Hammer Series

pottssteve
pottssteve Posts: 4,069
edited October 2019 in Pro race
FYI,

The Hong Kong leg of the Velon Hammer Series in Hong Kong has been cancelled due to the ongoing protests. This is a shame but entirely understandable. This means that Jumbo-Visma win this year's event.

The organisers say they hope to be back in HK in 2020 - hopefully not under the watchful gaze of the CCP as they impose martial law....

Steve
Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
«1

Comments

  • Embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten that series was still going.
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,579
    Embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten that series was still going.

    Don't be embarrassed - I think most people couldn't give a hoot about it.
    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    CarbonClem wrote:
    Embarrassed to admit I'd forgotten that series was still going.

    Don't be embarrassed - I think most people couldn't give a hoot about it.

    Since moving to HK it's basically the only local, live pro race I can watch....serves me right for leaving the Netherlands, I suppose. :(
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    Be fair to us Steve...we do send over all our top European riders to your 'manor' at the end of each season, when they are in peak condition, so they can dress up in fancy clothing as a respectful gesture towards local heritage and put on some entertaining and always unpredictable racing.
    Half man, Half bike
  • ademort
    ademort Posts: 1,924
    FWIW Jumbo Visma were declared the winners.
    ademort
    Chinarello, record and Mavic Cosmic Sl
    Gazelle Vuelta , veloce
    Giant Defy 4
    Mirage Columbus SL
    Batavus Ventura
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Ridgerider wrote:
    Be fair to us Steve...we do send over all our top European riders to your 'manor' at the end of each season, when they are in peak condition, so they can dress up in fancy clothing as a respectful gesture towards local heritage and put on some entertaining and always unpredictable racing.


    Hi J, I hope that all is well. I think you may be confusing HK with the Saitama Criterium:

    saitama2017-20171103SAI8026.jpg

    Unfortunately, at the moment, this would be more appropriate for HK:

    gettyimages-1153080450-0895252bc0fb6155f3a952a7e654665e8055b03f-s1400-c85.jpg

    :(
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    pottssteve wrote:
    Ridgerider wrote:
    Be fair to us Steve...we do send over all our top European riders to your 'manor' at the end of each season, when they are in peak condition, so they can dress up in fancy clothing as a respectful gesture towards local heritage and put on some entertaining and always unpredictable racing.


    Hi J, I hope that all is well. I think you may be confusing HK with the Saitama Criterium:
    What are you talking about? Hong Kong to Saitama is a mere 1700 miles. That's just 200 miles less than London to Moscow. You could walk it.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    RichN95 wrote:
    pottssteve wrote:
    Ridgerider wrote:
    Be fair to us Steve...we do send over all our top European riders to your 'manor' at the end of each season, when they are in peak condition, so they can dress up in fancy clothing as a respectful gesture towards local heritage and put on some entertaining and always unpredictable racing.


    Hi J, I hope that all is well. I think you may be confusing HK with the Saitama Criterium:
    What are you talking about? Hong Kong to Saitama is a mere 1700 miles. That's just 200 miles less than London to Moscow. You could walk it.

    You realise that Japan is surrounded by sea? Mind you, you wouldn't be the first to suggest that I can walk on water... :)
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    pottssteve wrote:

    gettyimages-1153080450-0895252bc0fb6155f3a952a7e654665e8055b03f-s1400-c85.jpg

    So MTBers rather than roadies...and a bit like the UK will be in a few weeks.
    Half man, Half bike
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    They do look like a bunch of MTBers. :)

    It would seem that everywhere is screwed. The HK "government" has just resurrected a law banning the use of face masks at public assemblies. Rather than engage with people in meaningful dialogue it's another example of exactly the kind of behaviour that is making people very angry. Meanwhile, if I decide to move back to the UK....Lord only knows. :roll: :(
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    If your name's not on the list, you won't get in (unless you can walk on water like you say...)
    Half man, Half bike
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Ridgerider wrote:
    If your name's not on the list, you won't get in (unless you can walk on water like you say...)


    Looks like my UK passport won't be accepted anywhere else, so it will have to Blighty!
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    was this still covered on Eurosport this year ? Seemed to miss every race this year.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    sherer wrote:
    was this still covered on Eurosport this year ? Seemed to miss every race this year.

    They seemed to be only streaming them online this year - Velon had it live on YouTube.

    What was interesting/embarrassing was the tiny number of people actually watching it.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    Half man, Half bike
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Ridgerider wrote:

    I'll be happy to tell them why they're getting small numbers.

    Because they've got a crap product.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    iainf72 wrote:
    Ridgerider wrote:

    I'll be happy to tell them why they're getting small numbers.

    Because they've got a crap product.

    It is a somewhat confusing format. I watched it live in HK last year and had no real inkling as to what was going on. I found out who had won when I read about it on the way home! The HK leg is run on a small circuit in downtown Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. There are lots of other places it could have been staged to provide more interesting and varied racing but that would have involved closing too many roads, so we are stuck with the downtown circuit. Mind you, I am very familiar with the parcours of the Limburg leg and that's hardly a rivitting couple of days.

