T-Mobile Staying On

schlepcycling

The BBC Sport website is reporting that T-Mobile has decided to continue it's sponsorship.

Kléber

More here: http://www.t-mobile-team.com/en/

andyp

Good on them. Leadership can take many forms but I, for one, think they've shown more leadership in this one decision than the UCI have in the past ten years in relation to doping.

jimmythecuckoo

Thank goodness for that. I might repay their faith by buying a jersey :?

Salsiccia

Or a phone...

iainf72

I am surprised.

The riders will make a contribution towards the anti-doping fight? Gosh, that sounds like something an Americano did a few years ago.

jimmythecuckoo

Salsiccia wrote:

Or a phone...

My phone is a work one and it is O2 :shock:

skut

At least Wiggins has a team to go to now eh? If the other thread is to be believed...

Langenberg

Well, sounds like quite a mature kind of decision, they could have easily cut there losses and run... I am sure large parts of the German public would have applauded. Good news.

Stark.

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

Thank goodness for that. I might repay their faith by buying a jersey :?

Think I might show my support in that way too – although not sure if magenta is really my colour.

Good news though and I like the company's strongly worded commitment to a cleaner sport. Of course, only time will tell how effective their stance will be, but at least you have to applaud and support the intention.

iainf72

I'm a moody git, but gawd, I'm getting annoyed with constant claims that T-Mobile have some kind of advanced anti-doping programme.

Yes, that's why Sinketwitz was using testosterone. But he got caught, you cry, yes, 6 months into the year. Let me guess? He only used it that one time.

Where is the innovation? Blood volume and worthless DNA tests? Woot.

Oooh, you've got wierd blood results, you're fired. That happened before, it was called Phonak.

And no one has explained why it appears Aldag or the rest of the team management didn't act on the news Pat was up to no good?

leguape

"Staying on" or as it is more accurately known "not breaking their contract which was set to run until 2010". They haven't shown any additional commitment above and beyond what they were already bound to before the Tour de France. Them pulling out would have cost them more to pay out the agreement than stay in. Now they've just managed to offload responsibility onto the riders and put in a right to withdraw in the event of another scandal. Hardly a cause for being overjoyed whichever way you sell it.

iainf72

I think (and I might be wrong) that T-Mobile had a break clause in their contract in case of doping scandals.

iainf72

Quoth Wim.

--
The main sponsor of Team Aldag (Tmo) has decided to continue with their sponsorship
C4all: So again nice publicity and also again a "slick" PR message from the sponsor company,
but an ex-doping user is still acting as Sport Director and talking about doping in public. :-(
This weakens more and more the "goodwill", the team want to achieve, as they say.

--

iainf72

And he's got even more!

http://www.cycling4all.com/d_tmo07.php

If you read that, can't a lot of their behaviour be summed up with a large water based African animal and a type of bicycle race on a road circuit?

knedlicky

Rather than be critical or sceptical, think that if T-Mobile had pulled the plug, then Gerolsteiner may have soon followed,
- possibly followed by teams with close German connections like Milram, CSC and even Astana,
- not to mention about 8-9 next-class teams (called Continental Teams, equivalent to the Evans team in the UK),
- and the successful women’s teams T-Mobile and Nürnberger,
- and various German-Swiss and Austrian teams.

The argument that you don’t step out when faced with problems is also a valid one.

iainf72

Curious to hear people's thoughts on the new update on C4All about why T-Mobile think they're above the ethics code?

mrushton

At least the Discovery riders have a chance of signing up with them

iainf72

No one wants to argue with me and fight T-Mobiles corner.

This place has gone right down the pan!

:P

ContrelaMontre

iainf72 wrote:

No one wants to argue with me and fight T-Mobiles corner.

This place has gone right down the pan!

:P

You're just turning into a grumpy old man that everyone ignores, thats all! :P

andyp

iainf72 wrote:

Curious to hear people's thoughts on the new update on C4All about why T-Mobile think they're above the ethics code?

Go on then, I'll bite.

Let's start by turning it around, which team has systematically followed the ethics code of the Pro Tour?

iainf72

andyp wrote:

iainf72 wrote:

Curious to hear people's thoughts on the new update on C4All about why T-Mobile think they're above the ethics code?

Go on then, I'll bite.

Let's start by turning it around, which team has systematically followed the ethics code of the Pro Tour?

So, if no one else is paying attention to them, then why should T-Mobile?

Sounds a lot like a "everyone else is taking EPO so I can too" argument.

andyp

iainf72 wrote:

So, if no one else is paying attention to them, then why should T-Mobile?

Sounds a lot like a "everyone else is taking EPO so I can too" argument.

Maybe. But I'd argue that the Pro Tour ethical code has about as much validity as the doping commitment that the UCI are coercing the riders into signing, i.e. none. Due mainly to the Pro Tour being dead in the water.

I still think that next season ASO will go further and invite only the teams they believe to have ethical values to their races. T-Mobile will be included. Whilst they are not pure in any way they are at least trying to move forward and for that they should be encouraged. However, if I was Bob Stapleton I'd be thinking of shaking up my sporting management team a bit.

iainf72

andyp wrote:

Maybe. But I'd argue that the Pro Tour ethical code has about as much validity as the doping commitment that the UCI are coercing the riders into signing, i.e. none. Due mainly to the Pro Tour being dead in the water.

But T-Mobile signed up to the doping charter super quick. Because, surprise surprise, there is good publicitiy from doing it. And wheeling Cavendish out to sit at a press conference launching it was shameless.

So that suits them, but the ethical code not?

They're not noble good guys. They're commerical whores. Which I don't have a problem with, what I have a problem with is it being painted as something else.

Kléber

Sheesh, I thought I was a cynic when it came to pro cycling...