- Jul 16, 2009
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Please forgive if I am covering old ground, or way off the mark.
But just a thought from a different perspective in relation to sponsors and PEDs.
I respect that cycling is better known through Europe. Here in Australia pretty well any cyclist apart from LA or (maybe) Cadel would not be recognised on the street apart from by a small handful of cyclists.
Here's a thought. I'm your average TV fan. I own a bike that I can ride to the park with my kids. It cost $88 from K-Mart. I stay up thorugh the night to watch the TdF in July. Now that SBS is showing the Pris- Roubaix (sp?) I watch that too.
I watch the highlights of the Tour Down Under. I know the sport is "dirty". Heck. I know that Swimming is dirty too. As is weighlifting. And have you seen those runners. LMAO
So cycling. Yeah, I love it. The tour, the scenery, the ITT, the ladies in the dresses. Bernaud on the podium. The chateaus. The colour. Young rider. Polka-Dot, wattages. break-aways. You know, And then you get a stage where the cross wind really blows it open.
And a team TT when a rider slips and Cadels chance is over. And waiting for the descents to see who is going to slip at that corner. There is so much to love about it. But it is also overwhelming for the person on the side looking in.
And then 2 weeks or months or even years later I learn that Landis, Ricci or a Schumacher drugged up, and I can vaguely recollect who they were and what they did
And each year a cyclist comes back who you think you hear Phil Liggett say was banned 4 or so years ago for this or that. Yawn. I heard that last year but can't remember who that was. And you hear of others...but you can't remember was it Mayo or someone who's name sounds like that, and was he actually busted or just on a team that had known links? and Contador, Sastre, Kohl, Leipheimer. I can hardly pronounce these names- how can I remember who got busted for what?
Anyway, most of us think they're all dirty anyway. its a 3 week tour up mountains for goodness sake! what do we expect?
I'm sure cyclists and afficionardos know who was busted in 2004 or 1997. But I can't even remember who Stu O'Grady rode for last year let alone who he rides for now. . I even watched 16 stages in that race and know Cadel came 2nd but I can't even tell you who won last years TdF. It has a C in it I think. Was it Sastre? or Kloden? Or Menchov. Oh no, he was busted wasn't he? Or was it som eguy called Ivan? Oh I give up. And now I read Cadel is going to another team? was he with Saxo this year or last year- or was it Silence- Lotto? I'm overwhelmed. But I can't wait for the next event to be on TV and I hope its a really steep stage because I love them the best as do ALL of my friends.
But you know what? While I can't tell you who is on which team, I can pretty well remember ALL of the sponsors names, and if a rider is busted I feel sorry for them...not that I can remember which team they rode for.
I guess I am asking. If I am representative of enough of their part-time audience, do the sponsors really care if a rider is busted, let alone dirty? Or do they just know that if the guy is getting air-time its all worth it. 3 weeks of watching a word on a guys backside or thigh ingraines itself firmly in ones mind.
(Just a perspetive from a guy who watches cycling in July and at the Olympics as does his brother and sister in 2 other cities with their families and each expressed much the same thinking).
Again, please don't flame me, I'm not trying to be smart or clever here. I'm trying to be constructive in discussion and offering a perspective of a person on the outside looking in
But just a thought from a different perspective in relation to sponsors and PEDs.
I respect that cycling is better known through Europe. Here in Australia pretty well any cyclist apart from LA or (maybe) Cadel would not be recognised on the street apart from by a small handful of cyclists.
Here's a thought. I'm your average TV fan. I own a bike that I can ride to the park with my kids. It cost $88 from K-Mart. I stay up thorugh the night to watch the TdF in July. Now that SBS is showing the Pris- Roubaix (sp?) I watch that too.
I watch the highlights of the Tour Down Under. I know the sport is "dirty". Heck. I know that Swimming is dirty too. As is weighlifting. And have you seen those runners. LMAO
So cycling. Yeah, I love it. The tour, the scenery, the ITT, the ladies in the dresses. Bernaud on the podium. The chateaus. The colour. Young rider. Polka-Dot, wattages. break-aways. You know, And then you get a stage where the cross wind really blows it open.
And a team TT when a rider slips and Cadels chance is over. And waiting for the descents to see who is going to slip at that corner. There is so much to love about it. But it is also overwhelming for the person on the side looking in.
And then 2 weeks or months or even years later I learn that Landis, Ricci or a Schumacher drugged up, and I can vaguely recollect who they were and what they did
And each year a cyclist comes back who you think you hear Phil Liggett say was banned 4 or so years ago for this or that. Yawn. I heard that last year but can't remember who that was. And you hear of others...but you can't remember was it Mayo or someone who's name sounds like that, and was he actually busted or just on a team that had known links? and Contador, Sastre, Kohl, Leipheimer. I can hardly pronounce these names- how can I remember who got busted for what?
Anyway, most of us think they're all dirty anyway. its a 3 week tour up mountains for goodness sake! what do we expect?
I'm sure cyclists and afficionardos know who was busted in 2004 or 1997. But I can't even remember who Stu O'Grady rode for last year let alone who he rides for now. . I even watched 16 stages in that race and know Cadel came 2nd but I can't even tell you who won last years TdF. It has a C in it I think. Was it Sastre? or Kloden? Or Menchov. Oh no, he was busted wasn't he? Or was it som eguy called Ivan? Oh I give up. And now I read Cadel is going to another team? was he with Saxo this year or last year- or was it Silence- Lotto? I'm overwhelmed. But I can't wait for the next event to be on TV and I hope its a really steep stage because I love them the best as do ALL of my friends.
But you know what? While I can't tell you who is on which team, I can pretty well remember ALL of the sponsors names, and if a rider is busted I feel sorry for them...not that I can remember which team they rode for.
I guess I am asking. If I am representative of enough of their part-time audience, do the sponsors really care if a rider is busted, let alone dirty? Or do they just know that if the guy is getting air-time its all worth it. 3 weeks of watching a word on a guys backside or thigh ingraines itself firmly in ones mind.
(Just a perspetive from a guy who watches cycling in July and at the Olympics as does his brother and sister in 2 other cities with their families and each expressed much the same thinking).
Again, please don't flame me, I'm not trying to be smart or clever here. I'm trying to be constructive in discussion and offering a perspective of a person on the outside looking in