    So I agree with Iain - it's currently not the most stimulating competition....still, it's all I had.... :(:(:(:)
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,218
    It raises an interesting conversation around what the valuable product in cycling actually is.

    I think there has always been a sense amongst younger audiences that cycling is too slow for too long and there isn't enough racing for too much of the actual races, and that the value was really in the action, so creating more action in theory created more value for fans.

    I don't think it really is that tbh. I certainly get as much if not more out of reading and learning the more interesting stories from each rider after the race.

    Cycling's big advantage is there are 180 odd athletes all doing the same race, and they all have their own experiences we can't see.

    That's why podcasts seem to work so well in cycling; there's a hundred stories to digest and a decent journalist can pick the interesting ones out.

    But you're not gonna get those varied and interesting stories over just two hours of racing.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784

    I think there has always been a sense amongst younger audiences that cycling is too slow for too long and there isn't enough racing for too much of the actual races, and that the value was really in the action, so creating more action in theory created more value for fans.

    And this is fueled by the over-saturation of coverage. You broadcast hours and hours of nothing happening and it's not good for the sport.

    You're right - It works really well for reading about. I think cycling and mountaineering are similar in this regard.

    Thinking you're going to improve cycling by creating a series of pro-team kermesses where a team wins based on a complex points system baffles me. And don't get me started on on-bike footage.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,218
    iainf72 wrote:

    I think there has always been a sense amongst younger audiences that cycling is too slow for too long and there isn't enough racing for too much of the actual races, and that the value was really in the action, so creating more action in theory created more value for fans.

    And this is fueled by the over-saturation of coverage. You broadcast hours and hours of nothing happening and it's not good for the sport.

    You're right - It works really well for reading about. I think cycling and mountaineering are similar in this regard.

    Thinking you're going to improve cycling by creating a series of pro-team kermesses where a team wins based on a complex points system baffles me. And don't get me started on on-bike footage.

    I gotta say I love having it on in the background while nothing happens. Honestly, I am 20% better in my mental health with a bike race on in the background.
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    I agree that any bike racing is better than no bike racing - just if you check in every now and then.

    The Hammer Series is just too complex in terms of scoring so makes it hard to get involved. A series of short, simple point to point races would be better, I think. For example, a 75-100km ride in the morning and then a 50km ride in the afternoon? Would that work? I think while riding laps makes the logistics of road closures etc easier it really over-complicates it.
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,312
    That's why podcasts seem to work so well in cycling; there's a hundred stories to digest and a decent journalist can pick the interesting ones.
    Don't most cycling podcasts just state what happened while omitting why it happened to waffle about what's for lunch?

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,218
    M.R.M. wrote:
    That's why podcasts seem to work so well in cycling; there's a hundred stories to digest and a decent journalist can pick the interesting ones.
    Don't most cycling podcasts just state what happened while omitting why it happened to waffle about what's for lunch?

    .

    Not the ones I listen to.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    M.R.M. wrote:

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.

    Revenue split is not an answer though, as Inrng points out

    https://inrng.com/2019/01/revenue-sharing-revisited/
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,218
    iainf72 wrote:
    M.R.M. wrote:

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.

    Revenue split is not an answer though, as Inrng points out

    https://inrng.com/2019/01/revenue-sharing-revisited/

    Answer to what question?
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    iainf72 wrote:
    M.R.M. wrote:

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.

    Revenue split is not an answer though, as Inrng points out

    https://inrng.com/2019/01/revenue-sharing-revisited/

    Answer to what question?

    Changing the model of cycling / making teams more sustainable.

    I'm not convinced the model needs to change. What needs to happen is it needs to get a bit more professional and not send someone in a tracksuit who raced bikes in the 80s to try and secure €25m in funding.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,218
    iainf72 wrote:
    iainf72 wrote:
    M.R.M. wrote:

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.

    Revenue split is not an answer though, as Inrng points out

    https://inrng.com/2019/01/revenue-sharing-revisited/

    Answer to what question?

    Changing the model of cycling / making teams more sustainable.

    I'm not convinced the model needs to change. What needs to happen is it needs to get a bit more professional and not send someone in a tracksuit who raced bikes in the 80s to try and secure €25m in funding.

    Team longevity is overrated.
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    Right, just to muddy the water...

    Post Tour Crits

    Discuss their popularity! Mini Hammers?
    Half man, Half bike
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Ridgerider wrote:
    Right, just to muddy the water...

    Post Tour Crits

    Discuss their popularity! Mini Hammers?

    Popular because you can see the big names up close, riding around your local town centre. Nobody over the age of 12 cares who wins as it's usually been decided beforehand. I went to the RaboRonde Heerlen a couple of times - great fun, but not a race.
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,312
    iainf72 wrote:
    M.R.M. wrote:

    Teams need a revenue split and must be more independent from sponsorship funding. A system must be established to build teams up as brands that don't go under/rebranded all the time. That builds fan loyalty and long term engagement which is good for everyone.

    Revenue split is not an answer though, as Inrng points out

    https://inrng.com/2019/01/revenue-sharing-revisited/
    Thanks. Will read it later!
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023