No RadioShack at the Giro?

micron
micron Posts: 1,843
edited January 2010 in Pro race
http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/no ... p?id=21996

Because they're sending such a strong team to that very important race the Tour of California they may not bother with the Giro. Would have thought they could send Steegmans for stage wins or Kloeden for GC?

Comments

  • Its just too dangerous?? As Lance found out last year.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    No appearance money? But RS has no shops in Italy therefore they have little interest in racing for three weeks there, especially since US TV is not going to cover it.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Kléber wrote:
    No appearance money? But RS has no shops in Italy therefore they have little interest in racing for three weeks there, especially since US TV is not going to cover it.

    Makes sense to me.
  • Kléber wrote:
    No appearance money? But RS has no shops in Italy therefore they have little interest in racing for three weeks there, especially since US TV is not going to cover it.

    Me too.
    Maybe Lance has hinted at this with his "flexible programme". Flexible, as in highest bidder with a suitable race?

    I see that Basso has moved up his programme to start at the end of February, before Catalunya, due to his impressive, winter numbers.

    Seems like cyclists are just like wine. They improve with age, especially in the bottle!
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    There are 3 Grand Tours - ASO owns two of them.
    ASO formed an alliance with AEG, promoters of the ToC, back in 2008 to help promote both the TdF and ToC.
    ToC moves dates to clash with the one event that ASO don't own.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    BBox do the same don't they?
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    BBox rode the Giro. But Cofidis and FDJ have sat out the race.
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    Fair enough.

    It's a shame though.

    They have an awful lot of quality GC riders, even if they're a bit past their best by date...
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Kléber wrote:
    No appearance money? But RS has no shops in Italy therefore they have little interest in racing for three weeks there, especially since US TV is not going to cover it.

    Says a lot about the UCI's mondialisation of the sport when one of the globally most well-known sponsors can't be bothered to attend the world's second biggest race because they have no product to push in Italy.

    I wonder how many extra lotto tickets FDJ sold in Australia?
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    afx237vi wrote:
    I wonder how many extra lotto tickets FDJ sold in Australia?
    None, but they get an expenses-paid training camp in the sunshine. Teams are not paid to ride the Giro.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Kléber wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    I wonder how many extra lotto tickets FDJ sold in Australia?
    None, but they get an expenses-paid training camp in the sunshine. Teams are not paid to ride the Giro.

    Don't some of the French teams consider the TdU punishment?
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    I'd heard it was a nice holiday in the sun for them, a bit like the Bongo Tour in Gabon, only the road surfaces are worse.
  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    Kléber wrote:
    I'd heard it was a nice holiday in the sun for them, a bit like the Bongo Tour in Gabon, only the road surfaces are worse.

    :D

    Think I'd still rather the Bongo tho'
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • iainf72 wrote:
    Kléber wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    I wonder how many extra lotto tickets FDJ sold in Australia?
    None, but they get an expenses-paid training camp in the sunshine. Teams are not paid to ride the Giro.

    Don't some of the French teams consider the TdU punishment?

    That's typical of the French. A couple of hundred years behind the British. :P
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    When it comes to sponsorship cycling has a long way to go. I'm sure that the UCI is dreaming of a day when their globalisation leads to all teams being sponsored by truly global brands. They need it to get away from being a central European sport to do that. Even if that does ever happen, some races still won't appeal. For example, does riding in the Tour of Poland actually achieve anything for most sponsors?

    I'd love to actually see a website or magazine interview someone in the sport about the needs of sponsors. We always hear about rider targets, but surely there must be words coming down from above regarding key areas and hence key races? Finding out how that intertwines with the workings of the team would potentially be quite interesting.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    The sport isn't globalised. It's dominated by the Tour de France which leads to a two tier sport. We are seeing some brands attracted by the high profile offered by this race but many others are small teams, for example the French squads. Even the biggest team in Belgian sells laminate flooring.

    Where are the Vodaphones, Coca-Colas, Citibanks, Nestlés and Fords? Well the answer is they are miles away from cycling as the sport is still hit by scandal and they can't afford that. Even the top name by far Lance Armstrong could "only" get support from a company that's the same size as Dixons/Curries in the UK, RadioShack is, by American standards, a tiddler.

    One thing to note is that cycling's main demographic is... OAPs. All those races on TV during the midweek afternoons mean the average viewer is a retired man or a housewife. This is way less attractive than football or golf which appeal to young males... but even golf is not without scandal these days.
  • squired wrote:
    When it comes to sponsorship cycling has a long way to go. I'm sure that the UCI is dreaming of a day when their globalisation leads to all teams being sponsored by truly global brands. They need it to get away from being a central European sport to do that. Even if that does ever happen, some races still won't appeal. For example, does riding in the Tour of Poland actually achieve anything for most sponsors?

    I'd love to actually see a website or magazine interview someone in the sport about the needs of sponsors. We always hear about rider targets, but surely there must be words coming down from above regarding key areas and hence key races? Finding out how that intertwines with the workings of the team would potentially be quite interesting.

