Pro Tour RIP?
Cofidis said today they won't be applying for a Pro Tour licence in 2009. Vaughters has hinted that there's no point in his Garmin-Chipotle team buying a licence.
Seems clear to me that play your cards right with ASO and you'll get invited to most of the races that matter, plus there's no obligation to send a team to Australia for the Tour Down Under, or to races like the Tour of Poland. A team saves on fees, the cost of a licence can pay for a half-decent classics rider, or better, could be used to fund an independent anti-doping regime.
The end of the Pro Tour?
Seems clear to me that play your cards right with ASO and you'll get invited to most of the races that matter, plus there's no obligation to send a team to Australia for the Tour Down Under, or to races like the Tour of Poland. A team saves on fees, the cost of a licence can pay for a half-decent classics rider, or better, could be used to fund an independent anti-doping regime.
The end of the Pro Tour?
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Bob Stapleton will be p!ssed because he's just got his kids to colour in the ProTour logo on the new jersies:
'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
If ASO are out of the ProTour, and ASO have more big races than the ProTour has, then yeah I agree.
12 months ago, Vaughters was saying Slipstream were then too small a team to manage a full ProTour season this year, didn't have enough frontline riders to do 3 x 3-week GT's let alone all the other races, so they wouldn't be trying to get the vacant Disco ProTour licence or the Astana one (as it was assumed Astana wouldn't get a license this year)
Instead they were being nice to ASO and trying to get into the Tour on a wildcard and would do a few other races as a build-up, then perhaps try to get a ProTour licence in 2009 if one were available then.
Things ain't half changed in a year !0 -
It's been terminally ill since it's inception. Verbruggen jumped the gun in launching it before the UCI held any serious discussions with the race organisers about how they shared TV revenue between them and this issue has gone from being an irritating scratch to the wound that will kill it.
ASO hold the aces now as the major races are either owned or partly owned by them with the exception of the RCS owned races. They seem happy to continue in league with ASO so my expectation is that some kind of new professional cycling organisation will be set up to promote all the races. The teams will go with them as that's what the sponsors will want.0 -
Who is in the lead of the Pro Tour classification at the moment? When is the next Pro Tour race? No idea? Me neither.0
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jimmythecuckoo wrote:Isn't it Cunego?
I bet he's not happy with that and what a burden to carry
Can we have a "World Cup" again please.
At least we knew what we were talking about.Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 19720 -
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(1) Damiano CUNEGO 104.00
2 Andreas KLODEN 96.00
3 Roman KREUZIGER 94.00
4 Cadel EVANS 85.00
5 Alejandro VALVERDE 83.00
Pro Tour was almost a good idea, but its no surprise Cofidis is pulling out they have always been firmly behind the ASO0 -
The fact that Kloeden - who's hardly raced this year - is second goes to show what a crap system it is.0
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andyp wrote:The fact that Kloeden - who's hardly raced this year - is second goes to show what a crap system it is.
Where has he got all of his points from? I know he came second in Suisse but I don't remember any other races he was in.
The major gripe I had with the ProTour was that there was no promotion or relegation, which meant that ProConti teams had no chance of playing with the big boys, and the worst ProTour teams didn't have anything to worry about because they were picking up their cheque every year.
For example, Barloworld, Selle Italia and even Agritubel could be in much stronger positions than they are with this sort of system, and it would create a much fairer playing field.0 -
deejay wrote:jimmythecuckoo wrote:Isn't it Cunego?
I bet he's not happy with that and what a burden to carry
Can we have a "World Cup" again please.
At least we knew what we were talking about.
Hi there.
There's nothing wrong with the ranking system - much better than the old World Cup as it takes into account grand tour riders as well as the one day specialists. The world cup became less and less relevent as riders specialised rather than racing every race on the calendar from March to October.
It's just the rest of the bullsh!t that the UCI put in the ProTour that caused all the problems...
Cheers, Andy
ps Where would we be without the Pro Tour Pundit?0 -
Can I be the leader of the Pro Tour? Go on, go on, go on, go on....etc.0
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Can we have a "World Cup" again please.
At least we knew what we were talking about.
I concur. The world cup leaders jersey was cool too - much more recognisable that the protour leaders jersey imho0 -
The ProTour and globalisation of the sport is what is probably needed to bring in proper global sponsors. The problem is that many of the current ProTour team sponsors are far from global and thus only really care about their local markets. Also, some of the races the UCI has introduced, or is introducing, are of no interest to any sponsors. Which companies are going to want the exposure gained from riding on the empty roads of Poland, for example?
