Pro Team Finances

andyp
andyp Posts: 10,570
inrng has an interesting article looking at the 2021 accounts for Groupama-FDJ:

https://inrng.com/2023/08/groupama-fdj-finances-2021/

The team budget is around €20 million, with approximately three quarters of that going on wages. The Lapierre bike sponsorship costs them €1.5 million, along with supplying upwards of 150 frames.

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,530
    Am I being a bit thick here (haven’t had a chance to read the article yet)? What is the point in having a ‘sponsor’ if you’re paying out €10k for each bike frame they supply? Isn’t the idea that they give you money (or at least the bikes FOC / at a heavy discount)?
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,447
    Lapierre pay the team 1.5m, not the other way around

    "Helpfully buried in the accounts is the line that Accell, owner of the Lapierre brand, paid €1.5 million for sponsorship"
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,570
    Pross said:

    Am I being a bit thick here (haven’t had a chance to read the article yet)? What is the point in having a ‘sponsor’ if you’re paying out €10k for each bike frame they supply? Isn’t the idea that they give you money (or at least the bikes FOC / at a heavy discount)?

    That was my poor use of English, what I meant was that the bike sponsorship costs Lapierre €1.5 million, not the team. Sorry, I could've made that much clearer.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,530
    Ah, that makes sense should have realised. I was thinking of buying a load of cheap Chinese frames and trying to get a World Tour sponsorship deal.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,530
    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,408
    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    Fairly sure I've seen some on my travels, not so much here.
    You could be right about the continent.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    This is really interesting. Wish all teams had to release their annual figures!

    Would also be interested in seeing (what I assume would be estimates) financial figures from the sponsors showing the return on their investment. Shame this tends not to be published/ made available.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    My mate has them in his shop. Before that one of the climbing walls in Hull started doing Mountainbikes and one of their main brands were Lapierre. They did road bikes, they lent me a bike to try out and it might have been a Lapierre.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,570
    webboo said:

    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    My mate has them in his shop. Before that one of the climbing walls in Hull started doing Mountainbikes and one of their main brands were Lapierre. They did road bikes, they lent me a bike to try out and it might have been a Lapierre.
    It was a memorable bike to ride then.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    andyp said:

    webboo said:

    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    My mate has them in his shop. Before that one of the climbing walls in Hull started doing Mountainbikes and one of their main brands were Lapierre. They did road bikes, they lent me a bike to try out and it might have been a Lapierre.
    It was a memorable bike to ride then.
    What I remember is it had SRAM gears and I kept trying to change gear as I would with Shimano and never really happy with them. Also it was about 12 years ago.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,708
    They were the darling/go-to trail bike some time ago...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,107
    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    Yes a friend has had a few but he is French.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,440
    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    They are more common in MTB I think, as ddraver says they were "the" bike at one point.

    Snapierre...
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,615
    webboo said:

    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    My mate has them in his shop. Before that one of the climbing walls in Hull started doing Mountainbikes and one of their main brands were Lapierre. They did road bikes, they lent me a bike to try out and it might have been a Lapierre.
    We Love Mountains at Rock City
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249
    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    I've had a carbon one for 12 years, bought whilst living in France. It has been fabulous. I still ride it now but it has recently developed an irritatingly undiagnosable creak so will be replacing it soon.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,259
    I saw recently that Jumbo's budget is around 60m euros
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • roscoe
    roscoe Posts: 532
    RichN95. said:

    I saw recently that Jumbo's budget is around 60m euros

    That’ll probably double if the Saudi’s decide to sponsor them.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    gsk82 said:

    webboo said:

    Pross said:

    Out of interest, has anyone ever seen a Lapierre bike in the flesh? I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding one so it doesn't seem like money well spent but I guess they could be popular on the continent.

    My mate has them in his shop. Before that one of the climbing walls in Hull started doing Mountainbikes and one of their main brands were Lapierre. They did road bikes, they lent me a bike to try out and it might have been a Lapierre.
    We Love Mountains at Rock City
    Yes.