ASO wants to leave World Tour in 2017

[timmers]

Unlike some on here I think the UCI reforms plus the World Tour and rankings are flawed and are driven by UCI staffers who do not have a good understanding or the sport and its history. Bring back a European based calendar that runs from Feb to Oct. Have separate rankings/classifications for Tours and Classics much like the old World Cup. Have the ranking points that a race provide reflect the quality of the riders taking part in that race.

People forget that the ASO, through buying other races, has sustained the calendar by ensuring that the races don't fold as has been the case with many other events.

The big budget world tour teams are part of the problem professional cycling faces. Many teams that would have a number of sponsors have been curtailed as the costs of running a team have become too high as evidenced by the growth of Pro Conti teams.

Unfortunately it appears that Cookson and others on the management committee do not have the vision and skills that the sport requires.

The TdU is a nice event but should not be world tour. Australia could have a nice series of races with the TdU, Cadel Ocean Race and the Herald sun Tour with a mix of WT, PC and local teams.

 

[IndianCyclist]

One such example of playing hardball by an authority is the BCCI in Indian cricket. There was rival cricket league ICL which pioneered the 20-20 cricket league format in India. The BCCI quickly moved to ban all Indian players playing in the league and also successfully pressurized the foreign cricket bodies to ban the foreign players in the ICL A number of careers were ruined. in the meantime the BCCI started its own league IPL which went from strength to strength. Meanwhile the ICL shutdown in a few years.
The UCI can do this but they donot have the clout that BCCI has.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Does the UCI have anything that ASO wants? If not its hard to see what basis there is for any negotiation.

If UCI really wanted to play hardball, they hold control over the right for these races to be held as anything above national calendar level, and therefore the eligibility of professional teams to take part. The ASO say they want these to be HC races, but that will only happen if the UCI agree. How big a fight do they want?

UCI has probably not such leverage, they have to follow their rules, and if they fail they can be sued.
And as we have seen in the past, ASO can run TDF under french federation.
Isn't it so ridiculous for a federation to have a fight with its major organisers when races are already disappearing?

But the big name riders ride for UCI World Tour teams. If they raced the Tour it wouldn't count towards their uci points or their uci wins....would they go for that?

 

[poupou]

Re: Re:

But the big name riders ride for UCI World Tour teams. If they raced the Tour it wouldn't count towards their uci points or their uci wins....would they go for that?

But the big names are racing for their sponsors, isn'it? Who gave order, the one who pays or the one that is paid?

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

Re: Re:

Does the UCI have anything that ASO wants? If not its hard to see what basis there is for any negotiation.

If UCI really wanted to play hardball, they hold control over the right for these races to be held as anything above national calendar level, and therefore the eligibility of professional teams to take part. The ASO say they want these to be HC races, but that will only happen if the UCI agree. How big a fight do they want?

Yeah I understand the UCI have a stick, but what about the carrot? What can they offer the ASO that might encourage them to get around the table and negotiate?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

One such example of playing hardball by an authority is the BCCI in Indian cricket. There was rival cricket league ICL which pioneered the 20-20 cricket league format in India. The BCCI quickly moved to ban all Indian players playing in the league and also successfully pressurized the foreign cricket bodies to ban the foreign players in the ICL A number of careers were ruined. in the meantime the BCCI started its own league IPL which went from strength to strength. Meanwhile the ICL shutdown in a few years.
The UCI can do this but they donot have the clout that BCCI has.

Also, the ICL was not the ingrained institution that the Tour de France is. The Tour is bigger to the sport than the Indy 500 was to AOWR, but having the Indy 500 trumped having all the best cars, teams, drivers and racing in the long run when CART split. The UCI will not find it easy to kill off a rival ASO.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

Re: Re:

Does the UCI have anything that ASO wants? If not its hard to see what basis there is for any negotiation.

If UCI really wanted to play hardball, they hold control over the right for these races to be held as anything above national calendar level, and therefore the eligibility of professional teams to take part. The ASO say they want these to be HC races, but that will only happen if the UCI agree. How big a fight do they want?

Yeah I understand the UCI have a stick, but what about the carrot? What can they offer the ASO that might encourage them to get around the table and negotiate?

The UCI has neither stick nor carrot. There is nothing the UCI can offer ASO, except ASO not having to deal with all the rule setting and everything. It is more convenience than anything else. As seen a couple years back, if having the UCI around is no longer convenient, they just do without.

As for the stick, the UCI has none. If the UCI insist on ASO following the rules for HC races, the ASO will just ignore them and go ahead anyway. Then what can the UCI do? They can pull all ASO races from the calender and threaten all teams going with fines and the like. But then ASO will just say "any team that doesn't show up with its best riders won't be allowed at the Tour" and that discussion will be over quickly.

 

[dirkprovin]

Re:

One such example of playing hardball by an authority is the BCCI in Indian cricket. There was rival cricket league ICL which pioneered the 20-20 cricket league format in India. The BCCI quickly moved to ban all Indian players playing in the league and also successfully pressurized the foreign cricket bodies to ban the foreign players in the ICL A number of careers were ruined. in the meantime the BCCI started its own league IPL which went from strength to strength. Meanwhile the ICL shutdown in a few years.
The UCI can do this but they donot have the clout that BCCI has.

I think you are trying to be "too cute by half" using this as an example because when you look at the sport of cricket on a wider scale; it is far more a case of the BCCI playing the part of ASO. Given it's (current) financial resources, and the capacity for players to make ridiculous sums of money in the IPL; in recent years the BCCI has been "the schoolyard bully" in international cricket with the ICC (intl governing body) essentially having to "play along" rather than rock the boat.

Mind you, it may be starting to unravel due to its own insider deals, corruption and ....... like all booms, the T20 boom will start to fade

 

[Red Rick]

Just..... Put Libertine in charge

 

[Escarabajo]

Great post Libertine.

I was a fan of CART racing as well. I always wondered what happened.

The UCI has no leverage at all. None.