Rabobank quits cycling!

[MatParker117]

There were rumours here in Britain about Richard Branson being interested in a cycling team. Although with Cavendish already at OPQS and Wiggo & Froome still under contract with Sky I doubt he'd be interested.

 

[maltiv]

This is the most stupid **** I've ever heard. Quit because of something that happened a long time ago, which 90% of us (i.e those who weren't blind LA fanboys) already knew about? ****ing ridiculous. Everything points to the fact that cycling is cleaner now.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Yes I do. USADA's report officially exposed the doping throughout cycling and the corruption within the UCI.

"Officially" is key here. It's all about PR with Rabo... they were aware.

 

[RHRH19861986]

Everything points to the fact that cycling is cleaner now.

No, why should they ride clean now? The amounts of money to earn are increasing, blood doping, HGH, small doses of EPO and other stuff can´t be detected, everyone still thinks the other one is taking something, so no chance it has become cleaner, or it will become so.

Wiggins is as clean as Lance, Pantani, Hinault, Merckx, Coppi, and so on.

 

[Kwibus]

Ah, OK. However, though, it´s a strange decision. I guess, cycling is national sports in the Netherlands, just as in Belgium, and everyone there has the feeling that PEDs have been part of cycling forever, and will be forever. So why do they leave right now? Might have other reasons, that will likely never been made public (firm internal reasons).

No. The pressure on Rabobank has been growing rapidly over the last 2 years. They just get negative news every month and everytime the press goes to Rabobank and ask them if they will stop sponsoring cycling. They can't defend the sport anymore without looking trustworthy anymore.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

This is the most stupid **** I've ever heard. Quit because of something that happened a long time ago, which 90% of us (i.e those who weren't blind LA fanboys) already knew about? ****ing ridiculous. Everything points to the fact that cycling is cleaner now.

Yet Rabobank doesn't believe the leadership of cycling is any cleaner now. They might have known that for years already, but the average Tour only watching fan didn't. And as long as that average fan didn't know, Rabobank didn't have to care. Now everyone knows how rotten the sport is (not was, it still is), Rabobank had some damage control to do. They couldn't use the 'deep investigation' card anymore, because they did that with Rasmussen already. Doing it again wouldn't be very believable. So the only choice they had was pull the plug.

And although cycling might be cleaner now, it would help if those so called cleaner riders were a bit more outspoken about things. So they shouldn't be going around saying Armstrong is still their hero. Instead they should be saying what many people on this forum are saying. Playing the 'cycling is cleaner' card now, doesn't do any good when the first thing that comes to mind when you ask people about cycling is the word doping.

 

[Kwibus]

Cycling is sick unto the highest ranks, is what Bruggink said. Now, ironically, banks are too but it's actually a good thing he said so. Maybe now the people at UCI will finally feel the heat.

Agreed.

I think that the board of the Rabobank fell of their chairs when they read all of Verbruggens crap the last days.
Maybe if he said "I'm guilty and cycling is sick" they would've considered something different, but people like Verbruggen are what makes cycling so incredibly rotten.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

maltiv doesn't know about the almost daily ****storm rabo have received over the last couple of years. Increasing negativity from the press made it very difficult already, the USADA report was the deciding factor

 

[Kwibus]

This is the most stupid **** I've ever heard. Quit because of something that happened a long time ago, which 90% of us (i.e those who weren't blind LA fanboys) already knew about? ****ing ridiculous. Everything points to the fact that cycling is cleaner now.

The reason is that Rabobank has had a lot of **** coming down on them because of the constant negative news about cycling. The mediapressure is what they succumbed too.
If your not from NL I can understand you don't understand this decision, but I've seen this coming for a while allthough I hoped it wouldn't happen.

 

[RHRH19861986]

No. The pressure on Rabobank has been growing rapidly over the last 2 years. They just get negative news every month and everytime the press goes to Rabobank and ask them if they will stop sponsoring cycling. They can't defend the sport anymore without looking trustworthy anymore.

OK, you´re domestic NL, so you´ll be right

 

[Der Effe]

Agreed.

