 1 guy soloing to the line because his team is so stacked.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Of course but Phil would have a harder time against Frandy and Cadel
with Cadel he would have an even better shot of beating those two. This could be a one off year for Phil and having Cadel there with him could minimize that situation or if Frandy is stronger next year or someone else shows to be a contender.
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
I think we're talking past each other
what interests me is the way people pull of wins. I don’t want to see one team head and shoulders above another.
might be a false problem anyways.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree - lets hope there are lots of really hard races next year
even with the big teams. Gossy FTW!!
I'd get behind Goss,
his MSR win was as gritty as they come. He’ll be right there at Worlds I think.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I understand what you are saying
To me, my guys winning matters more than the romantic notion of finishing alone against superior numbers. I’ll take whatever I can get. I’m more an opportunist.
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
Let's not estimate egg production before the hens start laying . . .
A lot can happen in an off-season.
It is always fun to speculatE
That’s most of what we do here at PdC
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
That is just good tactics
If you the quality in numbers then why not?
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
Cav? Martin?
I believe BMC is going to go after Cav for the Sprints and Martin for the stage races and time trials. (and any other big name that hasn’t signed yet)
I’m a bit surprised the aren’t trying to buy out Cancellara’s contract and sign him.
I won't be surprised if Cav goes to Quickstep
They can afford him, and they can chase the green jersey in TdF and the classics without having to worry about the GC. I think Cav would be in the best environment at a classics focussed team, where the team is pretty much riding for him . OmegaStep or Greenedge would be better for him than Sky, where the team is for GC with Wiggins. Interesting that his sprint team for the Vuelta is Leigh Howard and Matt Goss and maybe Grabsch.
I can't see Cav fitting in at BMC
They might have chased him earlier in the year, but they already have green jersey contenders and they aren’t into building a sprint train.
Congratulations to Thor Hushovd.
He is now in a situation similar to this year with Garvelo, but now with bigger names!
Polemica FTW!
Does Thor need glasses?
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
yep
this year he was a top rider in a crowded team. next year he’ll be playing second fiddle to a tour champ and a classics stud in a crowded team. the edge always looks greener on the other side i guess. wait, wrong transfer theme. either way, have fun at BMC Thor. and make sure you have a successful roubaix cause opportunities will be few and far in between the rest of the year.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
yeah is there any spring race other than P-R where Hushovd would be seen as more competent than Gilbert? Trying to think of one . . .
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
ah yeah maybe
though, thinking about it, if I had to put money on either of them for that race, I’d put it on Gilbert
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
yes, one is lazy and the other wants to win everything. Gilbert is a better bet,
I agree. On a pure skill set basis, I think they are very close for MSR.
Thor to BMC, with bigger names,
and a bigger paycheck.
Sometimes it pays (not only fiscally speaking) to be on a team with one of the greats of the sport, just ask Stijn Devolder.
Wow,
just wow.
"If Peyton Manning crashed onto a barbed-wire fence and returned to a game, you’d never hear the end of it for the rest of your life." Jason Gay
Just when I thought Cadel's win would be a one off...
now it’s hard to bet against them. All Cadel really needs is a strong team, loads of confidence, and good form and luck (And perhaps a forced vacay for AC).
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
All = Everything has to go perfect
What, that’s not easy?
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
Where's GS? Is she mourning this with the rest of Belgium?
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
+1
We’re all thinking of you and yours in all of this.
I think this is very good for Boonen. Its a chance to get his career back on track
rather than hiding behind Gilberts future success.
No Hushovd comments in BMC statement, that I've seen anyway.
I can’t imagine we won’t hear something from him?
May be BMC PR more closely managed, def more expensively.
I mean, damn, this is ridiculous.
Hard to see Hushovd’s trainer, big talker whose name I can’t remember,
staying quiet for long.
He seems to be on a mission to have the TdF Garvelo team
presentation be a model for future Hushovd interactions…
One would think Thor and his trainer knew that Phil was coming along too
Phil to BMC has been a persistent rumour for a long time.
plus Hushovd and Gilbert seems to be good friends.
No real secrets.
yeah good points
the more I think about it, the more Hushovd’s move to BMC seems purely money-related — nothing happening at BMC that wasn’t already happening at Garmin. Nothing wrong with that, except that I wish he’s just say it.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I dunno, I think maybe they like the idea of ruling the world together
Might just be well paid fun, you know!
true enough, maybe Hushovd’s just closer to these guys than the Garmin guys.
Still, if you think about what he said about Garmin’s spring decisions right after the Tour, it looks like he’s just put himself in an even weaker position.
