CycleSport's love of Lance Wiggins and Cavendish

frenchfighter

I just happened to look at the front cover of 14 CycleSports that were piled up and note that the front cover of these is filled with:

Cavendish: 3
Armstrong: 2
Wiggins: 4

This only includes their photo on the front and not when their name appears or other articles about them contained in the magazines where they don't 'headline'.

Some serious overkill and infatuation here especially given two out of the three have nothing of note in terms of 2009/10 results apart from the Tour placings.

Also, I don't understand why the magazine panders so much the American reader...is it really popular over there or something?

inkyfingers

You bought them...

ratsbeyfus

Yeah, infatuation for pro-bike riders! Sheeesh!

inkyfingers

inkyfingers wrote:

You bought them...

That wasn't meant to sound as sarcatic as it does. I just meant that they will put people on the front who maximise their sales rather than because they have pulled up any trees. With those people on the front cover they will not only attract the hardcore buyers but also perhaps the more casual fan who probably wouldn't recognise Kenny Van Hummels face!

frenchfighter

Haha, didn't take it as such! As it happens I have a subscription and think they are very good reads. Just get a little tired of the attention devoted to some riders.

Tim Farr

Sure they like them - they sell more copies with their mugs on the cover page. It's a business thing - to use another sport football, a magazine with David Beckham on the cover will sell much better than one which has a Division 2 player. So in cycling, high achievers such as Cav, Bradley and Lance are more often on cover pages in the UK. You're not going to see Charlie Wegelius there.

I don't like it either. Years ago Cycling Weekly nearly always had a different cyclist every week on its front page.

pedro118118

At the end of the day, the the magazine business is a just that - a business.

And the likes of Wiggo, Lance and Cav are recognisable faces and therefore more likely to attract the casual reader, when placed on the shelf of WH Smith etc. Clearly, for those with a subscription, this is irrelevant and the content is more important.

I've thought for some time that the amount of content devoted to Wiggo, Sky and Lance is completely disproportionate, especially given the moderate success/results they acheive. Cav is a different animal, I suppose, as he is (or at least was) a winning machine and (personality disorders aside) deserves all the credit he gets for his results alone.

I also feel the 'tech' section is always very top-end.................£2,000 wheelsets and £600 bar/stem combos etc. Like, what proportiono of the readership can afford to buy this stuff?!

eh

It is for this very reason that I haven't bought a cycling mag that covers procycling in over a year. Anyway what has Wiggins won, very little, he's the British Chavanel.

For something a bit different that covers all kinds of cycling check this out:

http://www.theridejournal.com/

You can currently download a pdf of issue 2 for free, and they have some example articles on the site.

pedro118118

eh wrote:

It is for this very reason that I haven't bought a cycling mag that covers procycling in over a year. Anyway what has Wiggins won, very little, he's the British Chavanel.

For something a bit different that covers all kinds of cycling check this out:

http://www.theridejournal.com/

You can currently download a pdf of issue 2 for free, and they have some example articles on the site.

Bit harsh that (on Chavanel).

fast as fupp

I'm shocked......................................................................that anyone buys Cyclesport!

dennisn

frenchfighter wrote:

Haha, didn't take it as such! As it happens I have a subscription and think they are very good reads. Just get a little tired of the attention devoted to some riders.

That doesn't even come close to the amount of times Outside Magazine has had LA
on the cover over the years. Not even close.

redddraggon

fast as fupp wrote:

I'm shocked......................................................................that anyone buys Cyclesport!

FF is not anyone

16simon

eh wrote:

It is for this very reason that I haven't bought a cycling mag that covers procycling in over a year. Anyway what has Wiggins won, very little, he's the British Chavanel.

Could you print this off and store it somewhere safe so that you can eat your words in July?

simon_e

16simon wrote:

Could you print this off and store it somewhere safe so that you can eat your words in July?

And what if eh is proved right - will you reciprocate?

I'd be pleased for Wiggins if he wins something. However, if I was a betting man I'd give him reasonable odds on reaching the lowest tier on the podium but nothing higher. He might win the prologue but I wouldn't put money on it. Who knows, we'll see what July brings...

I subscribed to CS recently, £26/year. That's £2 each, delivered. I started buying it, mainly because I like having something tactile to read casually - there's only so long I want to spend at the computer and I like the mix of articles. In the magazine world the cover is make or break, you can be sure the editorial team will deliberate long and hard over what to put on the front cover. They will know what (or who) sells and what doesn't - it's so critical to their business. I expect Lance's fizzog sells copies in every Anglophone country, not just the USA, Pro Cycling does it too.

Rodrego Hernandez

UK magazine in UK cover star photo shocker.

ms_tree

pedro118118 wrote:

At the end of the day, the the magazine business is a just that - a business. quote]

So is professional cycling - tho' most people on here still insist on saying it is sport.

AndyRubio

I looked at the cover of the latest Cycle Sport, yet another front page about Columbia, and wondered: why? Saved a fiver so not all bad.

steviedonut

AndyRubio wrote:

I looked at the cover of the latest Cycle Sport, yet another front page about Columbia, and wondered: why? Saved a fiver so not all bad.

im with you;for everyone they get producing the same old faces on the cover,they further alienate the likes of myself that used to habitually buy these mags each month;the worst was earlier this year when the comics big headline was "lance rides south african sportive",with "contador wins paris-nice" smaller beneath it-you just couldnt make it up.......

mpd62

I have just renewed my subsciption with tesco clubcard points £13 ,I agree with FF but it does have some very good articles and hardly no kit/bike reveiws and they do like to take the pee out of Lance a fairbit

erikthegreen

inkyfingers wrote:

inkyfingers wrote:

You bought them...

...who probably wouldn't recognise Kenny Van Hummels face!

Didn't they kill Kenny in the last episode?

cougie

Interesting that the comic have moved away from their big name riders on the front as they always used to, to some nice safe shot of one of their team riding ?

I would be less likely to buy a monthly mag if if didn't recognise the rider on the front so I guess they know what they're doing.

Coyote

Thanks "eh" - the ride journal is a great read!

Just ordered issue 4!

http://www.theridejournal.com/

Homer J

They should get Aggieboy to do the front cover pic, I'd buy it

luckao

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