Transfers and Rumours 2014 > 2015

[Jancouver]

Then again then why is there not a single commercial sponsor interested to take over the cannodale team....

The Sagan value is not its real market value it s what cycling crazy maniacs alla tinkoff and Alonso want to spent it has zero to do with marketing. And if Sagan is so interseting for marketing why i dont see a single ad with sagan in cycling crazy flanders?

Maybe not in your area but every cycling or triathlon related magazine here in the US has at least one full page ad with Sagan's face. He is very marketable and popular here in the states hence his traditional US oriented race and training schedule. I can tell you that during the off season he was frequent on local rides in southern California and did bunch of appearances for Cannondale and other sponsors.

Like it or not, but because of his personality I truly think that he is the most marketable rider int he pro peloton. Sure, there are other riders that have long list of palmares but that doesnt make them more marketable or attractive for sponsors.

Who the hell cares about GVA? Have you every seen one ad or interview on TV with GVA? It has nothing to do with how good he is because even retiring Jens Voigt with very few recent results has more value to advertisers than GVA.

Right here is your Flanders style ad. Perhaps the Flandrians are not creative enough to use that podium moment for advertising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYP14j993uQ

 

[SKSemtex]

Maybe not in your area but every cycling or triathlon related magazine here in the US has at least one full page ad with Sagan's face. He is very marketable and popular here in the states hence his traditional US oriented race and training schedule. I can tell you that during the off season he was frequent on local rides in southern California and did bunch of appearances for Cannondale and other sponsors.

Like it or not, but because of his personality I truly think that he is the most marketable rider int he pro peloton. Sure, there are other riders that have long list of palmares but that doesnt make them more marketable or attractive for sponsors.

Who the hell cares about GVA? Have you every seen one ad or interview on TV with GVA? It has nothing to do with how good he is because even retiring Jens Voigt with very few recent results has more value to advertisers than GVA.

Right here is your Flanders style ad. Perhaps the Flandrians are not creative enough to use that podium moment for advertising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYP14j993uQ

one of the most stupid tv commercial I have ever seen and I like Sagan a lot.

Unless he starts speak proper English he is unusable for marketing and he is still "only Slovak".

Nevermind soon we will find out if he cares more about the cycling, training and palmares or cars, chicks, and short term fame. Let´s hope he chose right although I am quite sceptical as I saw it many times before with the most of Slovak "big" talents. I really do not want to see his talent get wasted.

 

[Jancouver]

one of the most stupid tv commercial I have ever seen and I like Sagan a lot.

Unless he starts speak proper English he is unusable for marketing and he is still "only Slovak".

Nevermind soon we will find out if he cares more about the cycling, training and palmares or cars, chicks, and short term fame. Let´s hope he chose right although I am quite sceptical as I saw it many times before with the most of Slovak "big" talents. I really do not want to see his talent get wasted.

Americans dont care. Half of them probably thinks that he's an American anyway and the other half dont care. As long he is "cool" and can do "cool" stuff on his bike he will be popular and marketable.

That being said, I also hope that he will pick the "right" team for his future.

 

[filipo]

Amazing Belkin.. the amateurism. No ITT bike to train on for tour TDF leader? Not even the old one?
That's.... wow.

Dude, I STILL can't believe the quotes about how, on the eve of one of the most important stages of the most important stage race of the year, Mollema and Ten Dam hadn't ridden the new Bianchi tt bikes for more than a warmup.

First, seriously? You couldn't have planned a wee bit better for that, Belkin product manager?

Second, IF that had happened on my watch and IF my riders then went on to tell the world about it, I'd give them each a spanking on live TV.

Which incidentally would generate more eyeballs than the team's entire 2014 campaign.

 

[bikeracer33]

Americans dont care. Half of them probably thinks that he's an American anyway and the other half dont care. As long he is "cool" and can do "cool" stuff on his bike he will be popular and marketable.

