Sponsor Saxo Bank to stop

[Susan Westemeyer]

Saxo Bank and the team are parting ways the end of the season.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/saxo-bank-to-end-team-sponsorship

Susan

 

[issoisso]

It's already been posted in the news topic. The mods will tell you off for this. Oh wait

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Quick! Someone report that opening post to a mod!



Susan

 

[tubularglue]

I believe they will not have a problem getting sponsorship.

me likes the brothers schleck'

 

[issoisso]

I believe they will not have a problem getting sponsorship.

me likes the brothers schleck'

They've been trying desperately for a year to get secondary sponsors and have failed miserably to get anyone other than the very small sponsorship of Playitas

How will they "not have a problem" getting a major sponsor which will have to pay (literally) dozens of times what a secondary sponsor would pay?

You're being a bit optimistic, no?

 

[thehog]

I heard D1ck Smith Electronics is interested in the sponsorship to compete with the global conglomerate of RadioShack.

 

[tubularglue]

They've been trying desperately for a year to get secondary sponsors and have failed miserably to get anyone other than the very small sponsorship of Playitas

How will they "not have a problem" getting a major sponsor which will have to pay (literally) dozens of times what a secondary sponsor would pay?

You're being a bit optimistic, no?

Andy winning the Tour this year after almost winning the Giro will be that explosive magic sponsorship winning ticket.


Optimism


More and more I have come to admire resilience.
Not the simple resistance of a pillow, whose foam returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side,
it turns in another.
A blind intelligence, true.
But out of such persistence arose turtles, rivers, mitochondria, figs--all this resinous, unretractable earth.

 

[issoisso]

Andy winning the Tour this year after almost winning the Giro will be that explosive magic sponsorship winning ticket.

You do realize the Schlecks not only wouldn't be caught dead attempting to win other races than the Ardennes classics and the Tour+Worlds, but they're also not scheduled to come anywhere close to the Giro this season.

Optimism


More and more I have come to admire resilience.
Not the simple resistance of a pillow, whose foam returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side,
it turns in another.
A blind intelligence, true.
But out of such persistence arose turtles, rivers, mitochondria, figs--all this resinous, unretractable earth.

Tubular glue is to be used on tyres, not sniffed.

 

[tubularglue]

You do realize the Schlecks not only wouldn't be caught dead attempting to win other races than the Ardennes classics and the Tour+Worlds, but they're also not scheduled to come anywhere close to the Giro this season.



Tubular glue is to be used on tyres, not sniffed.

all about the soyo'

 

[janraaskalt]

They've been trying desperately for a year to get secondary sponsors and have failed miserably to get anyone other than the very small sponsorship of Playitas

How will they "not have a problem" getting a major sponsor which will have to pay (literally) dozens of times what a secondary sponsor would pay?

You're being a bit optimistic, no?

As a name sponsor, the amount of advertisement and hopefully the ROI is probably more than being a co-sponsor.

Maybe the CSC team had such a strong name that cycling fans were still calling it team CSC even after a year of Saxo Bank sponsorship. It might be the right time for large companies to step up as a sponsor of team Riis, also with the economy starting to recover after the crisis. I'm also an optimist.

 

[issoisso]

Maybe the CSC team had such a strong name that cycling fans were still calling it team CSC even after a year of Saxo Bank sponsorship.

The official reason given is that Saxo Bank targets a narrow demographic that isn't the same as the demographic of cycling

 

[Moondance]

The official reason given is that Saxo Bank targets a narrow demographic that isn't the same as the demographic of cycling

I could've told them that prior to them spending a couple of million euros for three years.

 

[hfer07]

Bjarne Riis has always carried the misfortune of lacking the money stability he & the team have always desired-considering the quality of riders they have had & currently nurturing--I deeply hope Riiss gets the sponsors & keep the team running for years to come.

 

[Berzin]

Bjarne Riis has always carried the misfortune of lacking the money stability he & the team have always desired-considering the quality of riders they have had & currently nurturing--I deeply hope Riiss gets the sponsors & keep the team running for years to come.

Yes. Doping aside, I always enjoyed watching Riis ride as a pro. Very good stylist on the bike.

As a team manager, he has done very well for himself, but as you say has lacked the stability that a Bruyneel or a Patrick Lefévère has enjoyed.

Anyone who wants to take a closer look at the man behind the Nordic mystique should watch "Overcoming". An excellent film that goes into what it takes to run a top-level pro cycling team.

 

[philcrisp]

I could've told them that prior to them spending a couple of million euros for three years.

I've just had a quick look around Saxo Bank's Website. First Half '09 profits were 1/3 of First Half '08. Wonder if that's got anything to do with it?

 

[BikeCentric]

I've just had a quick look around Saxo Bank's Website. First Half '09 profits were 1/3 of First Half '08. Wonder if that's got anything to do with it?

Doubtful. All financial firms were hit like that due to the meltdown we had at the beginning of '09 and their cycling team sponsorship is still a drop in the bucket of what that company earns.

This is bad news if an established team with 2nd best stage racer in the world on it can't get co-sponsors.

 

[philcrisp]

Doubtful. All financial firms were hit like that due to the meltdown we had at the beginning of '09 and their cycling team sponsorship is still a drop in the bucket of what that company earns.

True but this sort of thing often sends out a signal to the shareholders, staff and, in the case of some banks these days, governments that a company are taking their financial performance seriously. By the standards of the British and American banks Saxo are actually doing quite well but a big dip in performance may have concentrated minds.

 

[Anonymous]

The official reason given is that Saxo Bank targets a narrow demographic that isn't the same as the demographic of cycling

And Radio Shack targets fat guys who live in basements owned by a maternal figure and make their own kitchen electronics from spare parts and crap you can buy at Radio Shack...well, that and cell phone users. Pretty soon there will be LivestrongTM component video cables and a home speaker system.

 

[blackcat]

they can go to Kaupthing now. Be a good thing is the Fuentes and Riis scandal broke large.

 

[Anonymous]

It's already been posted in the news topic. The mods will tell you off for this. Oh wait

...........

 

[Moondance]

I've just had a quick look around Saxo Bank's Website. First Half '09 profits were 1/3 of First Half '08. Wonder if that's got anything to do with it?

As has been said it probably had way more to do with the financial crisis than anything, but surely it's why they're deciding to pull back I'd imagine, cut down expenses in areas that aren't fundamentally important to the operation.

 

[blackcat]

I believe they will not have a problem getting sponsorship.

me likes the brothers schleck'

the Dutch commentators and MArt Smeets call these guys "brothers Hollywood".

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Yes. Doping aside, I always enjoyed watching Riis ride as a pro. Very good stylist on the bike.

As a team manager, he has done very well for himself, but as you say has lacked the stability that a Bruyneel or a Patrick Lefévère has enjoyed.

Anyone who wants to take a closer look at the man behind the Nordic mystique should watch "Overcoming". An excellent film that goes into what it takes to run a top-level pro cycling team.

I agree. Riis ****es off Cervelo and now is Saxo bank team is history. Too bad, good team manager.

 

[sherer]

I think the problem with sponsors at the moment is cycling usually attracts local small sponsors but the UCI are making everyone race the pro tour in Oz, Asia etc and this is no interest to a smaller European company. As such anyone that enters doesn't get the exposure they want

 

[Anonymous]

Perhaps the existing structure etc at saxo may be enough to interest contador and alonso to move in and buy it out..