The UCI could make the ProTour into something special, but right now I think they are dropping the ball. They need to look at the key global markets, and then consider races in those areas, but at the same time they have to be mindful of who is currently sponsoring the major teams. A brand like Pepsi would make a great global sponsor. With a ProTour race in India, for example, it would be an ideal fit. On the other hand, any exposure out there for a team like Quick-Step would probably be pointless.
Cycling is still extremely Euro-centric, which is not good for the longevity of the sport. It needs to compete with other sports, many of which are also trying to improve their global reach. I recently read something about Alan Stanford trying to sell 20-20 cricket in America. While cricket has been a game for the colonies, 20-20 could finally make a global impact. I could even see it being in the Olympics one day.0 -
90% of media coverage from pro cycling probably comes from the Tour de France.
It's all chicken and egg. Current sponsors don't want to advertise themselves in India or Australia. Even the Tour Down Under exists to sell Aussie produce and tourism to cycling fans in Europe.
Putting in new races in new countries will not appeal to current sponsors. It takes time to establish sport and putting a race on is the easy bit, the hard bit is to get media interest and TV coverage.
The Tour of Britain is a good example. Europe's second or third largest economy but no teams want to ride as the race gets little media coverage in Britain. So put a race on in, say, India and trying to get Indians excited about cycling is going to be very hard, it's like staging a 20-20 game in France.
It would be good to globalise the sport but this will take time. Just dictating a calendar of races isn't the way to go, it has to build up organically, to create smaller regional races and let them compete for riders and sponsors. Just as the Tour of California has done.
Worse, no matter how good an idea you have, the UCI is bound to mess it up. Look at the current Pro Tour, it was launched without the agreement of race organisers and teams ended up paying for pricey licences with little in return, there was no legal agreement that said "buy a licence and guarantee yourself a berth in the Tour de France".
Cycling already fills a sponsorship niche. Any multinational can get involved, iShares for example was going to replace Phonak. But as we keep seeing, it's not a lack of global coverage that deters sponsors, it's doping scandals. The UCI should fix this problem first (widespread "Daamsgard" testing, on-the-start-line haematocrit counts, test 50 riders per race and top-500 riders are on a centralised "whereabouts" system, no need for the Monaco or Lichenstein federations to send doping controls to Mexico because the UCI does it) before launching the sport abroad.0 -
Agreed.
Garmin have just come in - but they're a cycling products company (OK, not exclusively cycling, but they sell cycling stuff, they're a trade sponsor)
Columbia - but again, outdoor kit (although they are using their Columbia brand, not Gore which is their cycling brandname)
Cycling is losing not gaining big global-level names like T-mobile, CSC, Disco Channel and not replacing them with names like HSBC, Vodafone, GlaxoSK, etc0 -
andrewgturnbull wrote:Hi there.
There's nothing wrong with the ranking system - much better than the old World Cup as it takes into account grand tour riders as well as the one day specialists. The world cup became less and less relevent as riders specialised rather than racing every race on the calendar from March to October.
It's just the rest of the bullsh!t that the UCI put in the ProTour that caused all the problems...
I think you miss the point I wanted.
The World Cup was for Single Day Races and while I agree that by "Tours" & "Lombardy" it fizzled out. Those two races will stand on their own anyway and the riders seemed to have some pride in the series.
The Ranking Points covering all races have been around for years before the Pro Tour Crap and used to be Top heavy with GT winners that had worn the yellow jersey (etc) for many days, but it had it's merits.Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 19720 -
andy_wrx wrote:Agreed.
Cycling is losing not gaining big global-level names like T-mobile, CSC, Disco Channel and not replacing them with names like HSBC, Vodafone, GlaxoSK, etc
Got to take issue with that statement
Deutsch Telecom was a little ramshackle Telephone company put together when the "Wall" came down and they needed publicity through East & West Germany.
The East German set up was very handy with Olympic and World Champions and the former State Sponsorship of PED's (Performance Enhancing Drugs) and so they formed a Cycle Racing Team with mainly East German Riders and of course the "Magic" Trainers.
This team then entered the Pro Ranks and with their "Magic" performances they hit the big time and as they stated after 5/6 years they became as well known in Germany and Europe as Coca Cola. They actually announced this.
Now that PED's have become a "Dirty" word and their Global Position so much more than they could have dreamed of 15 years ago.
They have got out and brushed it under the carpet, just like their other "HISTORY".
The sport needs to connect with other growing companies that need European and then Global Publicity and the companies you mention have large enough "Budgets" for publicity to do a Premiership or International Golf Tournament.
