Is the TDU a ridiculous race?

[thehog]

What date will this happen?

Nah, I do agree with you to an extent although I do think it will last as long as the fans continue to come. It is an event run partially by the Government and partially by corporatesso they will probably need an increase of funding from the corporates as I'd imagine that the Govt involvement would go down slightly as crowds will probably decrease a bit but as long as they get decent crowds to the events, the economic benefits to Adelaide is an incentive for the Govt to continue to support the event.

Mike gave the government a 5 year plan for self sufficiency - I think that was extended to 7. I don't mind the concept but too many Aussies pretend its something it's not. Without UCI & Government support the race won't last. Mike has got an uphill battle to keep it relevant & on budget. It will dramatically reduced in the next couple of years. Euro won't be bothered coming if the entire shindig isn't paid for..... is that the aim of the Tour? To pay people to show?

 

[thehog]

As cringeworthy as it was, Armstrong did create a lot more interest for the race and so did the numbers on TV and those on the side of the road, and at the end of the day if interest remains high, I don't think it will be going anywhere.

I understand buying him for the comeback year but to keeping dragging him out became embarrassing.

If you're going to blow 3 mill a year one one rider they should have been paying for the Shlecks or Contador - guys who could invest in & be seen throughout the year.... to me it just showed the race wasn't serious about itself - it made the event a joke.

 

[clipperton]

..... is that the aim of the Tour? To pay people to show?

works ok for other sports no?

didn't know about the 5/7 (sounds a bit like "best of 11! ... ok, best of 13! ... ok, best of...) year exit strategy, but for an organiser to truly believe that would seem a bit naive to me. still, as stated above, the sa govt surely knows it's onto a good thing, and if they wanna drop the ball then i can think of at least one state they share a border and an unhealthy obsession with egg-shaped balls with that would gladly pick it up and run with it.

 

[Ferminal]

If the SA Government drop the funding... long story short, it would end up more or less the same, but in another state.

 

[thehog]

nor can anything that's reliant on sponsors, no matter how successful. just ask bob stapleton.

but anyway, you're saying that you expect the south aussie government to pull it's funding in spite of the fact that the tourism bucks it's been bringing in since the pharmstrong "fiasco" have substantially outweighed the outlay by almost any measure you could care to name?

personal opinion aside, why was pharmstrong's appearance a "fiasco"? was it because it gave the race, and hence the location, and hence the sponsor unprecendented global attention?

Here we go...... what has it bought in exactly?

The government has given 5 years support then it will reduce its involvement. That's normal. They won't fund it indefinitely.

The Armstrong appearances were about Lance not the TDU.... it did nothing for Australia.

Tourism is down and governments are already stratagising how to change Australia's image abroad.

It won't last. I'd say 2012 is the end.

 

[BroDeal]

works ok for other sports no?

didn't know about the 5/7 (sounds a bit like "best of 11! ... ok, best of 13! ... ok, best of...) year exit strategy, but for an organiser to truly believe that would seem a bit naive to me. still, as stated above, the sa govt surely knows it's onto a good thing, and if they wanna drop the ball then i can think of at least one state they share a border and an unhealthy obsession with egg-shaped balls with that would gladly pick it up and run with it.

That is what they all say...right up to the point when they get the bill. Let's face facts. This thing cost the government an amount of money that is so embarassing that they refuse to tell the people how much they are spending. It is why they refused to reveal how much they paid Pharmstrong.

 

[craig1985]

It was alright for RCS to pay Armstrong to ride MSR and the Giro...

And BTW it's WT until 2015 so I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon:

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cycling/uci-extends-tour-down-under-licence-20110804-1ic8r.html

 

[auscyclefan94]

Here we go...... what has it bought in exactly?

The government has given 5 years support then it will reduce its involvement. That's normal. They won't fund it indefinitely.

The Armstrong appearances were about Lance not the TDU.... it did nothing for Australia.

