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Letters to Cyclingnews - March 9, 2007
Here's your chance to get more involved with Cyclingnews. Comments and criticism on current stories, races, coverage and anything cycling related are welcomed, even pictures if you wish. Letters should be brief (less than 300 words), with the sender clearly identified. They may be edited for space and clarity; please stick to one topic per letter. We will normally include your name and place of residence, but not your email address unless you specify in the message.
Please email your correspondence to letters@cyclingnews.com.
ASO - UCI split
UCI has no power
UCI vs. ASO
UCI vs. the world
ProTour and contracts
The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?
Unibet and French law
Unibet situation
Pete Bassinger's Iditarod Trail record ride
Bates' article on Jan Ullrich
Ullrich's retirement
Tour of California expenses
Discovery's profile in Europe
Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship
Floyd's big ride
ASO - UCI split
Like many, I have been following the situation that has developed between the UCI and ASO and others with increasing astonishment. I cannot see how the aims of the ASO is of any benefit to the sport of cycling and can only result in serious investment in the sport falling away.
Sponsors invest in cycling in order to show their brand in front of a large audience. The higher the expected audience, the greater the investment. The ProTour, for all its faults, presents the sponsors with a predictable audience and this attracts sponsors to the sport.
The ASO, RCS etc. want to break this model and impose one where they control the teams that participate in their races. Sponsors have a wide variety of sporting propositions and cannot be expected to invest in a sport where they cannot predict audience and return on investment.
The timing of the spat suggests that the ASO is cynically writing off some of the smaller but important races early in the season, gambling that they will force the UCI to accede to their demands before the major Classics and Grand Tours, thereby ensuring that companies holding TV rights, and the paying sponsors of their major events will not suffer reduced return on investment through reduced audience share.
As an individual, there is not much that I can do to resolve this issue, but I will not be watching or reading about races held by the ASO, RCS etc. until the situation is resolved properly. The Tours of California and Georgia show that it's possible to put on a great race without all the baggage associated with parochial organisations.
If the management of both sides cannot find a way forward, they should consider the best interest of the sport and resign their positions in favour of those who can.
Jerry
London
Thursday, March 1, 2007
UCI has no power
The problem originally started when Verbruggen looked enviously at Bernie Ecclestone's bank balance and made unilateral decisions without consulting the organisers and teams. Just like the recent announcement of 20 teams instead of 18.
The UCI and the national associations have no money; they simply perform administrative functions that have value. The teams, their sponsors and the race organisers make this sport happen with their money.
If there is going to be a UCI then it is these people that should decide who the president is, what’s on the calendar, etc. not a bunch of manipulated and self-interested country delegates.
John Bridger
Sussex, UK
Monday, March 5, 2007
UCI vs. ASO
The UCI is basing their attack on the ASO and Paris-Nice on their regulation which prohibits ProTour teams from participating in national events. But that same section of the regulations limits ProTour teams to no more than 50% of the teams in other non-ProTour events, such as Het Volk.
By my count 15 of the 25 teams lining up for Het Volk are in the ProTour, which is significantly more than 50%. It appears that the UCI is only interested in enforcing its regulations when it serves its own purposes.
D. Hellerman
Montreal, Canada
Friday, March 02, 2007
UCI vs. the world
Both party's are acting quite unprofessionally but in the end all we want to know is: Who will win? I would think it has to be the organisers.
Riders don't grow up wanting to race...they grow up wanting to race the Tour, Paris-Nice, specific events. The tifosi don't want to watch a cycling race, they want to watch the Giro, Tirreno-Adriatico, and all the other great contests.
We follow pro cycling not just for this years racing, but for the sense of history, the aura and mystique that surrounds the years past. The UCI doesn't seem to realise that the events in question are bigger than the organisers, bigger than the UCI and bigger than the sport itself. If they continue to take the hard line with ASO etc they may not have a sport to expand.
Nathan Edwardson
Canberra, Australia
Monday, March 5, 2007
ProTour and contracts
Although I don't support the idea of Unibet.com being used a pawn in this ridiculous power struggle, another thought occurs to me: Shouldn't the potential backers of the team have seen this coming? You'd think that someone at Unibet, at some point, might have considered the following:
a) Online gambling ads aren't allowed in France
b) Many ProTour races go through France, including the most famous bike race
in the world
c) Oh, maybe there might be a problem with this whole scheme.
Rob Found argues that the UCI shouldn't have approved the ProTour license in the first place, but surely it's up to the team and its sponsors to take care of 'due diligence'? At the very least one thinks they might have checked with the French government in advance if they wanted an exception.
If the legality of the Unibet.com team in certain jurisdictions wasn't an issue, then it would be easier to criticize the UCI and Grand Tour organizers for their (then unjustifiable) handling of the team's situation.
Jamie Drake
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?
In the February 19 letters, Jean-Christophe Boulay opinioned that Unibet doesn't belong in the ProTour.
Well, today, we saw two Unibet riders in the top 10 of the Het Volk (in addition to the team being quite active throughout the race). A whopping five French teams managed to get just one rider (a Belgian) in the top 10.