That being said, I also hope that he will pick the "right" team for his future.

Very well said. I'm a young fan and he's the "coolest" guy in the peloton to me. Very marketable guy from the moment you see him. And good commercial too! I too hope he picks the right team, what team do you think is the right one?

 

[theyoungest]

Dude, I STILL can't believe the quotes about how, on the eve of one of the most important stages of the most important stage race of the year, Mollema and Ten Dam hadn't ridden the new Bianchi tt bikes for more than a warmup.

First, seriously? You couldn't have planned a wee bit better for that, Belkin product manager?

Second, IF that had happened on my watch and IF my riders then went on to tell the world about it, I'd give them each a spanking on live TV.

Which incidentally would generate more eyeballs than the team's entire 2014 campaign.

Their DS Zeeman actually did just that, he got angry at Mollema on live tv. Which didn't go down well in the Netherlands.

There was a lot of frustration on all sides, but the main fault lies with Bianchi of course. All year they promised the team a new TT bike to replace the old, slow one... and then decided to fly them in on the eve of the most important TT of the year.

Amazing Belkin.. the amateurism. No ITT bike to train on for tour TDF leader? Not even the old one?
That's.... wow.

I seem to remember someone saying it was the same at Movistar until Canyon took over? Yes, it's amateuristic at best. But again, who's at fault here? Bianchi is no Giant, that much is clear.

 

[retzko]

Americans dont care.

Indeed Americans don t care about cycling in general.... it s a fringe sport over there. Sagan can be big and cool in America and cycling but i want to bet that like 95 procent of americans never heard of him.

No wonder that nog single non bicycle industry sponsor wants to invest( that kind of money) in him

Don t be fooled I like him a lot as a rider but the discrepancy between how he performs and hat he ( or better his manager) asks is to big.

For a commercial European company you can have GVA for a fraction and with the same potential and someone who can make himself clear to west-european viewers.

 

[SKSemtex]

Indeed Americans don t care about cycling in general.... it s a fringe sport over there. Sagan can be big and cool in America and cycling but i want to bet that like 95 procent of americans never heard of him.

No wonder that nog single non bicycle industry sponsor wants to invest( that kind of money) in him

Don t be fooled I like him a lot as a rider but the discrepancy between how he performs and hat he ( or better his manager) asks is to big.

For a commercial European company you can have GVA for a fraction and with the same potential and someone who can make himself clear to west-european viewers.

Don´t be fooled . It is not his or his manager fault that he is asking probably more than he is performing. If there are buyers who are willing to pay more than his "performance" value, it is normal to try to get the best possible price. It is the job of his manager.
True is that there are not too many people who can resist the best offer in terms of money in order to get to the team with the best long term perspective in term of palmares. Especially if you are 24. In this age your head is full of cars and chicks. . It is hard to blame him for that. Actually it is already miracle for me that he has been working so hard to improve his performance so far with all that hype arround him, especially in Slovakia. Hi is by far the most popular person right now in the country.

 

[retzko]

It s all relative of course.... But my point is that his price is inflated by hype and cycling crazy millionairs. And that no real commercial sponsored team would pay that kind of money for him. The ROI with sagan is just not there .
But if I was him I would take it any day for sure. it s not like he is going to be young and competitive for ever.

The Hushovd case is even stranger. I mean that should really fall under the I have too much money top spend category. Hushovd in my opinion never lived to the expectations ( And then I mean the whole of his career). The last 3 years did we see the real hushovd level?

In my ideal cycling world there would be no place for guys like Tinkoff or even A. Ryhs because I prefer teams with real sponsors and then you can see what s the real value of a rider. But in the end the state of cycling is so that we need those guys and we also need bikeconstructors to sponsor teams just to keep po cycling alive. But it s not sustainable that constructors( except Merida or maybe Giant) keep teams alive as sole title sponsor.