Anyways, we’ll see how it plays out.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
"ruling the world together"
unfortunately for one of them, there can only be one king.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
No need for him to have said much in my opinion,
so some silence/harmless fluff from him and his trainer would be much appreciated compared to the baseless moaning that we find so unappealing. He may have a point concerning Garmin’s let-the-road-decide tactics in many/some of the spring races, though. Maybe BMC will have clearer pre-race plan.
"Sit still in the group and shut up Thor"
“If Phil can’t make his move stick you can mop up the sprint afterwards”
Yup
It might be his best way to win a big one but it will also mean some races will slip away from him. If he can handle that (better than he obviously handled the P-R development this year) he is in a golden position. I kinda doubt his head and ego will allow it. Time will tell.
At procycling.no
Translated by the gnomes (and me) as:
- I am very pleased that BMC gives us the ability to run on the same team. He has a wonderful strong rider with a unique expertise that will strengthen BMC really. We have a strong classics team. As cyclists, we share some of the same characteristics. Since we both live in Monaco, we will continue to train together. This has worked very well until now, and there is no doubt that we have been given a boost by being able to match each other.
- Now we get to plan this even better compared to season schedule, which we probably will run some of the same races. We are a very interesting duo and I can only see it as an advantage. Competitors will see our collective strength. This is something I really look forward to, said Hushovd.
http://www.procycling.no/article3211964.ece
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Aug 19, 2011 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions
So the Thor thing with Garvelo was really all about money it seems
Had nothing to do with “sacrifice” or working for others. He just wanted more money and him and his trainer used JV as the scapegoat. Classy Thor.
I picked Riccardo Ricco for my 2011 VDS team, and submitted said team well before the submission deadline. I fully understand the error of my ways, and plead with the VDS Gods to allow me to resubmit my team.
oh should have read this one before commenting above
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Translated by gnomes
& written by a PR type.
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
This is better
for Thor, I think. At Garmin his fellow classicians were roughly similar, in that they tended to follow wheels and play the attrition game. You only need one of those guys, as long as you have an attacker to put the wheels you want to sit on on the defensive. Thor + Phil could play much better. But that still won’t win Paris-Roubaix for him.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 19, 2011 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Might not help Roubaix
But with upcoming course changes to Flanders, I could see this as being a plus.
"I'm sorry for all the people who worked to make the descent safe and the tifosi who went up there to watch the race but racing can't be allowed to become a circus. We're not clowns" Marco Pinotti
ixnay on mentioning the course changes
Every time that is brought up Chris loses nights of sleep fretting over the maps and making diagrams of the potential hellingen variations.
Last time he finally collapsed into a restless sleep at 3am on the third day only to startle the rest of the family awake a mere two hours later shouting in his sleep “It’s too far! Too far from the finish! The puncheurs will never make it stick!”………and then mumbling “You maniacs. You blew it up. Damn you all to hell”
Because will Gilbert even ride Roubaix?
I’d like to see him pull away from an in-form Cancellara
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 19, 2011 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Question from the top of this post?
Do we know where those guys are going? I think if Vanendert gets added, this’ll be quite a formidable (sp?) TdF squad.
†
Bakelandts is off to RS and Roelandts is rumored to go to Katusha
really, other than Blythe, I think Gilbert is the only one going
Most of that team (OPL) seems to be destined to form most of the Lotto squad next year
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 19, 2011 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
And secondly for us fans,
at least as far as the hilly classics are concerned?
Yeah, his Tour support is getting weaker and weaker.
Nothing says SSR like "Colnago have multiple options."--the artist formerly known as Chris...
he is pretty much on his own now.
Will have to collect the bottles himself. Pee on his own too.
Something Ullrich never had to put up with.
Nothing says SSR like "Colnago have multiple options."--the artist formerly known as Chris...
by majope on Aug 19, 2011 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Awww! And boys laugh at us girls going to the loo in pairs.
"First you have to be cool, after you are cool then you can be strong" -- Davide Appollonio
Talk about being at the bottom of the hierarchy
Being the guy who helps the guy who helps someone else pee.
I wonder if there was any smugness on the team bus...
Steffen: “…of course I will be zere to help Jan on zee should he haft to pizz.”
Danilo: “don’t be zilly, Steffen. We make zee American push Jan.”
Steffen: “but, I work hard to make zee tour te…”
Danilo: “Schweigen, Steffen! If you must, you may help Kevin.”
†
Dunno, think the guy helping the pisser has the worst job,
helping the guy who helps the guy at least keeps you farther from splash zone.
BTW, thx majope, that pic should be included in all discussions of team support or the lack thereof :D
I was thinking mainly of the hilly classics...
I like to think that Cadel still has some unfinished business in the Ardennes. Getting superstars to your team does not necessarily equal better team support. Sometimes it means a less focused effort. As you know.
