The Hitch said:Crowds were good. Seemed to be much more pro cycling than pro wiggins or pro sky like at the Olympics.
Think they were largely pro spectacle, Brits are happy for any excuse to stand in a field with some sunshine...
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The Hitch said:Crowds were good. Seemed to be much more pro cycling than pro wiggins or pro sky like at the Olympics.
sniper said:i don't think a comparison with mcquaid is going to be very fruitful.
but isn't your intelligence the slightest bit insulted when you see sky and uci link up like that and then hear cookson talk the talk as if nothing happened?
something needs to be said.
The Hitch said:Crowds were good. Seemed to be much more pro cycling than pro wiggins or pro sky like at the Olympics.
Race Radio said:Pretending Cookson is worse then McQuaid insures people will tune out. Plenty of informed observers have been able to address the topic without resorting to irrational hyperbole.
The Principal Sheep said:Think they were largely pro spectacle, Brits are happy for any excuse to stand in a field with some sunshine...
the sceptic said:It needs to be said.
These tour stages in britain confirms to me that there is a huge cycling boom going on there. Every cat 4 climb looking like alpe d'huez.. its too much.
And as with any religion, the people need to believe. A sky positive would mean the british cycling empire goes down the drain, so Im sure Cookson will do everything in his power to prevent that.
And before people start talking about change. What change? Everything is the same as it has always been.
ShiftingBalance said:Of course you do realize that most of those people on the climbs in Britain were brain-washed by Sky's subliminal messaging on their TV channels. Cookson is just part of this evil Murdoch Empire and the whole three days TDF in the UK were a trial run for the future. On the back of this recent TDF there will be another few days in the UK for the TDF in the coming years when even more people will be out drinkng the cool-aid. The brainwashed masses - almost zombie-like - will walk on London and take over the country for the Murdoch Empire! We are so lucky that we have in the clinic and small group of heroic evidence-loving, unbiased, clear thinking and rational warriors to help stem this evil tide.
the sceptic said:welcome back Martin.
the sceptic said:welcome back Martin.
Race Radio said:Pretending Cookson is worse then McQuaid insures people will tune out. Plenty of informed observers have been able to address the topic without resorting to irrational hyperbole.
the sceptic said:It needs to be said.
And before people start talking about change. What change? Everything is the same as it has always been.
thehog said:Couldn't be anymore obvious, could it?
The Principal Sheep said:Think they were largely pro spectacle, Brits are happy for any excuse to stand in a field with some sunshine...
good point.Col Okey said:
If McQuaid was president now I believe he would be held to account much more than Cookson is being now but it seems that for most people its enough that Cookson isn't McQuaid
SeriousSam said:If people are waiting for a cycling boss that will sacrifice commercial growth (ie money) to get serious about combating doping.. that person will never arrive.
Cycling is pretty big in the Uk now. A Froome or Wiggins doping scandal would be a total disaster for British cycling, and a short to medium term disaster for cycling as a whole (probably long term as well tbh. I don't think being serious about combating doping is a winning strategy, just look at all the vastly more popular sports who never made the commercial mistake of making a big deal out of doping).
Cookson identified Germany as a market he wants cycling to rediscover. I wonder whether their sprinters will do the trick or whether they need to pick some mediocre German GC rider and turn him into Froome to induce a boom.
"The kind of control you're talking about, just isn't possible !"
keeponrollin said:To quote the fictional Dr Ian Malcolm;
The previous two UCI heads both tried to do exactly what your proposing Cookson will try to do, & I agree, that's what I think he'll, try, to do.
And both previous UCI Bosses failed, & their failures damn near killed the sport, because while they turned a blind eye to the doping, the teams indulged in an Arms race of doping, & this gave us Festina, in Verbruggens reign, & then Lance in McQuaids.
The UCI can only control so much, they can't stop random coppers from finding ampules of dope in team cars, or WADA from doing their job !
SeriousSam said:Cycling is pretty big in the Uk now. A Froome or Wiggins doping scandal would be a total disaster for British cycling, and a short to medium term disaster for cycling as a whole (probably long term as well tbh.
go crazy said:I think it's hilarious how Britain plays second fiddle to America in everything, including their own doped up superhero rider. Thanks to Wiggins and Froome, Britain is in the same early stages as American fans were with Armstrong when he started winning. So now the roadside is filled with noob cycling fans who have no idea how to conduct themselves on the road, and a blissfully naive public who believe their disease-stricken pack filling rider magically turned himself into the world's greatest rider through "marginal gains". It's almost a complete carbon copy of the Armstrong saga, but with a Brit in charge of the UCI...........
..............So yes, I don't see the UCI uncovering any wrongdoings with Sky. The TUE thing was already bad enough, imagine if it was something more shady.
I don't think it is. Sure its much bigger than it was last time the Tour was in the UK in terms of absolute number of fans, people willing to cheer on a race, or ride bikes, but in the broader scheme of things, any gains have been either negligible or at the least incorrectly ignored by the mass media, which does not rank cycling any higher on its list of sports than it did 10 years ago.SeriousSam said:If people are waiting for a cycling boss that will sacrifice commercial growth (ie money) to get serious about combating doping.. that person will never arrive.
Cycling is pretty big in the Uk now.
The Hitch said:I don't think it is. Sure its much bigger than it was last time the Tour was in the UK in terms of absolute number of fans, people willing to cheer on a race, or ride bikes, but in the broader scheme of things, any gains have been either negligible or at the least incorrectly ignored by the mass media, which does not rank cycling any higher on its list of sports than it did 10 years ago.
The Tour de France is not shown on any of the major channels, (the one that has rights on it continues to dump it onto a secondary channel it owns). Outside of the Tour all cycling requires a subscription. Compare this to several European countries where all gts are broadcast on the main channels. It doesn't really get any attention from newspapers (an extra article or two a month maybe which will be on Team Sky).
From my experience talking to people who went to watch the thing today, few had the slightest clue about cycling. That's not necesarily different from other capital cities to be fair, the sport is more popular in the country and there I don't know what the attitude was. But as far as the media goes its a minor sport still. They put more effort into building up the celebrities - wiggins cav froome, than the actual sport.
The Hitch said:From my experience talking to people who went to watch the thing today, few had the slightest clue about cycling. That's not necesarily different from other capital cities to be fair, the sport is more popular in the country and there I don't know what the attitude was. But as far as the media goes its a minor sport still. They put more effort into building up the celebrities - wiggins cav froome, than the actual sport.
SeriousSam said:Cycling is pretty big in the Uk now. A Froome or Wiggins doping scandal would be a total disaster for British cycling, and a short to medium term disaster for cycling as a whole (probably long term as well tbh.
SeriousSam said:I don't think being serious about combating doping is a winning strategy, just look at all the vastly more popular sports who never made the commercial mistake of making a big deal out of doping).