For Constructors like Bianchi they can simply not spent that kind of money on a team( like they did after the team Coast saga). I am really interested in the numbers behind the BMC company.... I dont think they have the revenue to be the sole title sponsor of one the most expensive teams.
You hardly see them riding here in the Benelux of in france or Germany.
And the guys hat do often have that bike because they know someone from the team or something like that. When i ride with some EU and NATO guys with very expensive bikes out brussel then yeah you see them but not like the cannodales , specialized cervelos , pina s , canyon...

Maybe they are much bigger in the anglosaxon sphere ? Otherwise very expensive hobby for Ryhs.

 

[CycloAndy]

Dude, I STILL can't believe the quotes about how, on the eve of one of the most important stages of the most important stage race of the year, Mollema and Ten Dam hadn't ridden the new Bianchi tt bikes for more than a warmup.

First, seriously? You couldn't have planned a wee bit better for that, Belkin product manager?

Second, IF that had happened on my watch and IF my riders then went on to tell the world about it, I'd give them each a spanking on live TV.

Which incidentally would generate more eyeballs than the team's entire 2014 campaign.

Surely IF it happened on your watch you'd spank yourself live on TV. Good on Mollema for pointing that sh** out!

 

[Ricco']

Marco Benfatto steps up from Astana 2 to Androni.

Really curious to see the level of this guy in a more serious level. We all know that he has the speed needed to those asian stage races, now we got to find if he has what it takes in the next level.

 

[saganftw]

Indeed Americans don t care about cycling in general.... it s a fringe sport over there. Sagan can be big and cool in America and cycling but i want to bet that like 95 procent of americans never heard of him.

No wonder that nog single non bicycle industry sponsor wants to invest( that kind of money) in him

Don t be fooled I like him a lot as a rider but the discrepancy between how he performs and hat he ( or better his manager) asks is to big.

For a commercial European company you can have GVA for a fraction and with the same potential and someone who can make himself clear to west-european viewers.

ppl like tinkov or alonso (if the rumours are true) can offer any amount of money because they dont have the cycling team as a part of their business,its their toy,they could offer 10M euros a year and still be fine - their game is to offer so much that no other team is willing to match the offer - similar to how restricted free agency works in NBA,you offer max money to player who is not really worth it but if you dont you have no chance getting him

im pretty sure if there were only traditional sponsors in cycling nobody would offer 3M a year to sagan,not even to grand tour winner

also nobody gives a f about gva - literally if he becomes world champion like costa then he can have a commercial on eurosport

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

It s all relative of course.... But my point is that his price is inflated by hype and cycling crazy millionairs. And that no real commercial sponsored team would pay that kind of money for him. The ROI with sagan is just not there .
But if I was him I would take it any day for sure. it s not like he is going to be young and competitive for ever.

The Hushovd case is even stranger. I mean that should really fall under the I have too much money top spend category. Hushovd in my opinion never lived to the expectations ( And then I mean the whole of his career). The last 3 years did we see the real hushovd level?

In my ideal cycling world there would be no place for guys like Tinkoff or even A. Ryhs because I prefer teams with real sponsors and then you can see what s the real value of a rider. But in the end the state of cycling is so that we need those guys and we also need bikeconstructors to sponsor teams just to keep po cycling alive. But it s not sustainable that constructors( except Merida or maybe Giant) keep teams alive as sole title sponsor.

For Constructors like Bianchi they can simply not spent that kind of money on a team( like they did after the team Coast saga). I am really interested in the numbers behind the BMC company.... I dont think they have the revenue to be the sole title sponsor of one the most expensive teams.
You hardly see them riding here in the Benelux of in france or Germany.
And the guys hat do often have that bike because they know someone from the team or something like that. When i ride with some EU and NATO guys with very expensive bikes out brussel then yeah you see them but not like the cannodales , specialized cervelos , pina s , canyon...