He skipped most this year to focus on the tour
and I expect he will do the same again. He has learned his lesson that you can’t win everything all year so he will save the classics for 2013 or 14.
I don’t think he is perturbed. Bad for the fans maybe, but good for him.
If I remember correctly
an injury put him out of the Ardennes this season. Yup. I think you can win everything all year. Just look at Gilbert! ;)
To be fair to Gilbert
we should mention that he was up against the best Eneco Tour rider in the world, and thereby, by merit, the best rider in the world.
Seems to me a focused team was a big part of Cadel's win this year.
They were all there at the Tour for one reason and one reason only, to support Cadel. And it worked brilliantly. Gilbert might not detract greatly from that, but I don’t see that he adds to it.
I feel like BMC might be overreaching here… unless they are taking the cynical position that Cadel isn’t likely to repeat, so they need another star next year.
Start fast, finish fast, and hope you're fast enough-- Cadel Evans
damn it.
Been said a fair amount here that confidence the team was all for him, may have been important to Cadel’s state of mind.
Though the Cadel quote re riding to support Gilbert the 1rst week of TdF may mean
the win this year has made that element less important.
No.I do as well.
But it might also be bad for BMC. It seems, from public remarks, that Ochowitz has just given too much to both Hushovd and Gilbert. The line should have been in the negotiations, "If you want to ride the Tour, everything you do, every minute, will be for the Evan’s win. No personal ambitions at all. Like Hincapie, Heras, Acevedo at Postal. Like Cancelara, O’Grady, Voigt at CSC and Leopard. Even, Holy Smokes, like Armstrong at Astana. Instead, he tells Thor, “well, you’ll no support [for your ambitions]”, which does not require that Thor actually work all the time for Evans. Thor will have no luck, form, or courage at P-R and he will be grumpy. This will sow dissension. Evan will be pissed, demanding complete support. Ochowitz’s failure to draw the hard line with TH and PG on the Tour will haunt this team next year.
by Le Sprinteur on Aug 20, 2011 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions
like Armstrong at Astana
er . . .
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 20, 2011 8:02 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Dayum, they've got some deep money bags.
Hey! BMC, want to buy a website? Or some writers? I mean, you wouldn’t notice us on your budget…
~ Gavia ~
EXCLUSIVE - Shocking proposed sacrifice of journalistic integrity on the altar of survival
what are you thinking!! (Can I have a contract too?)
Isn't the one on the right
just a picture of the one on the left after the first big gust of wind?
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 19, 2011 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm pretty sure that the boat on the right
belongs to Thor H.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Aug 19, 2011 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Integrity with a side order of photo credits
nom nom nom…
~ The photographer formerly known as Fred
by Christopher See on Aug 19, 2011 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
lol... awesome
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
There was a blurt (accidental or otherwise) at Utah regarding the signing of Tejay too..
It was the announcers, but who knows. Who’s annoyed by all this? Taylor P I suspect.
Paging Mr Wiede, Sean Wiede to the spin booth please.. ;-)
~ The photographer formerly known as Fred
by Christopher See on Aug 19, 2011 11:21 AM EDT reply actions
VeloNews
reported the Tejay to BMC rumor during the Tour. Tejay is refusing to comment until 1 September, which is reasonable.
~ Gavia ~
yep reasonable, since he's got another race to ride this week.
Thought it was odd to hear it from the announcers on the finish of the least stage of ToU.
~ The photographer formerly known as Fred
by Christopher See on Aug 19, 2011 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
The name of this post should be : "Lebron Gilbert signed with BMC"
"I love bike races warm up, warm down, cobbles mountains or flats."
perezbike
.
Hushovd clearly Bosh
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions
well played!
nah, Nowitzki would kind of be . . . Evans. Guess the analogy is falling apart ;)
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions
unless this means Klöden gonna win now! ;)
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions
the green jersey maybe
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Lame way to build a team I say
You are never going to build a lasting fan base that way – buying the hottest rider each year. The fans you pull in will be fans of that rider – not fans of your team.
I’ll give BMC a pass on buying Evans and Hincapie. It needed a jumpstart to get invites to the big races. But now? It’s just silliness. I was more excited about the Taylor Phinney and rumored Tejay Van Garderen signings.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
I have a lost of team fans here somewhere
Hang on, I’ll just try and find it, its a pretty small piece of paper…
These teams have not been nationally based, not city based, not even sponsor based (like a Ford/GM rivalry). They tend not to exist for more than a couple of years, so how are teamssupposed to have a fanbase?
happens all the time
e.g. ask anyone in Belgium about Quickstep vs Lotto, you’ll get a pile of responses. part of the sport.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions
That's why I like the rise of the nationally flavoured teams
because I think it is necessary for the long term survival of the sport to have teams with personality and longevity, but the licences need to be a commercial proposition, so you can’t just buy riders, you have to buy a licence. Trouble is the UCI wants to hang on to that revenue. I think they could though – just charge annual fees, but not restrict the licences. They could still strip a licence for misconduct, like team sponsored doping. I think it would work.
