All over for Leopard Trek

mr_poll
mr_poll Posts: 1,547
edited September 2011 in Pro race
Hearing reports that Leopard Trek will fold - most riders are off to Radioshack, 11 without teams. So no merger just the demise of another high profile team.

Full story in l'equipe tomorrow.
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Comments

  • Tusher
    Tusher Posts: 2,762
    Bluddy 'ell. Didn't see that one coming.
    Well, saw a merger, but not a collapse.




    Wonder what Barnaby's thinking right now.
  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    find it hard to shed a tear. except for the redundant.
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • TheStone
    TheStone Posts: 2,291
    Disaster really.

    Some things out of their control which put a cloud over the start, but very limited success for a team that looked very strong.
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  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    edited September 2011
    Didn't have a great season, but far from disastrous. Sure, lots of second places and few firsts.

    But if they can't get a sponsorship deal together with that season, and with those riders, then that indicates the sport is in a pretty sorry state.
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • Gazzetta67
    Gazzetta67 Posts: 1,890
    I think a certain Bjarne Riis will be having a wry smile tonight
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,662
    Jez mon wrote:
    But if they can't get a sponsorship deal together with that season, and with those riders, then that indicates the sport is in a pretty sorry state.

    This is what is concerning me at the moment, I think we ll see which riders are in it for the love and which for the money soon as paychecks are gonna start tumbling...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Well, if they can't even pronounce their own name properly....
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    ddraver wrote:
    I think we ll see which riders are in it for the love and which for the money soon as paychecks are gonna start tumbling...
    As professional riders,I should think they're all in it for the money :wink:
    so many cols,so little time!
  • Gazzetta67
    Gazzetta67 Posts: 1,890
    Just had a thought we wont be able to hear team sherwin call them Leo-parrrd ever again.
  • verylonglegs
    verylonglegs Posts: 4,023
    nick hanson wrote:
    ddraver wrote:
    I think we ll see which riders are in it for the love and which for the money soon as paychecks are gonna start tumbling...
    As professional riders,I should think they're all in it for the money :wink:

    Was going to say...no-one works for free.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Love for cycling won't pay the mortgage sadly or put food on the table.

    If anyone is in cycling just for the money - they aren't very smart.
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,173
    Jez mon wrote:
    Didn't have a great season, but far from disastrous. Sure, lots of second places and few firsts.

    But if they can't get a sponsorship deal together with that season, and with those riders, then that indicates the sport is in a pretty sorry state.

    Another high profile team, albeit newcomers, who can't get a sponsor.
    Personally, it's about time everyone in the sport came together and thought of a way forward. How on earth couldn't High Road get a sponsor??

    I've often wondered whether the sport needs to follow the F1 model, but on a smaller scale.
    Have one Promoter for the top races: Classics, GT's, etc TV rights, etc can be sold off as a package....

    It can't continue as it is.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • k-dog
    k-dog Posts: 1,652
    I just hope that Jens gets a ride somewhere.
    I'm left handed, if that matters.
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    AndyRAC wrote:
    I've often wondered whether the sport needs to follow the F1 model
    Unless the UCI can get to grips with the doping issues, more to the point, the length of time it takes to resolve the cases of Contador, Armstrong, Valverde etc, then the sponsors will be very hard to find.

    However, people have short memories, and when the world economy finally starts to pick up again in..................erm, some years, the sponsors will return. Until then, expect slim pickings and more teams to fold.
    It's a Lifestyle! -+-+- Coggan Training Levels
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    nick hanson wrote:
    ddraver wrote:
    I think we ll see which riders are in it for the love and which for the money soon as paychecks are gonna start tumbling...
    As professional riders,I should think they're all in it for the money :wink:

    +1
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Leopard's Feillu, Wegmann, Rohregger, Mortensen, Pedersen, Stamsnijer, Pires, Lund, Vigano must find new teams. (L'Equipe)
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    iainf72 wrote:
    Leopard's Feillu, Wegmann, Rohregger, Mortensen, Pedersen, Stamsnijer, Pires, Lund, Vigano must find new teams. (L'Equipe)


    Some serious domestiques there. Don't recognize a lot of the names. Not surprised they are the ones without a contract,
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    k-dog wrote:
    I just hope that Jens gets a ride somewhere.

    He's the only rider with an expiring contract.

    Becca obviously expected Nygaard / Andersen to bring a sponsor onboard, but failed. Similar to High Horse I suppose.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    L'equipe story

    http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/breves20 ... -fini.html
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • Doobz
    Doobz Posts: 2,800
    I thought their sponsors had signed up for 4 years?
    cartoon.jpg
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    AndyRAC wrote:
    Another high profile team, albeit newcomers, who can't get a sponsor.
    Personally, it's about time everyone in the sport came together and thought of a way forward. How on earth couldn't High Road get a sponsor??

    This is the issue I was banging on about pre-tour when FF said the sport had no trouble attracting and retaining sponsors.

    Puerto (especially riders who were never punished), Landis, Contador, Valverde, Riis, the continuing saga of UCI vs. the Teams vs. ASO... cycling is not a medium for positive exposure at the moment.

    The story Inner Ring posted about High Road never having a sponsor in any meaningful sense made a lot of sense in that context.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,662
    Ok, we re being pedantic today are we? OK
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • thamacdaddy
    thamacdaddy Posts: 590
    Last year Cancellara was close to signing Sky and BMC and chose Leopard in the end. Wonder if he will follow the schleck boys or seek pastures new.

    EDIT: nevermind the merger is the way it seems to be going with the riders under contract simply becomming the new radioshack http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/05092011/ ... merge.html
  • eh
    eh Posts: 4,854
    I think the problem is the riders wages / running costs at Leopard far exceed what anyone is willing to pay. Lets face it the Eurozone in many cycling core countries like Italy and Spain is in real problems, so why are struggling companies going to cough up huge amounts of cash, for possibly limited return.?

    But it isn't only cycling suffering from this, look at a lot of the F1 grid, without the car companies there would be hardly any sponsors at present, MotoGP likewise, and these probably have a bigger reach than cycling.
  • TheStone
    TheStone Posts: 2,291
    They should bring back cigarette advertising.

    Contador vs Schleck, dressed up as a packet of B&H and Marlboro would be funny ... for a little while.
    exercise.png
  • allaction
    allaction Posts: 209
    Outside of football (see Premier League), sponsors are thin on the ground. I watched Moto GP for first time in ages last weekend and they don't even have a full grid and a manufacturer of the size of Suzuki is thinking of pulling out on cost grounds. I think the above poster hit the nail on the head with the Bernie idea, get a ringmaster in to tie up all the events and block sell to media. Imagine the quality of coverage if Sky got really serious about pushing cycling? Whatever you may think of them they always pull out all the stops when they cover a sport.
  • saintdracula
    saintdracula Posts: 232
    I guess failing to win the Tour did them in...
  • B3rnieMac
    B3rnieMac Posts: 384
    winning things seems to have no effect on keeping a team going...
  • Doobz
    Doobz Posts: 2,800
    edited September 2011
    merger confirmed

    http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/no ... p?id=42954
    RT: PaulRaats just got press release team @leopardtrek welcomes officially main sponsors @radioshack and @nissan Luxembourg stays official home #merger
    cartoon.jpg
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    Bruyneel has been pushing for the F1 model for some time. Think part of the problem now is the UCI pushing the world calendar and taking the teams out of the European heartland. Most of the sponsors are from Europe and only want national exposure not racing in all parts of the world like the UCI want.

    What would be really good would be if the governing body looked into this and actually did something to solve it.

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