Maybe they are much bigger in the anglosaxon sphere ? Otherwise very expensive hobby for Ryhs.

it's an expensive hobby for rihs and so is bmc. he just loves bikes so he started that. he had much bigger companies that made him a lot wealthier than tinkoff like phonak

 

[retzko]

Ik know.Yeah but even with phonak he had his limits.... because he had to comply with the phonak board of directors.

Of course he has a positive influence for suisse cycling and its great what he does but it would be better for cycling if they dont become dependant on a mecenas.

Has someone has an idea of the revenue that BMC generates worldwide? They also sponsor suisse MTB cup and MTB riders etc.

 

[screaming fist]

The newest revenue figures I've found for the whole BMC group (including Bergamont and Stromer) were CHF 140 million (~150 million US$/ ~115 million €)

http://www.bmc-racing.com/us-en/bmc...r-bmc-gruppe-unter-neuem-management/?switch=1

 

[trevim]

Marco Benfatto to Androni for 2 years.

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=74033

 

[Jerkovin]

Obviously teams fighting for his signature are paying well over what he is currently worth, but if Sagan can realise his potential, it will be a brilliant investment for whoever signs him.

I think he is as marketable as a non-English (first language, anyway) speaking cyclist can be, especially when compared with most of the other top, top names who are at best vanilla (I love Nibali, but even I was cringing at his TDF speech. Compare that to Li Na winning the Australian Open this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-uVsj2pJDo) and at worst have previous doping violations that will always leave the general public suspicious. And I think the UCI would absolutely kill for Sagan to be one of the dominant faces of this new allegedly clean(er) peleton. But as in any sport (unless you're Anna Kournikova), you have to win - constantly - for "marketability" to count for anything.

And although this year has been his first bum one, I don't think it's anything to worry about. With better pre-season preparation, better scheduling, better teammates, better advice and (ironically) more confidence in his ability, I think he'll be fine. We'll see if he can take his cycling to the next level.

 

[SKSemtex]

Obviously teams fighting for his signature are paying well over what he is currently worth, but if Sagan can realise his potential, it will be a brilliant investment for whoever signs him.

I think he is as marketable as a non-English (first language, anyway) speaking cyclist can be, especially when compared with most of the other top, top names who are at best vanilla (I love Nibali, but even I was cringing at his TDF speech. Compare that to Li Na winning the Australian Open this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-uVsj2pJDo) and at worst have previous doping violations that will always leave the general public suspicious. And I think the UCI would absolutely kill for Sagan to be one of the dominant faces of this new allegedly clean(er) peleton. But as in any sport (unless you're Anna Kournikova), you have to win - constantly - for "marketability" to count for anything.

And although this year has been his first bum one, I don't think it's anything to worry about. With better pre-season preparation, better scheduling, better teammates, better advice and (ironically) more confidence in his ability, I think he'll be fine. We'll see if he can take his cycling to the next level.

There is nothing like "brilliant investment" in cycling. (unless you hire TDF winner for less than 400 000 a year ). This is not NHL, NBA, NFL... Unfortunately only American knows how to turn sport into business.
Sometimes I wish UCI is run by Americans, with their straight rules regarding budget rules, salary caps, drafting system, TV rights etc. It is ridiculous that one team has the budget 26 mil. and some others have less than 10. And this inequality is the same basically in all European sports and leagues even in Champion League. Sport teams as toys for big sponsors.

 

[inthepink]

I think Tinkoff Saxo are making a mistake in losing Roche

Both Roche & Rodgers are very strong riders to have on any team but especially a team that wants to win the Tour ...They bring not only riding ability but also strength of character and strong support to others

One issue SKY mentioned in this years Tour is they lacked strong characters in the team and hence one of the reasons the team did not do well once Froome went home....Brailsford said he was looking for strong individuals that could hold the show together so to speak
Surely Tinkoff Saxo could ear mark some races where Roche could led (ParisNice, Romandie ?? and not be domestique all year ) and give him a bit more money....??

