Sky support breakaway league?
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Surely the stumbling block when it comes to any attempt to change cycling will be the ASO. They have a very successful model and are making plenty of money. Unless someone comes to them with a model that enables them to make even more money they are unlikely to be interested. Any race calendar that doesn't include the biggest race in the world won't be seen as legitimate.0
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But ultimately all ASO actually own is the intellectual property of the races. Take Paris-Roubaix, for example. They own the race, but they don't own the roads, they don't own the cobbles, they don't own the velodrome. It wouldn't be beyond the wit of man to create a race called the 'Roubaix Classic' which is exactly the same.squired wrote:Surely the stumbling block when it comes to any attempt to change cycling will be the ASO. They have a very successful model and are making plenty of money. Unless someone comes to them with a model that enables them to make even more money they are unlikely to be interested. Any race calendar that doesn't include the biggest race in the world won't be seen as legitimate.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Richmond Racer wrote:iainf72 wrote:Richmond Racer wrote:Friebe's just tweeted that the Giro dell'Appennino the latest Italian race to fold...
At this rate, we're going to need the breakaway league and its new races to add to the ASO / RCS etcs, for a viable race calendar....
It's only moved, not folded.
Ah, just seen Friebe's next tweet correcting himself. Good - thats a race with so much history
Concern about European races in general still valid. Disappearing at worst, stage races shrinking, hanging on by skin of their teeth from year to year. Not good.
If a breakaway race series were to come about they'd be wise to buy up the rights to races that have folded / are in danger of folding. The benefit for fans would be the preservation of races that might otherwise disappear and the new series would benefit from buying itself some ready made credibility.
I know many on here don't have a lot of time for snooker (due to it's effect on the Eurosport schedule as much as the fact that, for some, it's as interesting as paint drying i suspect), but some may be aware of the made for tv "Power Snooker" format that came into being recently. It's basically got no credibility, the players are contractually obliged to play, but not to give a **** about the result and consequently, it's more or less unwatchable compared to the traditional ranking events on the beeb.
I suspect a lot of the sins of "modernising" the sport would be more readily forgiven if any new investor(s) were seen to be putting some of the money into preserving the past.0 -
greasedscotsman wrote:dab_32 wrote:Currently the majority of the money goes to the races (ASO etc.) This seems really unfair to me as without the riders there would be no event so if they are performing they should get a larger share of the TV revenue.
Who says a larger share will go to the riders? Won't it just go to the team owners?
As I see it, this is just posturing from the teams as Danlikesbikes says.
It wouldn't definitely happen but a more professional sport would likely bring a riders union as stated in my post. This would give the riders collective bargaining power to better protect their interests and hence get a larger cut of the money. Proper representation for the athletes is important for any sport when money starts to come in.
It would likely bring much more structure to the sport though which could go against the tradition. With riders obliged to ride certain events as opposed to picking what they enter. It will probably cause different races to move or disappear, especially with races like Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico clashing next week.
I don't know whether it would be good or bad but it would probably mean better TV coverage and not having to record the next two programmes after any live race which selfishly I'd be happy with.0 -
As long as someone can promise me we won't be watching races with ad breaks every 3 minutes, silly woosh noises with every slow-mo replay and graphics that would make Brass Eye weep...
Observe a bunch of (mainly) blokes watching football on the pub screen: it's the televisual equivalent of dangling shiny keys in front of toddlers (on beer); with any voices commenting on it having lost some of it's soul being drowned out by the blaring volume...
Hopefully, the "shifting landscape" nature of road racing will always defy those seeking to control it.
I can see it now, though: a pot-bellied/rosy-cheeked, Lord Wiggins of Kilburn (clutching a vintage single malt (2012) and Diet-Coke in his Paul Smith romper suit) - lamenting how the new generation of cyclists have all gone soft and are too worried about their "image rights" to race hard any more - and how pathetic it is they've banned races being held on any road that has had - or is forecast to have - rain on it. The "road minerals in solution" are potentially damaging to eyes, apparently...0 -
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