Re: Sky
Except that they're not. Eight years on from Sky's launch and the sport is otherwise made up of the same types of sponsors as before, bike companies and medium-size firms where the owner happens to be a cycling fan. Plus a few more suspect dictatorships trying to sportswash their reputations. And has a load of deathly boring races because one team has more money and protection than the others. And now the guy who's been sinking the €€€ into his hobby won't even be in charge any more. There are now only negatives to Sky's involvement, even the idea of them as a start of something bigger and better is dead. The sport is cutting its losses and hopefully at least we have a few more entertaining races in 2018.
The timing is interesting, even though the Sky/Disney story broke the day after the Froome one. I wonder how much the UCI's patience has run out with Sky, and the penny is starting to drop that the team is really just James Murdoch's hobby project. Looking rationally at the sport's current structure we don't want no Team Sky, we should want 17 more 'Team Sky' s: the UCI must have been hoping for a race to the top, that Sky really were getting a commercial 3-to-400% roi and that the sport would by now be full of blue chip companies making big long-term investments, paying their riders well, outwardly promoting the sport and raising the quality of the sport. Hardly a surprise on that basis that Sky would get away with things other teams don't and could achieve some unlikely victories without +ve tests - they're an exemplar sponsor model in a symbiotic relationship with the governing body.pastronef said:talking about Diney buying 21st Century Fox (and SKY)
if Disney does not want to have any links to pro cycling, could they create a High-Road situation? the financial backing is guaranteed, but without SKY on the jersey?
Except that they're not. Eight years on from Sky's launch and the sport is otherwise made up of the same types of sponsors as before, bike companies and medium-size firms where the owner happens to be a cycling fan. Plus a few more suspect dictatorships trying to sportswash their reputations. And has a load of deathly boring races because one team has more money and protection than the others. And now the guy who's been sinking the €€€ into his hobby won't even be in charge any more. There are now only negatives to Sky's involvement, even the idea of them as a start of something bigger and better is dead. The sport is cutting its losses and hopefully at least we have a few more entertaining races in 2018.