I think the nationalism thing isn't going to work very well.
Nobody can field a really competitive team using simply national riders. So either you have to ignore the fact that your ‘national’ team really isn’t national, or accept that it’s going to be weak in a number of circumstances. Better would be to do what most teams in other sports to, embrace the internationalism but try to build an identity for the team that’s stable over time.
It might be that the new trend of naming teams, at least in part, for the cycling company could stick
If there is always a …..-Cervelo and ……- Trek and …… – Specialised and a BMC it kind of makes more sense. Then you can have a GM/Ford type rivalry and a (manufactured) team identity and flavour designed to appeal to that market.
So for example v. expensive BMC with no entry level bikes has a secondary sponsors of a resort in France and a winery. Whereas the Trek guys are downing Michelob Ultra and Cervelo types need a gadget on the bike that lets them read their email and SMS while they ride. I think this is developing now and can see this working pretty well over the next couple of years if they can stabilise the team naming and focus more on bike specific stuff.
Once the market is there, non-cycling sponsors will be begging them for exposure rather than the other way around. I’m betting Greenedge got a few calls after the Cadel media circus in Australia. I’m hoping for the sake of the sport that BMC got a few orders in Australia as well.
The typology of who rides what bike is priceless...
…but I’d still rather that this be less about product or sponsor than about team identity. JV pointed out that one thing Slipstream has that pretty much nobody else does is a brand: Argyle. I think this is not a trivial thing. Cycling teams are never going to have a ‘home field’ or anything like that to draw on, but if they can make themselves recognizable as what they are, then lots of things can happen.
If cycling becomes an exercise in nationalism, I’ll just stop being a fan of pro cycling.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
That wasn't personal.
‘Tribalism’ is an incredibly vague term that can refer to anything ranging from very small scale and local identifications with whoever you happen to among all the way to huge abstract adherences to nationality or heritage that have nothing to do with someone’s day to day interactions or concrete circumstances. What’s involved in those various kinds of identifications is very different and the roles that they do or do not play in our individual and collective lives are also very different.
So trotting a statement like ‘tribalism is just a fact of life’ out in order to imply that a particular level of identification is ‘inevitable’ falls well short of having any real justification; but since it ‘seems’ like it must be true, it has a way of being accepted and passed along by perfectly well meaning people. That, unfortunately, makes it ripe for use by apologists…
And the fact that it’s ripe for that kind of use makes it worthy of a bit of skepticism. THAT was my point, not to accuse you of being an apologist.
so are you saying that it is escapable or that it is not an element of life?
or that, due to its vagueness, it just isn’t?
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
I'm saying that the vagueness makes the general claim possibly true but empty...
and so insufficient to justify particular conclusions about more narrowly defined forms of group identification (like nationalism) and their roles in individual or collective life, or about whether those more narrowly defined forms are necessary or contingent features of anything.
Me, I think any sort of identifying with a pro team (or amateur)
invokes elements of tribalism. The trick is to not invoke the negative elements all that often.
“nationally” based, or sports franchies centered around a smaller geo-cultural entity (like a town or region makes it much easier to market, As I ponder this, I wonder, what exactly is it about a given pro-cycling team structure that people DO bond with these days?
In fact, (and partially just to give Ed something to tee off against), I’d almost argue that one of the crucial weaknesses of cycling as a professional sport is the relative weakness of the bonds formed between fans and the teams because the teams do not tap deeply enough into the “tribal” consciousness of fans.
weaknesses of cycling as a professional sport is the relative weakness of the bonds formed between fans and the teams because the teams do not tap deeply enough into the "tribal" consciousness of fans.
Cause Tams not stick around long enough!
My heart finally wormed up to HTC and BAM!
"I love bike races warm up, warm down, cobbles mountains or flats."
perezbike
.
Actually, I don't disagree...
…if you take tribalism in a very general sense, what I said above is pretty much the same thing.
What I’m mostly objecting to is the idea that crept in above that the fact that we tend to identify ourselves with what we invest in (‘tribalism’) entails that this has to happen in terms of this or that particular order or type of collective entity. And to be clear that I’m not just out for ‘nationalism’ in this regard, let me add that part of what I really hate about the current funding model of cycling is that it tends to ask us to identify with corporate entities in this regard. Just, yuck.
But I’ve also argued above that I think teams should be trying to cultivate something a bit more stable and out front that can serve as an anchor for a real fan base. So I agree with you.
