- Mar 10, 2009
- 4,707
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Vacansoleil is not really the questionable decision for me. They have shown that they can exist, that they are too good for the ProContinental competition and that they want to make progress. So they get a ProTour ticket, fair enough.
The point is that cycling is a passion of countries in Europe, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands most notably, countries which in general lack the money (with exceptions of course, Rabobank is doing a great job for years moneywise, although the team itself is chronically underperforming) to finance the teams compared to some US guy who likes to see his name on the shirts of some random guys in the Tour de France.
We still had some teams which, stretching themselves to the limit, could maintain themselves on the highest level (I think of Euskaltel, Cofidis, FdJ most notably) but now the latter two have gone.
And what if next year Procter and Gamble and Warren Buffett think its fun to participate in this cycling game? They will probably buy Fuglsang, LL Sanchez and King and the UCI jump with joy because they are globalizing. And who needs Euskaltel and AG2R anyway, stupid teams of the past with no guy pursuing a top-7 place for 10 million bucks. Now Euskaltel can still compete because Sanchez loves the team and the vision so much that he wants to stay for a low salary compared to what he could earn at another team. Now Romain Sicard signed for 4 years because he thinks it is best for him. But what if next year Branson is desperate to get a star and decides to throw in a ****load of money? Are we more happy then? And we cannot blame the individual cyclist for making that decision.
And then, in 4 years, when the fun is gone and field hockey is the new way to go, they will leave cycling behind in a state you won't like to imagine. The way Cervelo left is a first sign of that. Compare the attitude of a hyped team like Cervelo with a team like Footon - Servetto. They were desperate, but kept believing, and finally they found a way out because they loved the sport. And now what? Nothing for them. Next time they won't make the effort anymore, and I can't blame them for that.
You know, a characteristic of those new teams it that the team is centered around the star(s) instead of the stars joining the team. The latter is way more healthy as you will understand, as it takes the perspective of giving 25 riders the chance to participate in the biggest cycling events because the team thinks its good. The only goal of the star centered team is to participate in the biggest races to show their star and get him a position in GC or whatever it is that no-one cares about but some statisticians.
Ultimately the question is if we want more big, star-centered teams or more teams with a vision to give stars a chance. UCI is clearly choosing for the former, and that is a major risk in the medium term.
Because in 4 years, or 10 years, field hockey is the new hype and cycling is left behind, and then we won't have Cofidis anymore, then Euskaltel is pushed away by some money, then we will make a big, big step backwards.
And don't get me started on the way the star-centered teams ride. LS did that already and he's better in stating everything than me.
Luckily, and I am so grateful for that and I will keep saying that, we still have the ASO and RCS, organizations who understand that, even when they are commercial, money isn't everything and that they need teams with young talent, with desire to race and to animate, and who understand that they need the passionate Basque supporters in the Pyrenees and the French on the side of the road. Luckily those organizations are strong enough and have enough willpower to oppose the UCI consistently, as they know the UCI isn't fair, both on this ground and on some others (only think about doping wars between the two organizations). If cycling survives, and I believe it will, it is thanks to them and the traditional teams and not thanks to UCI globalization.
Extra note as I may seem to be extremely conservative: I ain't afraid of new teams. A team like Garmin is value added, even though it is from the evil USA
But that team is not centered around a leader, but around a vision and an idea, and that is exactly my point.
The point is that cycling is a passion of countries in Europe, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands most notably, countries which in general lack the money (with exceptions of course, Rabobank is doing a great job for years moneywise, although the team itself is chronically underperforming) to finance the teams compared to some US guy who likes to see his name on the shirts of some random guys in the Tour de France.
We still had some teams which, stretching themselves to the limit, could maintain themselves on the highest level (I think of Euskaltel, Cofidis, FdJ most notably) but now the latter two have gone.
And what if next year Procter and Gamble and Warren Buffett think its fun to participate in this cycling game? They will probably buy Fuglsang, LL Sanchez and King and the UCI jump with joy because they are globalizing. And who needs Euskaltel and AG2R anyway, stupid teams of the past with no guy pursuing a top-7 place for 10 million bucks. Now Euskaltel can still compete because Sanchez loves the team and the vision so much that he wants to stay for a low salary compared to what he could earn at another team. Now Romain Sicard signed for 4 years because he thinks it is best for him. But what if next year Branson is desperate to get a star and decides to throw in a ****load of money? Are we more happy then? And we cannot blame the individual cyclist for making that decision.
And then, in 4 years, when the fun is gone and field hockey is the new way to go, they will leave cycling behind in a state you won't like to imagine. The way Cervelo left is a first sign of that. Compare the attitude of a hyped team like Cervelo with a team like Footon - Servetto. They were desperate, but kept believing, and finally they found a way out because they loved the sport. And now what? Nothing for them. Next time they won't make the effort anymore, and I can't blame them for that.
You know, a characteristic of those new teams it that the team is centered around the star(s) instead of the stars joining the team. The latter is way more healthy as you will understand, as it takes the perspective of giving 25 riders the chance to participate in the biggest cycling events because the team thinks its good. The only goal of the star centered team is to participate in the biggest races to show their star and get him a position in GC or whatever it is that no-one cares about but some statisticians.
Ultimately the question is if we want more big, star-centered teams or more teams with a vision to give stars a chance. UCI is clearly choosing for the former, and that is a major risk in the medium term.
Because in 4 years, or 10 years, field hockey is the new hype and cycling is left behind, and then we won't have Cofidis anymore, then Euskaltel is pushed away by some money, then we will make a big, big step backwards.
And don't get me started on the way the star-centered teams ride. LS did that already and he's better in stating everything than me.
Luckily, and I am so grateful for that and I will keep saying that, we still have the ASO and RCS, organizations who understand that, even when they are commercial, money isn't everything and that they need teams with young talent, with desire to race and to animate, and who understand that they need the passionate Basque supporters in the Pyrenees and the French on the side of the road. Luckily those organizations are strong enough and have enough willpower to oppose the UCI consistently, as they know the UCI isn't fair, both on this ground and on some others (only think about doping wars between the two organizations). If cycling survives, and I believe it will, it is thanks to them and the traditional teams and not thanks to UCI globalization.
Extra note as I may seem to be extremely conservative: I ain't afraid of new teams. A team like Garmin is value added, even though it is from the evil USA
But that team is not centered around a leader, but around a vision and an idea, and that is exactly my point.
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