Tourism is down and governments are already stratagising how to change Australia's image abroad.

It won't last. I'd say 2012 is the end.

I highly doubt that, TDU crowds will be very high this year even if Cadel isn't competing because of the Cadel effect. I am now not so pessimistic about the new TV deal as the race highlights will be shown on prime time television. The race will get lots of publicity. It will keep going for at least a few years yet.

 

[thehog]

It was alright for RCS to pay Armstrong to ride MSR and the Giro...

And BTW it's WT until 2015 so I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon:

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cycling/uci-extends-tour-down-under-licence-20110804-1ic8r.html

Of course it was and look how that ended up..... Armstrong orchestrating rider protests to never be invited to Italy again. Besides the Giro & MSR will outlive Armstrong's children such is the prestige.

WT means nothing - if there's no money there's no riders & no race. Us Euros are not going to pay our own way! Not for a 26 hour flight for christsakes!

 

[thehog]

That is what they all say...right up to the point when they get the bill. Let's face facts. This thing cost the government an amount of money that is so embarassing that they refuse to tell the people how much they are spending. It is why they refused to reveal how much they paid Pharmstrong.

Agreed.

This will all eventually come out in the wash in 2-3 years time when the FoI kicks in......

It was embarrassing along with the mockery of cancer sufferers. As an Australian I look at it all and shake my head - is this the image we want to portray?

 

[craig1985]

If French teams (and Quick Step) will go to Gabon to race I don't think they have an issue coming to Australia, which wasn't a problem for Skil-Shimano or UHC from America, coming all the way to Australia to race the Sun Tour. AG2R have no issue sending riders out to Argentina as well, as do plenty of European WT teams (which is a 34 hour round trip all up), so I don't buy the idea that no teams will turn up as they were turning up well before it was WT.

I'll agree with you on Armstrong, it did become cringeworthy and Mike Rann's speech at the final presentation almost had me reaching for the toilet bowl to vomit. If it's not held in Adelaide, it more than likely will go to Victoria and be run out of Melbourne instead of Adelaide and exact same formula.

 

[ustabe]

I wouldn't say Colorado was that special myself.

You have a point.

 

[Tragic]

Lived in the area, been to 7 out of first 9, missed the Lance years. I like the TDU, relaxed, good for the Aussies, fun to watch from a bike.

My second favorite race, after the Tour of the Gila.

 

[movingtarget]

I highly doubt that, TDU crowds will be very high this year even if Cadel isn't competing because of the Cadel effect. I am now not so pessimistic about the new TV deal as the race highlights will be shown on prime time television. The race will get lots of publicity. It will keep going for at least a few years yet.

I think it will be around for a while yet. Shame that SBS lost the screening rights to Channel Nine but it's understandable considering what SBS must be spending on the TDF, Giro, Vuelta, classics and every football competition in the world except the EPL which Fox has.

 

[thehog]

I think it will be around for a while yet. Shame that SBS lost the screening rights to Channel Nine but it's understandable considering what SBS must be spending on the TDF, Giro, Vuelta, classics and every football competition in the world except the EPL which Fox has.

For the record it’s not called "EPL" its known at the "Premier League". Stop calling it EPL.

 

[clipperton]

For the record it’s not called "EPL" its known at the "Premier League". Stop calling it EPL.

but then how would we differentiate from the scottish premier league? it's known pretty damn widely as the epl regardless of what you might know it as.

back on topic though, it's possible to find some dubious figures talking about the economic benefit but can we agree to accept their attendance figures and extrapolate from there? i'll even take a 20% "fudging" margin.

http://peloton.santos.com/article/18/Santos-Tour-Down-Under-continues-to-grow.aspx

2007 2008 2009 2010
Event specific visitors 10,500 15,100 36,200 39,700

so let's say that the impact of wt/lance was an extra 20,000 folks (allowing for the 20% fudge margin) coming into the state.
now, what's a fair assumption of the expenditure per head for this sort of thing? $100? $500 $750 $1000? my guess is above the upper end of that spectrum but for your 20% fudge margin, let's say $750. there's $15mil in direct expenditure before any intangibles are taken into account. not quite the published $40mil, but a far harder figure to poke holes in no?
do we actually know what the cost is? will no pharmstrong drop crowds by a commensurate amount to his fee? will greenedge counteract that?

arguing on the internet is fun, time will tell.