I just don’t think that, except in rare circumstances like the Euskies (and there with real consequences in terms of the limitations it imposes) that ‘nationality’ is likely to be the best basis for that. It’s not flexible enough, it’s too exclusionary and it’s too easy for it to become empty where it comes into conflict with sporting considerations. For a perfect example of this, look at Katuysha. They seem to have given themselves two crappy choices. Marginalize and quite possibly seriously alienate some of their best riders to preserve the ‘national’ mission at the Tour and then turn around and abandon that in order to make a serious bid to be successful at the Vuelta. For another, would you rather have the baseball team that wins the World Series or the World Baseball Classic — or for football fans, the World Cup champions or Champions League champions (in years when they don’t happen to coincide almost point by point, that is)?
by Ed K on Aug 19, 2011 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Dunno, I like the color that the "national" teams bring.
And really, don’t a lot of teams have a fairly strong national flavor, even if they have corporate backers and a somewhat mixed cast of riders? Leaky, Quickstep, Lampre, Europcar to name a few. If your star riders are of the core nationality, it doesn’t make so much difference where the domestiques come from. Katyusha kind of has it backwards in that their big guys aren’t Russian. Maybe the lesson is not to have a nationality-oriented team if you can’t get enough quality guys from your nationality.
Start fast, finish fast, and hope you're fast enough-- Cadel Evans
Difference between 'flavor' and 'basis.'
The one is inclusionary and flexible, the other tends to be exclusionary and inflexible. You could argue, as people have, that OPL or QuickStep are ‘Belgian,’ and in many respects they are, but their basis is not “we’re belgian.” That allows them to have a different, broader and more diverse fanbase than Katuysha or even, sorry Albertina, the Euskies.
If you don’t like that example, think about the difference between how the fanbase of Barcelona is likely to be constructed vs. the Spanish National team, even if they’re virtually identical.
by Ed K on Aug 19, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Remember how far Bettini got when he started making noise about
wanting to win RvV whilst he was with Quickstep?
Down here in Texas . . . identification with the Cowboys, or Red Raiders, or Longhorns, or Permian Panthers is very definitely tribal and the identification with specific players is over-loaded by an identification with the supposedly collective ethos and values of whatever team the person identifies with.
As we’ve gnawed this one a few times, I’ll just repeat: the business model of pro cycling today is not set up to make those sorts of team-based identifications easy for casual fans.
What’s peculiar, is that given the allegiances of lots of cycling fans, that structural oddity is one of the things they (especially non-euro fans who get to prize themselves for being cosmopolitan by following a “non-traditional” sport) really like about cycling . . .
Like I said above, it really doesn't work for larger teams to be 'localized'
…too strongly. If you really are a local team, that’s another matter. But at the level of ProConti or ProTeam, the basis for loyalty / fan interest has to be different. I also agree it varies and some of the more stable teams that are also more regionally based have done a decent job of connecting with fans of that region — ergo quickstep, lotto, rabo, or the french teams.
I also agree that for the most part the business model isn’t set up for this. But I think that if they want stability, it needs to move in that direction. I think JV’s right about this much at least, whether or not he’s right about how you get there or what’s economically workable. I’m also not entirely sure how much of it is business model based. I think Slipstream is interesting partly b/c of the way that the’ve managed to keep that identity of the team as such while also doing a very good job of being a rolling billboard for their sponsors. I’m not sure the two are totally incompatible. Highroad did it to a non-trivial extent, though not quite as deliberately as Slipstream. And oddly I think Leopard has as well, though this is likely partly a result of the failure of their sponsor search. Might not be bad to keep a bit of their own identity alongside the sponsors too, though. I really think you have to look at soccer for this. Yeah, there’s a sponsor name on a lot of jerseys, but people know the teams as what they are too.
Agree, prefer "flavor" to "basis"...
If someone gave me 100 million euros and said, Go buy yourself a team, it would have a U.S. flavor but plenty of other nationalities included.
But then again, take it up one level, and maybe it’s good to have a variety of models in the World Tour, from the rigidly nationalistic (Euskaltel) to the vaguely nationalistic (Leaky et al.) to the cosmopolitan (e.g. BMC). Different fanbases probably want different approaches.
Start fast, finish fast, and hope you're fast enough-- Cadel Evans
Sure, a bit of pluralism is ok.
But I also think that part of what’s at stake here is the question of how you build a growable and sustainable model of high level professional cycling team. There are a lot of models out there, but I’m not sure that any of them are terribly stable or reliable right now, and that’s a fairly big problem.
so is shitting. I think we’re just on different pages about this. I’m not interested in nationalism, and I’m not interested in golf. If that’s the way pro cycling trends, I’ll just lose interest – not a tragedy, as you say.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Laughed hard at this.