 

[CrazyCanuck]

There is nothing like "brilliant investment" in cycling. (unless you hire TDF winner for less than 400 000 a year ). This is not NHL, NBA, NFL... Unfortunately only American knows how to turn sport into business.
Sometimes I wish UCI is run by Americans, with their straight rules regarding budget rules, salary caps, drafting system, TV rights etc. It is ridiculous that one team has the budget 26 mil. and some others have less than 10. And this inequality is the same basically in all European sports and leagues even in Champion League. Sport teams as toys for big sponsors.

Just to add in some context, having a Salary Cap is that... it's a cap but there's also a floor/min cap too. At least this is for the NHL.

Take for example 2012-2013 NHL Season, the cap was $70.2 Mil and the floor was $54.2 Mil. You'll still have teams that are at or just above the cap floor level and then you'll have the stupid rich team that are at the cap ceiling each year. Thus, having a cap won't necessary eliminate the big inequality you'll see between the rich teams (26mil) vs the smaller (10mil) teams.

 

[retzko]

The newest revenue figures I've found for the whole BMC group (including Bergamont and Stromer) were CHF 140 million (~150 million US$/ ~115 million €)

Thats huge for a relatively new brand( and a low nr of employees)....

it would be great to see the annual accounts.

this line is funny

Operational process improvements and a comprehensive program for lowering costs are at the center of the decided reorganization

.

Hushovd, gilbert, Evans , Phinney , Van Garderen all hugely overpaid in comparison with other teams.

In the financial year 2012-2013 (running through end of June) Eddy Merckx Cycles had a total turnover of 6.2 million euro, but suffered a 2.4 million euro loss.

For comparison..... i a suprised by the difference with BMC. How to make a 2.4 million loss wit a 6.2 revenue. They do a lot of advertising in Belgium and are strong here but if you see worldwide they probabaly are nowhere.
The new majority shareholder is from the Brantano shoe stores.

 

[retzko]

This is not NHL, NBA, NFL...

Luckily....

 

[CrazyCanuck]

I think Tinkoff Saxo are making a mistake in losing Roche

Both Roche & Rodgers are very strong riders to have on any team but especially a team that wants to win the Tour ...They bring not only riding ability but also strength of character and strong support to others

One issue SKY mentioned in this years Tour is they lacked strong characters in the team and hence one of the reasons the team did not do well once Froome went home....Brailsford said he was looking for strong individuals that could hold the show together so to speak
Surely Tinkoff Saxo could ear mark some races where Roche could led (ParisNice, Romandie ?? and not be domestique all year ) and give him a bit more money....??

I can't recall if someone had already post this...

Oleg Tinkov @olegtinkov · Aug 1

i like Nico but he asked 2million, i can't

If people are saying 3mil for Sagan is a lot, what's the take on Roche asking for 2mil? It's Tinkov's tweeting so, how seriously can we take this number.. who knows..

 

[inthepink]

I can't recall if someone had already post this...

Oleg Tinkov @olegtinkov · Aug 1

i like Nico but he asked 2million, i can't

If people are saying 3mil for Sagan is a lot, what's the take on Roche asking for 2mil? It's Tinkov's tweeting so, how seriously can we take this number.. who knows..

That is NOT true .... Tinkov is taking the Pi**
I guess he wrote that because Roche already considering going ....I know that its opportunities to ride some races as lead is the issue .....but Tinkoff could sweeten it with a a couple of 100K more....

There is no way SKY will pay 2 miilon or even 1 million ...in fact Rodgers came to TCS for more money....so it is defo opportunity...so makes me thing TCS happy to let him go as have others in mind like EBH & Basso to ride in support of Contador at the Tour ....

 

[filipo]

Surely IF it happened on your watch you'd spank yourself live on TV. Good on Mollema for pointing that sh** out!

Touché, sir. Although I think spanking myself on live TV is maybe late-night programming.