What you can say is "Look what cycle racing did for T Mobile" from nothing and others have gained Publicity from Cycling and moved on and better for their association.Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 19720 -
Does cycling actually need to be global. LOTS of sports manage to be successful without true global appeal, all the american ones, rugby and to a certain extent Football. Tennis manages to be a popular sport (judging by Eurosport!!) but only has 4 tournaments!
Twenty20 is a HORRIFIC game in the eyes of many cricket traditionalists, in making the sport appeal to a different crowd, they have taken something important away from it. In taking cycling to a world audience, cycling might lose some of it's traditional audience.You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Cycling is a world sport now but most of the sponsership money and therefore top riders are centred in Europe where almost all of the big races are currently held. I think the UCI is trying to expand this interest in a world related way but if it happens then ASO and others feel that some of the 'importance' of the European races may suffer. The breakdown between the UCI and ASO is caused by some very stubborn and self important people on both sides to the detriment of the sport IMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ride Daily, Keep Healthy0 -
Whilst you may have a point Keith you conveniently forget that ASO has been busy promoting races outside of Europe for some time now, i.e. the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Burkina Faso. They've also recently agreed to work with AEG on the Tour of California.Keith Oates wrote:Cycling is a world sport now but most of the sponsership money and therefore top riders are centred in Europe where almost all of the big races are currently held. I think the UCI is trying to expand this interest in a world related way but if it happens then ASO and others feel that some of the 'importance' of the European races may suffer. The breakdown between the UCI and ASO is caused by some very stubborn and self important people on both sides to the detriment of the sport IMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That suggests to me that they have an interest in promoting the sport globally.0 -
Taking cycling global shouldn't mean taking it away from it's European heartland. The two truely global team sports are football and basketball, which are played in more or less ever country in the world with thriving local leagues. But the best players gravitate towards the Champions League/Premiership and the NBA.
The NBA play some of their matches abroad and the Premiership want to. Cycling can do the same thing with the likes of California/Langkawi/Qatar/Down Under taking some of the stars around the globe without destroying the traditions of the sport. This is what ASO want to do rather than emulating F1's ever changing global circus.Twitter: @RichN950 -
andyp wrote:
Whilst you may have a point Keith you conveniently forget that ASO has been busy promoting races outside of Europe for some time now, i.e. the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Burkina Faso. They've also recently agreed to work with AEG on the Tour of California.Keith Oates wrote:Cycling is a world sport now but most of the sponsership money and therefore top riders are centred in Europe where almost all of the big races are currently held. I think the UCI is trying to expand this interest in a world related way but if it happens then ASO and others feel that some of the 'importance' of the European races may suffer. The breakdown between the UCI and ASO is caused by some very stubborn and self important people on both sides to the detriment of the sport IMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That suggests to me that they have an interest in promoting the sport globally.
Are they trying to promote cycling globally or be commercially in contorl of racing globally? There was not so long ago a suggestion that the ToC would apply to become a Pro Tour event!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ride Daily, Keep Healthy0 -
There's no stopping the PT machine and their quest for pointless races to add to their calendar.
The UCI ProTour Council continued its efforts to expand the ProTour globally by inviting the Worlds View Challenge in South Africa to join the ProTour beginning in 2010. The Pietermaritzburg event has been staged as a UCI 1.1 event. The race's new status is expected to draw the best pro teams. The 2009 event is scheduled as a series of three one-day races, from February 13 through 15.
The inaugural Worlds View Challenge, owned and managed by Treble Entertainment, was made up of five one-day races staged in February of 2008. ProTour Teams Liquigas and Milram raced on the African Continent alongside others such as Barloworld and Pezula Racing.
The UCI ProTour kicked off in 2005 with 27 events and 18 ProTour teams. In 2008, the ProTour took its first step outside of Europe by adding the Tour Down Under in Australia to the calendar.
"This really is an amazing development especially if you consider that we have only staged one edition of the event to date," said Event Director, Alec Lenferna. "However, we know that the event was a great success, a first for this country and one which impressed the top teams and resulted in positive feedback to the pro peloton in Europe as well as the UCI.
"It is an honour to be asked to join the UCI ProTour and we will go back with renewed vigour and stage the 2009 event to meet the exacting standards, demands and regulations outlined by the UCI."
Treble Entertainment is also organizing a 2009 and 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, a 2009 BMX World Cup and 2010 BMX World Championships.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
Can we bring back the Super Prestiege ranking system sponsored by Perrier??
No-one seemed to complain about the world ranking that provided.0