We do get this fed to us a lot in USA from the Phil and Paul narrative – English broadcasters pushing UK/Aus riders onto American audiences as ‘also the good guys.’
The other thing is the deliberate mangling by P+P of names of riders with Spanish names. ..
Argy-bargy? Who decided that was okay to say as a bike racing term? Stay off our Falklands?
by rubesANdbabes on Aug 19, 2011 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Not quite the etymology you assume, I fear.
Concise Oxford gives it as originally Scots & when the copy I looked it up in was printed none of us even knew where the Falklands were…
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
Well, that's good, at least.
Argyle – Bargyle?
Tartan – Spartan?
Thanks for looking it up..
by rubesANdbabes on Aug 19, 2011 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Not all national-themed interest is equally bone-headed.
One can enjoy national stereotypes and allegiances without being seduced into treating them as more important than, say, basic humanity, appreciation of sportsmanship, etc. Sure, broadcasters and thugs can go disgustingly tribalistic. But thugs also make beer (or for that matter, plate glass windows) seem like a bad idea.
I enjoy seeing the french being “very french” or the Italians being “very italian” (etc etc etc). I’d like to think that a rider from elsewhere can be come an adopted son (or daughter) of a country, but I don’t think we can demand that such a transformation must occur. I do think we can and should despise a team who would hire a top rider and then not let him ride certain races exclusively because of nationalism (within the team or the fan base). It’s also unfortunate if other riders de facto punish an outsider for not being just like the rest of the team. In contrast, I see nothing wrong with having a goal of developing local talent, and including that as one of many factors that goes into deciding who races, and who’s the protected rider for certain races.
"BECAUSE THERE’S NO F*CKING SPRINTS." -Cavendish (asterisk added)
nationalism isn't "national-themed interest"
it’s not rooting for the home team, developing local riders, etc. Nationalism is taking some perceived aspect of national character and conceiving of it as an essence, turning that essence into a program, etc. Or (but this is basically the same thing), projecting a kind of victimhood that one then sees everywhere, construes as a wrong that must be righted by a national entity — we’ve all seen this one pretty recently in my view
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 20, 2011 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Agree! I thought others were conflating all of the above.
It’s possible to have teams with a strong national component, and not get “istic” about it, and not buy into the “ism” in the process.
"BECAUSE THERE’S NO F*CKING SPRINTS." -Cavendish (asterisk added)
This is the point, I think.
Cycling teams for the most part haven’t really worked to build strong identities or fan bases. That seems to attach to riders, team sport or not. Otherwise they seem to try to make themselves into ciphers for the advertising platform.
It’s not universal, since CTT and Garvelo have worked to push the identity of their teams forward. And the examples that pliny cites of longer-runnign terms in France, Belgium and the Netherlands also show that it can happen in other ways, but far more often the move seems to be to either appeal to nationalism or rest of the attraction of star riders.
yeah . . .
hadn’t thought about this til now, but I’ve been a huge fan of Gilbert since the FDJ days . . . now I feel a little less so somehow . . . we’ll see how this sinks in I guess.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Aug 19, 2011 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Be fair
BMC are signing young Americans too.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 19, 2011 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions
All you've got to do is win
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Aug 19, 2011 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
and
you can marry Podium Girl Imam.
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 19, 2011 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions
David Bowie as champion cyclist...
…that sound you hear is majope’s head exploding.
That wasn't my head...
Nothing says SSR like "Colnago have multiple options."--the artist formerly known as Chris...
?
Imam – (from Wikipedia) (Arabic: إمام plural أئمة A’immah, Persian: امام) is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community.
-
Iman – Hot Somalian
†
by swells on Aug 19, 2011 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
ah yes
what a difference half a letter makes!
Any dumb f#*k who looked at Garmin’s roster could figure that out, it wasn’t exactly rocket-science. Hell, it wasn’t even lutefisk-science.
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 19, 2011 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
The question I keep coming back to is the one posed by Vaughters a couple of days ago on Twitter...
…‘Is there a sustainable business model here?’ Interestingly, the example that he cited was BMC: ‘What are the revenues of BMC the bike company?’
Coming from someone who inherited the remnants of Cervelo’s near-disaster, this is a non-trivial question, no?
More important to know the 'projected' revenues after the cost of sponsorship
ie. what is the return to BMC of becoming the biggest American team by buying up the biggest American talent. I bet it is pretty big, but we should have some idea over the next two years.
For a company that makes almost exclusively racing bikes (fairly small market)?
The parallells with Cervelo are rather large, though BMC has a wider product range than Cervelo.
Well...