    I quite like it this way, where you have three GTs that the big teams meet up for, then the majority of short stage races are a mix of PT teams and smaller Pro-Conti teams from that country. The riders on teh smaller teams want to make a name and are often much more aggressive.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    The best stage race just gets better - I can now look forward to three weeks of quality riding on a challenging course with a quality discussion about the racing and complete absence of sycophantic ravings from deluded FBs.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Tusher
    Tusher Posts: 2,762
    Kléber wrote:
    One thing to note is that cycling's main demographic is... OAPs. All those races on TV during the midweek afternoons mean the average viewer is a retired man or a housewife. This is way less attractive than football or golf which appeal to young males... but even golf is not without scandal these days.

    Well, it makes a change from Countdown.

    But don't middle aged housewives and OAPs BUY things.........the power of the Grey Pound or something.
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    Monty Dog wrote:
    The best stage race just gets better - I can now look forward to three weeks of quality riding on a challenging course with a quality discussion about the racing and complete absence of sycophantic ravings from deluded FBs.

    You know you keep mentioning sychophantic ravings and fanboys and stuff but really i dont see much of that at all in here. What i do see is an obsession with Lance by the likes of yourself and others who use this fanboy thing to try and hide behind that. Anyway you are getting your way this year, last year this forum was full of posters complaining about LA riding the Giro know he is noit going to the same ones are not happy.....................the ALB eh what are they like !
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • Nobody wanted the old whinger, then, nobody expects him to return, now.
    However, Radio Shack could have sent a young team to support Kloeden
    in a bid to capture a podium spot, that Contador stole from him, at the Tour. :roll:

    Somehow, I don't think we will be hearing the name Kloeden and podium, in the same Bruyneel sentence, this year.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • shakey88
    shakey88 Posts: 289
    Good.
    No Armstrong,no bitching and moaning
    Simples
  • Gordo's World of Zoom http://zoom-gordo.blogspot.com/
    Those that can, do. Those that can't write about it.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Moray Gub wrote:
    Monty Dog wrote:
    The best stage race just gets better - I can now look forward to three weeks of quality riding on a challenging course with a quality discussion about the racing and complete absence of sycophantic ravings from deluded FBs.

    You know you keep mentioning sychophantic ravings and fanboys and stuff but really i dont see much of that at all in here. What i do see is an obsession with Lance by the likes of yourself and others who use this fanboy thing to try and hide behind that. Anyway you are getting your way this year, last year this forum was full of posters complaining about LA riding the Giro know he is noit going to the same ones are not happy.....................the ALB eh what are they like !

    Well, you've just confirmed the theory!
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • rockmount
    rockmount Posts: 761
    Monty Dog wrote:
    Moray Gub wrote:
    Monty Dog wrote:
    The best stage race just gets better - I can now look forward to three weeks of quality riding on a challenging course with a quality discussion about the racing and complete absence of sycophantic ravings from deluded FBs.

    You know you keep mentioning sychophantic ravings and fanboys and stuff but really i dont see much of that at all in here. What i do see is an obsession with Lance by the likes of yourself and others who use this fanboy thing to try and hide behind that. Anyway you are getting your way this year, last year this forum was full of posters complaining about LA riding the Giro know he is noit going to the same ones are not happy.....................the ALB eh what are they like !

    Well, you've just confirmed the theory!
    And to the winner of the Giro .... a hollow meaningless victory against 2nd rate opposition ... hahahahahahahahahahahaha !!!!!
    .. who said that, internet forum people ?
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    Monty Dog wrote:
    Moray Gub wrote:
    Monty Dog wrote:
    The best stage race just gets better - I can now look forward to three weeks of quality riding on a challenging course with a quality discussion about the racing and complete absence of sycophantic ravings from deluded FBs.

    You know you keep mentioning sychophantic ravings and fanboys and stuff but really i dont see much of that at all in here. What i do see is an obsession with Lance by the likes of yourself and others who use this fanboy thing to try and hide behind that. Anyway you are getting your way this year, last year this forum was full of posters complaining about LA riding the Giro know he is noit going to the same ones are not happy.....................the ALB eh what are they like !

    Well, you've just confirmed the theory!

    The theory being that the sychophantic rantings tend to be from the people who accuse others of it..............like yourself actually. Thats what tends to happen with unhealthy. obsessions.
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • rockmount wrote:
    And to the winner of the Giro .... a hollow meaningless victory against 2nd rate opposition ... hahahahahahahahahahahaha !!!!!
    Moray Gub wrote:

    The theory being that the sychophantic rantings tend to be from the people who accuse others of it..............like yourself actually. Thats what tends to happen with unhealthy. obsessions.

    :P :wink:
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    Can't come as a surprise that an Amercian team, with an American team leader and largely Amercian sponsors are focussing their efforts on America's biggest cycle race.

    Sure, they could send a team to the Giro, but their sponsors will want all their big guns on show in California.
  • Wheelspinner
    Wheelspinner Posts: 6,551
    zoom gordo wrote:

    Pure Gold. Priceless!
    :lol::lol::lol:
    Open One+ BMC TE29 Seven 622SL On One Scandal Cervelo RS