frenchfry said:Maybe the organisers were concerned that the Radioshack bus might break down on a back road.
Ha, ha,
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frenchfry said:Maybe the organisers were concerned that the Radioshack bus might break down on a back road.
saganftw said:they have right not to invite the team ,but with that explanation? seriously?
joy118118 said:Without Vuelta, can RS still get enough points to go to next year's Tour?
peloton said:I would think the ongoing dope investigations have everything to do with it...
Thoughtforfood said:One rider maybe. LL and Kloden will be worn out from trying to get Armstrong into the top 10 of the Tour. Deserved.
What is pathetic is the whining of a team that makes it clear that they only have one leader and one goal, and every other race can just deal with the fact that they will be using their race a training, or in the case of those races after the Tour, using it go get more air time from commentators mentioning Armstrong even though he may or may not be in the race.
Mambo95 said:They've probably got enough points already. The Top 17 teams qualify automatically. Last year the 17th team got 206 points. RS have 391 points for 2010 so far. Of course there's more competition this year, but 400 points should be easily enough for any team to make the top 17
Barrus said:Is this new system only in place for the tour or not?
Barrus said:Is this new system only in place for the tour or not?
@ Max, why would the TV ratings suffer? No other one than LA is really a big crowd pleaser, especially in the US, the only place where RS inclusion would make a difference
Moose McKnuckles said:This is Spain. Since when has being under investigation for doping been a problem there?
eleven said:And who on Sky will not be worn out from trying to get Wiggo into the top 10 of the tour?
So, instead of bringing the most talented riders and the best-equipped teams to Spain, we bring underperforming teams who...well...send their top talent because that talent wasn't invited to France? OK then. I'm sure Xacobeo Galicia will provide stiff competition for the Sky B-team.
How much money do you think Unipublic left on the table?
eleven said:Well, the US is the largest television market in the world. Without RS in the race, it's very unlikely that Versus will cover it.
On the other hand, though the market is huge the portion of folks in that market that would watch even with RS is probably very low compared to Europe. Anyone know what kind of ratings the Vuelta gets in Europe?
Thoughtforfood said:Subtract the appearance fee Shack was certainly demanding, probably not that much.
eleven said:How much was Shack paid to appear at the TDF?
Which is to say: RS was not demanding an appearance fee.
Barrus said:They were however for the Giro
BTW just looked it up, it is for all three the big stage races, which ensures once again mainly protour teams will be in the running
eleven said:I'm not sure I understand your post. Are you saying that they demanded an appearance fee (above and beyond the usual fees paid to teams by organizers) for the all three tours?
eleven said:And who on Sky will not be worn out from trying to get Wiggo into the top 10 of the tour?
eleven said:So, instead of bringing the most talented riders and the best-equipped teams to Spain, we bring underperforming teams who...well...send their top talent because that talent wasn't invited to France? OK then. I'm sure Xacobeo Galicia will provide stiff competition for the Sky B-team.
How much money do you think Unipublic left on the table?
max_powers said:Vuelta TV ratings will likely suffer. Race shooting itself
alberto.legstrong said:Well when it comes to ratings in North America, does the Vuelta even register a pulse?
Even in Europe, it seems to be the little sister of the gt's. Maybe I am wrong, but a lot of what I saw last year seemed very lightly attended.
When the opposing lane of traffic (with a median separating riders from road vehicles) shows non-race vehicles (general vehicular traffic), it's a little sad.
El Imbatido said:Sky have said from the start of the year that each rider on Sky will get one GT each. (with the obvious exception of Wiggins). Whilst this may seem a little arrogant considering they were not guaranteed spots in these GTs (much like RS). This comment actually tells the Vuelta orgainisers that they have a serious interest in riding the GT and that it is not just the backup plan in case Tour of California and Tour de France plans fall through. RS on the other hand were going merrily on their way spewing that Tour of Cal is 4 GT shit and nothing else matters. Great way to get in the organisers good books
You do realise that Xacobeo-Galicia have had a top 5 contender in the past three Vueltas? Someone who has specifically trained for the Vuelta and made it their seasons goal and not a back up plan. You know that guy called Ezequiel Mosquera?
Something that alot of you Radioshed fanboys
are also forgetting is that for some teams it is not about the GC. It is about hunting stages, or getting the points or KOM jersey.
Also one last thing as someone else brought it up earlier in this thread IIRC. Why weren't you guys this vocal when Katusha wasn't in the Vuelta last year or when Footon wasn't in the TdF last year????????????
Barrus said:This is what I mean, what incentive does the Vuelta have in an audience in the US, most of their sponsors are European-based. Next even if RS would ride, without LA, how many of those watching the tour, mainly due to LA would watch the vuelta, these people are not cycling fans, nor even team radioshack fans, they are solely LA fans
Libertine Seguros said:The Vuelta is very much the little sister of the GTs. It is the runt of the litter. It gets decent audiences, but the oppressive heat and rural nature of much of the territory it passes through is a minus point for attendance, plus cycling, despite the popularity of some successful riders, is not on the upswing in Spain. Lots of sponsors and races have withdrawn in the post-Puerto years, and even before that (Setmana Ciclista a Catalunya, anyone?). Javier Guillén has been pressured to shorten the race to two weeks. TV companies have said that they're not as willing to lay on more than the last hour-90 mins of coverage because there's much more bland landscape, especially in the stages in the south, than in the Giro and Tour, and there aren't as many fans, meaning the atmosphere never seems as good.
Because of these factors, Guillén and Unipublic are looking to energise the national fanbase. The Vuelta is much more Spanish than the Tour is French; with the demise of Spanish ProConti teams like Extremadura, Fuerteventura-Canarias and Relax-GAM in the recent past (plus Portuguese teams like Benfica and Milaneza-Maia [LA-MSS] who used to get invited a few years ago) there is a need to keep the Spanish focus; unfortunately for them, with the exception of Mosquera, there aren't really any options as strong as the Italian ProConti teams that give the Giro its national flavour. Guillén would like to build and consolidate the race's support in Spain itself before he worries too much about the US audience. If Radioshack were sending Lance? Great! That would bring in fans! But would it bring in enough to justify the appearance fee? OK. But if Radioshack aren't sending Lance? Well, that's a different matter. More people in Andalucía and Galicia will want to see their local team do well; more people in Catalunya will want to see Tondó and Rodríguez do well... seems like a sensible enough business model. You've got to walk before you can run.
eleven said:Well, let's look at it this way: How much (TV fans x Purchasing power) is lost by excluding RS? I think it's a decent chunk. Would more US fans watch if LA was riding? Sure, But Versus ran the Dauphine with no LA. So they obviously believe that cycling with the likes of Leipheimer is a bigger draw than bullfighting or reruns of a cage match.
And how much is lost by taking RS over a lower-level Spanish team? That's the part I don't know. I'm not convinced that the drop in Spanish viewers (who, afterall, might tune in for Zubeldia for instace) is that great.
But I don't know the Spanish TV market or Spanish ratings. I could certainly be wrong.