Why Team Sky will dominate cycling till 2018

[fungusbear]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/oleg-tinkov/oleg-tinkov-chapeau-to-team-sky-but-theyre-going-to-kill-the-business

I thought this was quite an interesting read. Never thought about SKY being dominant because they have security financially for 5-10 years. This makes a lot of sense as most other teams can't afford to spend big dollar on young riders with potential but might not deliver if they need to secure sponsorship etc for the next few years.

 

[happytramp]

What I want to know is who are they going to be signing that according to him is going to kill the sport? Interesting

 

[fungusbear]

Re:

What I want to know is who are they going to be signing that according to him is going to kill the sport? Interesting

He probably means Landa and Kwia I guess

 

[oldcrank]

I'm not sure I agree with Mr. T if he is actually saying
that a team that has a solid plan and financially stable
future will be the death of the sport. I would think
more or less the exact opposite.

Oleg claims to have a relatively similar budget to Team
SKY, does he not have a business plan in place?

If not, maybe Fran could give him some advice.

 

[The_Z_man]

While I understand what Tinkov is saying, isn't it really more of an indictment of the sport rather than Sky? They have long term funding in place, and can develop talent like other sports teams. With cycling teams having 1 revenue stream, sponsorship, they're not able to have long term plans like other sports. Sports like, outside the US, soccer, and, inside the US, baseball and ice hockey*, all have many ways to make money, and put it into developing young talent. If cycling teams weren't so ephemeral, Sky wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

* I left basketball and football out because, while they obviously have numerous revenue streams, they leave development up to the college system.

 

[Gigs_98]

Hard to say if tinkoff is right. To be honest sky was only dominant in three tours since the team was started, beside that they were only medium successful. We will need some time until we see if sky can really be the dominant team sky wants to be. I think the only reason why sky looks so strong right now is froome. Think back to 2014. Froome crashed and suddenly sky was absolutely nowhere. Okay they buy kwiat and landa, but is that really such a big thing? Don't forget that they also sell Porte (who was by far better than kwiat this year) and that landa was only good in one single gt. thats no reason why we should suddenly think he is the next super man in cycling.
Imagine froome would ride for tinkoff and AC for sky. The tour would probably be the exact same one because instead of thomas and porte, froome would have had majka and kreuziger to make a train up the mountains.

 

[SergeDeM]

Tinkov exagerates a lot, but his general point is that Sky has a huge advantage not just because of budget but because of security. 5 year plans are something that an absolute total of one team can afford. Sure, Sky can't win every race, but it sure is going to take a hell of a lot to pry the Tour from their fingers. Keep in mind that if not for the strength in numbers that they had, AdH might've ended up with a different rider in yellow.

 

[fungusbear]

Re:

Tinkov exagerates a lot, but his general point is that Sky has a huge advantage not just because of budget but because of security. 5 year plans are something that an absolute total of one team can afford. Sure, Sky can't win every race, but it sure is going to take a hell of a lot to pry the Tour from their fingers. Keep in mind that if not for the strength in numbers that they had, AdH might've ended up with a different rider in yellow.

I think that the model SKY have is the best one for cycling (obviously), but it is very hard for teams to get long term security. Only 1 team/rider can win the tour, which based on a programme I listened to the other is the only race that sponsors really care about, as it is (according to the programme) up to 80% of all the exposure for the year for a sponsor. Most teams can't have a really successful tour, and so will struggle to get long term security. Cycling needs to change I think.

 

[greenedge]

Re:

What I want to know is who are they going to be signing that according to him is going to kill the sport? Interesting

Moscon/ Hart could be prime examples, they're very talented.

 

[oldcrank]

I'd like to wish Team SKY's Dr. Steve Peters good luck
at the World Masters Athletics Championships which
commence next week in Lyon, France. (Hopefully he
won't be subject to punches, spit or urine-tossing)

I imagine Steve will be hard pressed to repeat his five
Gold Medal haul (M60-100/200/400/4x100/4x400) from
the last Masters World Championships two years ago in
Brazil, but I believe he is ranked no. 1 in the 400 and I
would be very surprised if he wasn't in control of his
inner chimp. So good luck Steve, Team GB, and all
of the athletes from around the world.

