McQuaid, master of the Economy

iainf72

Ahhhh, more genius from our fearless leader

http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNew ... 0?rpc=401&

Yes, a lack of cash in the economy isn't going to impact professional sport much. Why would it?

calvjones

Yeah right

"with new events such as the Tour of Russia and the Tour of China going ahead almost as scheduled"

Kléber

Meanwhile more real events drop off the calendar and many riders are already out of work following the withdrawal of a few teams this year.

Cycling is falling back on small sponsors. The big global names are running away and new teams are being backed by Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian money that is likely to dry up as the commodities boom ends and the Rouble falls off a cliff.

As for the new events, what interest have Bouygues Telecom, Saxo Bank or Euskatel in marketing their goods and services to humble Russians and Chinese citizens would probably couldn't afford a PAYG contract, brokerage account or landline even if they lived in France, Denmark or the Basque country?

DavMartinR

"Sport itself will survive the crisis, cycling likewise will survive this crisis, it's too good value for money...Cycling is one of the best sports for sponsors."

I bet Riis sleeps easy after hearing that? :roll:

skavanagh.bikeradar

It's such a collection of brain sick that I don't know where to start in poking holes in his idiocy. So, I won't. The man is a deluded idiot, clearly out of touch with the sport he governs and the world in which he lives. Cheief Wiggum indeed.

Kléber

If all goes well, cycling is a good deal for sponsors. The amount of exposure they get is great compared to the cost of funding a team budget for the year. It is very good value for money for many companies.

But there's the spectre of doping. Sign up with some ropey DS who promises you he runs a healthy team and suddenly the words ring hollow, you end up engulfed in a media storm. To this day, Festina means doping and a whining Virenque, not watches. Saunier-Duval brings up images of unreliable Ricco, not dependable boilers.

Backing a cycling team is a high risk strategy. If you're a marketing executive, you can lose your job if the team you link up with gets exposed and the corporate name gets dragged through the mud, no one loses their job for sponsoring a golf tournament or a tennis player.

Put another way, there's a big discount between the cost of funding a team and the results delivered, and that could largely be a "doping discount". This also suggests that teams that can narrow the discount, by promising no scandal because of internal testing, can get new sponsors and that riders, collectively, would all be earning more if they played by the rules. But the temptation to dope in a "winner takes all" environment like sport is enormous and no system is foolproof.

edhornby

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

It's such a collection of brain sick that I don't know where to start in poking holes in his idiocy. So, I won't. The man is a deluded idiot, clearly out of touch with the sport he governs and the world in which he lives. Chief Wiggum indeed.

LOL

more like Mayor Quimby... "I heartily endorse this racing team"

skavanagh.bikeradar

You might be on to something with Quimby.