ToC to become WT?

[IamIronMan]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-of-california-splits-with-technical-directors-medalist-sports

For all us Americans (and more specifically, Californians), this could be great news! If the ToC becomes a WT race, that would definitely increase the prestige and visibility of the race. I've watched this event over its lifetime, and I am happy to say it appears the race is fairly significant, even if not on the WT level. The first few years saw so many of the WT teams sandbagging the race, using it almost as a vacation, and not taking it seriously. However, over the past few years, that has definitely changed, and more and more WT teams take it more seriously. There has been much more good, honest racing over the past few editions, and that is what makes the event worthwhile. A step up to WT level would bring even more importance to the race, and could infuse it with new life. It is a shame that this could mean the end for some of the lower level teams that get their big break in this race, but for the health and longevity of the event, this can only be good news!

There are a lot of fans in the United States, and we should have high level racing with the best in the world over here. Cycling is still a niche sport, though it's popularity in CA is pretty high. Hopefully, if we continue to grow American races into big worldwide events, it will bring even more fans, and (more importantly) acceptance of cycling here.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It's a double edged sword. If they can continue to grow its prestige so that it isn't being used as a tune-up by riders on downtime after the Classics or early in their Tour buildup cycle (which the WT points can likely help) but as something that riders legitimately target, it works; the threat is that by making it WT and meaning the US Continental teams that compete all season for the chance to showcase themselves at the top level at Cali won't be able to enter (because most of them are Continental, not ProConti) it could harm the race, as it could replace smaller names fighting hard and livening up the race with bigger names logging their miles. Remember, for everybody outside of the home of the race itself, what's most important is not how many top teams and riders are there, but how many are there with the intention of making a difference. How good going WT would be for California hangs in the balance. There are some races (Tour of Britain, for example) I think are better off as .HC races than they could ever be as World Tour events, because they get the combination of the WT teams that care showing up because it's a good spot in the calendar pre-Worlds, and the motivated, energized national teams who want to make a difference and get spotted. Cali is in that difficult to tell bracket, I'm not sure whether being WT would benefit it or not.

 

[BigMac]

Horrible, horrible news. There aren't many races the domestic teams can take part in which have the visibility of Cali, and this would be yet another great blow not only to US cycling in general, and sponsors, but also to the chances young American prospects have at showing themselves and at catching the eye of World Tour teams. The most recent flagrant example I can think of is Lawson Craddock, whose performances in ToC while he was in Bontrager (now Axeon, a team still full of talent) got him Giant's attention. Or Carter Jones, whom after winning the Gila then went to get solid results in California and Utah, and consequently came to Europe. Or the great Latvian Toms Skujiņš, whom despite having been packing podium spots and wins in various races, got mostly everyone's attention with his impressive effort and win in San Jose this year. This is nothing but greed, ToC doesn't need to be World Tour and I seriously hope USACycling has a say in this.

 

[staubsauger]

This makes sense for nobody. Guess it will happen, then!

 

[Velolover2]

Dumb idea. Too much traveling around for the riders, even more forced race days for the WT teams who don't care about the race and the America Tour is going to look more shallow.

I support an elite calendar with fewer races, not more.

 

[stabbin31]

Re:

Horrible, horrible news. There aren't many races the domestic teams can take part in which have the visibility of Cali, and this would be yet another great blow not only to US cycling in general, and sponsors, but also to the chances young American prospects have at showing themselves and at catching the eye of World Tour teams. The most recent flagrant example I can think of is Lawson Craddock, whose performances in ToC while he was in Bontrager (now Axeon, a team still full of talent) got him Giant's attention. Or Carter Jones, whom after winning the Gila then went to get solid results in California and Utah, and consequently came to Europe. Or the great Latvian Toms Skujiņš, whom despite having been packing podium spots and wins in various races, got mostly everyone's attention with his impressive effort and win in San Jose this year. This is nothing but greed, ToC doesn't need to be World Tour and I seriously hope USACycling has a say in this.

Agree Agree Agree,

While I think it would be cool to have a WT even here in the Land of the Free, the TOC is a fantastic opportunity to see team like Jelly Belly, Optum ect. Great place to showcase talent of the riders and the talent of the US CT teams.

 

[vedrafjord]

I don't care whether it's World Tour or Cat 5 as long as they start using the amazing parcours and scenery California has to offer rather than boring processions between host cities on flat wide exposed roads.