I’ve never really thought the bike company had much to do with the sponsorship decisions – or at least, not primarily. The team has really always struck me as running on the wealthy backer model. Ie, a guy with lots of money and a passion for cycling puts a bunch of his personal wealth into running the best team he can afford. The bump in sales to the bike co. is a nice extra.
~ Gavia ~
I think this is right...
…and the key difference between Cerv and BMC. I also think that JV’s implicit point was that the ‘wealthy backer model’ is in danger of becoming the only viable model. This definitely seems like a step in that direction.
Sugar daddy model.
This is becoming the only viable model simply because the current rules of engagement are poor. Ranking model and lack of rules related to expenses/wages are the main culprits.
Its the new golf
They may be racing bikes but I have seen a Pinarello sitting in houses of the better off, so it is not racers who are necessarily buying them. These are status symbols and nothing sells a symbol like success.
And golf has been able to afford
some really big wages and prizemoney. I think this is a developing market. A friend told me that in (either Japan or Taiwan, can’t remember) there are a lot of these trophy bikes being ridden on the weekend to show off.
Who knows whether the bike company even makes money
It could easily be just as much a hobby of Rhis as BMC the team
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Interviews I have read
suggest he is a pretty hard-nosed business man. In the end its about selling bikes on Monday, sort of stuff.
What he'd have to say to justify it in any case....
…not sure I buy the economics.
I'm in the market
for a new road frame and stumbling into the weenie discussions of a 800 gram frameset makes me laugh. I don’t want to know what Basso rides at the Tour, I want to know what Basso’s domestiques would ride if they had to pay for all their own gear all season. CAAD with Ultegra I’m guessing.
Yes, but I am guessing you are a rider
I am talking about the wannabees. The real market for golf is a whole lot of businessmen who get their clubs out a couple of times a year for the firm’s golf day. Now they will get their bikes out a couple of times a year for the firm charity ride.
And golf gets to sell a whole lot of balls – cycling gets to sell….lights, helmets, pedals, bar tape – an staggeringly diverse list of wonderful lower cost, must have, gadgets.
Cycling companies could charge
big money for bling steering tube spacers have a hard time keeping stock. I’ve seen these guys you speak of… with a 44 inch waist and ZIPP 404s.
That bike is a great deal
I love aluminum versions of pro bikes. The CAAD and the since discontinued Cervelo S1.
I want a racing bike, but I am too heavy to worry about the weight of my bike.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
BMC now the biggest American team?
So does that mean Versus (or whatever they’re called) will be all on their johnson in next year’s Tour rather than RSH?
Hee, we will have to channel flip
from versus to eurosport when we get sick of BMC superheroes and flip back to versus when we have had enough of what Wiggo would do if only he were here.
Yes, at the top level, bike racing has a sustainable business model right now.
The Tour de France will go off in early July next year – all the riders will be there, and it will be just as fun as this year.
The Grand Tour companies will make bank off the TV $, or else the TV companies will by selling advertising, or both. Either way, it keeps going. Plus, there are some big bike manufacturers who are really having a day in the sun in many markets right now, and that is significant for the sport.
The riders and the teams are disconnected from the TV $. They are required to get to the start of the TDF all on their own, and any prize $ from the TDF is will not help a team budget in any huge way.
It’s a plantation system to everyone’s benefit. It’s just that the top riders are underpaid, and the sport is not able to control itself well or help itself too much beyond the big races.
Also, it’s not a growth market for top riders, they always make these sort of lateral moves without any real bidding wars. Gilbert’s big splash? What other sport has to keep the amount of $ secret for it’s biggest contract signing in a while? In many sports the contract value is the biggest newsworthy detail in a free agent signing.
I’d also say the very few most special guys that get a lot of TV time in the TDF, the main one being Cavendish, a unique and known face of the sport to non-cycling fans, well…I hope the TDF is giving that guy some appearance $.
Before their recent sad demise, High Road’s Bob Stapelton was out there marketing his team as having provided more than $300mil (forget exact number/currency) in advertising exposure to the HTC phone company during their time of sponsorship of the bike team. So, when it’s going well, that sale goes through to someone. But somehow, it isn’t going too well – to me the HTC team disappearing was dramatic. It was too cool a team. The shadow of cycling’s associating with drugs is keeping the sport down some and consequently rider salaries from going up. Hence, this era of volatility and superteams.
When the bike companies are having to be the main sponsors for the big teams, that is a bad sign. The saddest was Leopard Trek’s jersies this year, basically blank front and center, crying out for a sponsor.
But okay, see you next year. It turns out cows really are flavored with clen.
by rubesANdbabes on Aug 19, 2011 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Hmm: if "It’s a plantation system to everyone’s benefit."
then why are so many people NOT benefiting?