 

[PCutter]

it's known pretty damn widely as the epl regardless of what you might know it as.

Perhaps because so few English play for the top teams they've decided to stop the charade

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

For the record it’s not called "EPL" its known at the "Premier League". Stop calling it EPL.

err it's called epl all over the world, dunno what you are talking about.

 

[thehog]

err it's called epl all over the world, dunno what you are talking about.

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Home

But in England it's Premier League. Don't waste my time how Australian's try to simplify everything so they can understand - Simple Jack.

 

[thehog]

but then how would we differentiate from the scottish premier league? it's known pretty damn widely as the epl regardless of what you might know it as.

back on topic though, it's possible to find some dubious figures talking about the economic benefit but can we agree to accept their attendance figures and extrapolate from there? i'll even take a 20% "fudging" margin.

http://peloton.santos.com/article/18/Santos-Tour-Down-Under-continues-to-grow.aspx

2007 2008 2009 2010
Event specific visitors 10,500 15,100 36,200 39,700

so let's say that the impact of wt/lance was an extra 20,000 folks (allowing for the 20% fudge margin) coming into the state.
now, what's a fair assumption of the expenditure per head for this sort of thing? $100? $500 $750 $1000? my guess is above the upper end of that spectrum but for your 20% fudge margin, let's say $750. there's $15mil in direct expenditure before any intangibles are taken into account. not quite the published $40mil, but a far harder figure to poke holes in no?
do we actually know what the cost is? will no pharmstrong drop crowds by a commensurate amount to his fee? will greenedge counteract that?

arguing on the internet is fun, time will tell.

College Football in the US gets 120,000 to one game!

40,000 over one week!!!! That's nothing. Waste of tax payers money!

Besides its holiday season - of the visitors how many of those would have already be there anyway?

Greenedge? Gawd - pay Meatloaf 6m to sing..... much better idea.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Home

But in England it's Premier League. Don't waste my time how Australian's try to simplify everything so they can understand - Simple Jack.

oh ye, much worse then the "i know it all" arrogant attitude you display.

globally it is known as the epl, on a global scale takes prefrence here. Thus if we wanna call it the epl, accept it and go complain elsewhere, or rather intervene in topics you actually have knowedge of. chump.

 

[thehog]

oh ye, much worse then the "i know it all" arrogant d**k attitude you display.

globally it is known as the epl, on a global scale takes prefrence here. Thus if we wanna call it the epl, accept it and go b!tch elsewhere, or rather intervine in topics you actually have knowedge of. chump.

Anger management please.

Go punch up your wife or something and get it all out..... it's ok she'll wont know the difference and think its the normal foreplay you Aussie men do.

Bogan.

 

[Martin318is]

For the record it’s not called "EPL" its known at the "Premier League". Stop calling it EPL.

Actually, outside of england it IS known as the English Premier League (or EPL). This isn't specific to Australia, I have heard it referred to that in several countries - including humourously enough, england.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Anger management please.

Go punch up your wife or something and get it all out..... it's ok she'll wont know the difference and think its the normal foreplay you Aussie men do.

Bogan.

ohohohoho sterotypes.

hey hog, go bomb some arabs and eat a greased-up burger with your fat chunky hands.

stupid ignorant tool.

 

[Martin318is]

okay that will do. Enough with the debate about whether or not to drop the E. It is clearly a personal argument with an irrelevant cause.

Back to the topic! Is the TDU ridiculous?...

oh.... wait...