I think that the board of the Rabobank fell of their chairs when they read all of Verbruggens crap the last days.
Maybe if he said "I'm guilty and cycling is sick" they would've considered something different, but people like Verbruggen are what makes cycling so incredibly rotten.

The old boys network. They are everywhere and the nepotism and the self-enrichment is truly sickening.

 

[maltiv]

The reason is that Rabobank has had a lot of **** coming down on them because of the constant negative news about cycling. The mediapressure is what they succumbed too.
If your not from NL I can understand you don't understand this decision, but I've seen this coming for a while allthough I hoped it wouldn't happen.

I do understand it, I just think it's unfair that cycling gets treated like this. Do you think sponsors pulled out of football after it was revealed that Barcelona has worked with both Fuentes and Del Moral? Nope, it was barely even mentioned on the news.

 

[Arnout]

maltiv doesn't know about the almost daily ****storm rabo have received over the last couple of years. Increasing negativity from the press made it very difficult already, the USADA report was the deciding factor

And whose fault is that?

 

[Mellow Velo]

It is always the straw that breaks the Camel's back.
In the last week, the UCI's hay barn door was opened.

 

[Kwibus]

I do understand it, I just think it's unfair that cycling gets treated like this. Do you think sponsors pulled out of football after it was revealed that Barcelona has worked with both Fuentes and Del Moral? Nope, it was barely even mentioned on the news.

I'm not saying it's fair, but I'm pretty sure if that football team was named Ajax and they had doping stories coming out for 2 years the sponsor Aegon would've allready left.
1 of the problems is that some countries prefer to defend their sports heroes even though it's pretty sure they are corrupt.
I'm convinced that if Astana gets caught with massive doping the sponsor (Kazachstan) doesn't give a **** and continues to support the team.

 

[GazelleFormula]

McQuaid: "Het wielrennen is de Rabobank dankbaar voor al die jaren van succesvolle samenwerking, die voor ons allemaal ontzettend veel heeft opgeleverd."

Cycling is grateful for all those years of successful cooperation with Rabobank, which brought us all so much.

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1018/Wielren...McQuaid-Rabobank-veel-dank-verschuldigd.dhtml
They didn't listen very well to the words of Verbruggen, did they?

 

[Kwibus]

It is always the straw that breaks the Camel's back.
In the last week, the UCI's hay barn door was opened.

I so dearly hope the UCI boards gets booted, but I'm 99% sure Pat will stay at this chair no matter how big the sh*t storm will get.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Sad and shocking news, though not entirely surprising. It will be fascinating to see if any other big sponsor names are going to draw the same conclusions re: the UCI. McBruggen have a lot to answer for.....

 

[cocteau_ireland]

I think up to half pro teams could walk away like this and mcquaid would affirm they are independent decisions that bear no link to governance.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

http://www.rabosport.com/news/item/25789

I'm sad.

best day in years!! incomepetent idiots have no room in current cycling. firts milram who were idiots are gone and now rabostank. man this more than makes up for the bad news of sevilla join epm

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

also wave good bye to gesink as a leader in gt's what a joke

 

[Pentacycle]

best day in years!! incomepetent idiots have no room in current cycling. firts milram who were idiots are gone and now rabostank. man this more than makes up for the bad news of sevilla join epm

I hate to break your good mood but the team will stay for one more year...

So you'll probably have to watch another Gesink TdF Fail

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Sad day indeed.

Who'd have thought that the orange of Carrot would have lasted longer than that of Rabobank.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Press conf now.

After a question "Why now"

the answer from Rabobank is literally that because of the report of the USADA, they have no faith left in the UCI to control the anti-doping part of the sport.

So basically they quit because UCI failed

whatever the reason was they are right. mostly they had very incompetent managers and directors. good thing they are gone now too. it will be d-day for all of the riders too next year.

 

[spalco]

I hate to break your good mood but the team will stay for one more year...

So you'll probably have to watch another Gesink TdF Fail

Maybe they'll even win stuff next year. Teams looking for a sponsor and riders looking for a new team tend to...