 

[pastronef]

because: https://instagram.com/p/53wKTrHczM/

 

[42x16ss]

I heard that Team Sky even measure their stems down to the mm to make sure that they're correct! That's some huuuuge gains right there

 

[Gigs_98]

because: https://instagram.com/p/53wKTrHczM/

now we know what thomas took

 

[Archibald]

can't believe this is still going... and as a serious discussion (barring a few that are on the ball)
that truly is the genius of this thread

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

can't believe this is still going... and as a serious discussion (barring a few that are on the ball)
that truly is the genius of this thread

Think of it as WonderLance's final legacy

The fact it's stayed out of the Clinic is a miracle in itself!

 

[oldcrank]

As well as winning three of the last four Tours,
now Team SKY riders have won the Race of
Truth at the UCI World Championships for the
second year in a row. Well done Mr. Kiryienka!

It doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that
these two winners of the Rainbow Jersey
have previously won the stripes on the track
as well. And neither is it as surprise that the
Cannibal, Baron Merckx says he'd love to see
the Froome Dawg on the track during the winter.

I totally agree with Big Eddy, and I'm sure that all
Froomey's fans agree too...probably not a 6-day,
maybe an appearance at a Revolution? Super
G is apparently signed on for two Revolutions,
so how about it Chris? And maybe Vasil, too!
A Team SKY versus Team WIGGINS Italian
pursuit would be awesome.

 

[Gigs_98]

Why do I even read this when I already know that I will be angry afterwards.

 

[meat puppet]

WL's prescience makes this basically the only topic worth reading, both in terms of content and form. Hats off.

 

[WheelofGear]

The look scary for the 2016 season. Think about this scenario:

2016 wins:
Paris-Nice with Froome. Thomas 2nd.
Tirreno-Adriatico with Landa.
Milano-Sanremo with Viviani.
Catalunya with Froome.
Flanders with Thomas.
Paris-Roubaix with Stannard.
Pais Vasco with Landa.
Ardennes triple with Kwiatkowski.
Dauphine with Froome.
Suisse with Thomas.
Giro with Landa.
Tour with Froome. Thomas 3rd.
Olympic Gold with Froome.
Vuelta with Landa.
World TT with Kiryienka.
World Road Race with Viviani.
Lombardia with Kwiatkowski.

 

[pink_jersey]

Re:

The look scary for the 2016 season. Think about this scenario:

2016 wins:
Paris-Nice with Froome. Thomas 2nd.
Tirreno-Adriatico with Landa.
Milano-Sanremo with Viviani.
Catalunya with Froome.
Flanders with Thomas.
Paris-Roubaix with Stannard.
Pais Vasco with Landa.
Ardennes triple with Kwiatkowski.
Dauphine with Froome.
Suisse with Thomas.
Giro with Landa.
Tour with Froome. Thomas 3rd.
Olympic Gold with Froome.
Vuelta with Landa.
World TT with Kiryienka.
World Road Race with Viviani.
Lombardia with Kwiatkowski.

Lol... no way ) Ardennes triple with Kwiatkowski )

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

The look scary for the 2016 season. Think about this scenario:

2016 wins:
Paris-Nice with Froome. Thomas 2nd.
Tirreno-Adriatico with Landa.
Milano-Sanremo with Viviani.
Catalunya with Froome.
Flanders with Thomas.
Paris-Roubaix with Stannard.
Pais Vasco with Landa.
Ardennes triple with Kwiatkowski.
Dauphine with Froome.
Suisse with Thomas.
Giro with Landa.
Tour with Froome. Thomas 3rd.
Olympic Gold with Froome.
Vuelta with Landa.
World TT with Kiryienka.
World Road Race with Viviani.
Lombardia with Kwiatkowski.

Viviani isnt even almost one of the best sprinters in the world, their hilly classics team is really not that good (Kwiatkowski is only average, his shape this years was way worse than 2014), Standard for Paris Roubaix would be a huge surprise, and we still have to wait how Landa will do as a team leader in a gt

 

[WheelofGear]

It's not likely to happen, but it could happen!

 

[BigMac]

Most of those ain't happening.

 

[LaFlorecita]

right

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Most of those ain't happening.

Don't tell the Sky fans, they love their hypotheticals.