Professional cycling’s business model currently appears to be this: hope like hell some obscenely wealthy dude doesn’t mind flushing money down the collective waste drain of the team buses.
As for the bike manufacturers making money off of team sponsorship: possibly a few do. Cervelo sure as hell didn’t.
As for the last part
Do you mean they didn’t make money off having their own team, the CTT or do you mean their CSC equipment sponsorship wasn’t profitable either? I have the impression the CSC investment paid off ?
I'm also mostly convinced that there is no such thing as a plantation system to everyone's benefit...
…someone is getting screwed here, and it’s pretty clear who. Hint, same folks it always is in that setup.
Right, exactly - the people at the bottom.
Except that the teams don’t sell tickets, or anything like that, so where is the $ supposed to come from?
It’s even kinda pushing it to say anyone is underpaid – just wanted to make the point about Charlie Sheen getting the same $ for each 20 minute TV show he does that Cav makes in a year, and that Cav is a TV star, too – maybe more than Gilbert.
The GT powers that be will not open up the purse strings – they claim that they are the only responsible entities in the scene.
Sponsors are running away from the sport – that’s the problem – they don’t find the values that Stapelton is saying his stats prove about advertising exposure generated by the teams. Contador Contador Contador – that’s what the outside sees, and there could be bad Lance publicity coming soon, too. Who wants to be around that besides guys like the BMC guy?
But I tried to answer your (Vaughters’) question – yes, it is a sustainable model, and has been.
by rubesANdbabes on Aug 19, 2011 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not sure I see 'you can do it for a few years, but then it falls apart'
…as sustainable. The overall model has managed to hang on for quite a long time, agreed, but with the kind of weird bidding wars that the rich guy vanity project teams are starting up here, I wonder whether we’re not well on our way to competitive balance collapsing, the smaller teams finding it increasingly hard to convince sponsors to stick with them, and just a general systemic breakdown.
The idea that sponsorship is becoming increasingly difficult even for clean, successful teams to find at the same time that fielding a team is becoming increasingly expensive by significant margins every year does not bode well.
Having to find sponsors = begging
And people only beg from a position of weakness.
Ergo, the business model of cycling, from the position of the teams, is based on begging.
Sure, it’s possible to make a living at begging, but I wouldn’t call depending on the kindness of strangers a really sustainable business model.
Bottom line in all of this is
the cycling fanbase is in all probability too small to support any stable businessmodel. It is impossible to build any commercial enterprise when the customer base is not big enough. So in my opinion if the goal is stability the only short term option is downscaling. Smaller teams, smaller overhead , lower wages, salary-caps and probably fewer races etc.
Long term you can always hope for a bigger revenue-generating fanbase that can sustain the current structure but short term the only options are instability or downsizing.
Holy Molly (Don't Step on My Dog)
Good news for BMC. Allez! CE, PG, TH, GH, GVA, MB, BB, TP…
MSR?, RvF, PR, LBL, TdF (X2), GdL… 2012, 2013, 2014…
Lefevere isn't too happy
Looks ok at first glance
Haven’t checked out a detailed translation though
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
i'd say the winner here is phinney
master class mentoring from evans, hincapie, thor, & gilbert; hope the kids soaks up all that collective knowledge like a sponge.
"Race radios in Cat 4?"
Sure takes the pressure off
and lets him advance slowly, which may be a good thing given the expectations.
and . . . once again . . . Hincapie gets screwed
altho’ at this point in his career, mentor to Phinney might be a gig he’s cool with,
I wouldn’t expect him to be too happy about riding for Hushovd, though.
well, if anything, he'll probably go better in RvV than Hushovd
seems to most of the time, even at his advanced age
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
once again?
I know he has been unlucky but teamwise he has always had a pretty sweet deal, right? Not always stellar support but he has been captain/protected rider pretty much every April.
Plenty of time to move on
No one was making him stay. And Columbia was pretty serious about the classics.
Unless they signed Vangarderen as rumored than all bets are off re Phinney.
~ The photographer formerly known as Fred
by Christopher See on Aug 20, 2011 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
All bets are off how?
The two don’t really overlap at all as far as goals and targets are concerned.
Plus, imo, Tejay doesn't need as much mentoring as Phinney needs...
It would be nice to get tips from Evans and whatnot but he seems to know more about what he has to do to reach his goals while Phinney needs more guidance
by Vlaanderen90 on Aug 20, 2011 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
BMC is having John Lelangue move to Monaco
to be close to Phil at all times.
I am ready to hug the world - Tony Martin.
i look forward to cuddles and philemagne in the ardennes
showing frank and andy how the one-two punch it actually done – just like they did in italy shortly after cuddles got his rainbows
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