Maybe that is why the ASO isn't keen on this team.
Steve Bonisteel
Ontario, Canada
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Unibet and French law
There is an easy solution to the legal question for Unibet. Make up a new team kit with the words "Warning! Illegal in France" printed in French and "Warning! Illegal in Belgium" printed in Flemish in big red letters.
Thus the team sponsors rather than advertising online gambling will simply be doing their civil duty of informing the public on French and Belgian law (and of course no one from those countries would dream of breaking the law).
Jon Heald
Freehold, NJ, USA
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Unibet situation
Wow - hasn't Unibet got itself into quite the mess! I can understand why they're miffed with the Grand Tour organizers - their Pro Tour license wasn't cheap. But why, now that they have a Pro Tour license, are they suddenly prohibited from wearing their jerseys in races on French soil, when they didn't seem to have any problems doing so last year?
I'm not so sure they're such an innocent pawn in the tug of war between the UCI and the tour organizers, either. You'd think that with so much money on the line, they'd do their due diligence and examine all the risks related to pro cycling - such as archaic, monopolistic nationalized lotteries not liking the presence of a foreign upstart nosing into their sacred ground.
I don't know that there's anything Unibet can do to salvage their situation for 2007. Sure, they can sue the UCI and the tour organizers, but that's like throwing good money after bad…but hey, they are an online gambling company - maybe they like their odds.
I think they should just stick with the ‘?’ jerseys and suck up the extra press - as you pointed out last week, it's earned them at least as much free coverage as their wins.
Jason Jarvis
Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Pete Bassinger's Iditarod Trail record ride
Thanks for covering this race…at least the results; it is the most extreme race out there. You know it when your bike starts creaking at -30 degrees Celsius from all the different materials condensing at different rates!
From doing it myself a few times it is epic. And Peter should have all the props for his skill both as a racer and back-country recon. Going down a new path getting off course/trail at that point in the race is not a decision you want to be forced into making! You've probably been up straight for 48+ hours and seeing things in broad daylight.
Not only did he set the new record, but it was another 30+ miles of untraveled terrain. Pete way to go man!
Elliot McAllister
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Bates' article on Jan Ullrich
I enjoyed reading the reflection of Jan Ullrich’s early career in the piece that was written by Phill Bates in the March 8 latest news: Young Ullrich Remembered. This article showed a side of Jan that cycling fans do not often consider. Jan is a great champion that brought more to the sport of cycling than he took from it.
I, for one, am a fan that has appreciated his career and I will miss seeing him compete over the next few seasons. Additionally, I prefer to remember Jan in the light that Bates has shed upon him as opposed to how the authorities of the cycling world have attempted, unconvincingly, to portray him.
Ken Pinder
Liberty Township, Ohio, USA
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Ullrich's retirement
He may not have the record of a Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France, but to me, Jan Ullrich, was the greatest cyclist of his era. Seeing him ride a time trial at full speed was like poetry in motion. No one will ever look as close to the ‘ideal bike rider’ as he did. Jan, we will miss you! Good luck to you and your family
Louis Fourie
Pretoria, South Africa
Monday, March 5, 2007
Tour of California expenses
ProTour teams don’t pay for anything at the Tour of California, only the airfare. The ToC "sponsors" ProTour teams, but local US teams have to pay approximately $15,000 fee. So ProTour teams will come again and again for "free racing".
Alexei Pavlov
San Pedro CA, USA
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Discovery's profile in Europe
So how do you figure out the Discovery Channel's public profile in Europe? Discovery Channel broadcasts to most European countries where cycling is a premier TV sport and we don't care much for Armstrong any more either, but we do care about cycling.
It seems very short sighted and American centric that Discovery Channel pulls out of cycling sponsorship just because the US public doesn't watch cycling now Lance has retired, while Europe watches cycling on TV as much as the US watches the Super Bowl.
The viewing figures will probably show that more people in Europe watch cycling on TV without Armstrong than US citizens watched cycling with Armstrong.
Robert Wade
Monday, March 5, 2007
Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship
While we can say that the lack of Lance riding or the recent doping scandals contributed to Discovery pulling the sponsor money after this season, the real blame goes to Discovery.
They had every opportunity to put cycling into the public eye through the use of their television networks. Instead the majority of the Discovery cycling coverage the first year ended up on cable stations that not everyone has access to (Chasing Lance on FitTv) and then the second year they switched to web only content. Furthermore, you either couldn’t buy the programs they produced until recently or they were originally available for a limited time.
Discovery really dropped the ball when it came time to promote the team. The Tour of California has shown that there is an interest in this country in professional cycling. Furthermore NBC is set to broadcast the U.S. Championship Open. Discovery should have looked to how NASCAR promotes itself, because after all if folks will sit around for hours and watch cars race around in a circle, why not watch cyclists on the open roads?
Christopher Wright
Portsmouth, USA
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Floyd's big ride
I'm getting tired of people talking about Floyd having had these results in training before as if you can compare a day's training with the third day in a row in the high Alps towards the end of a three week stage race. Who's kidding who? The point is pointless and a "red herring."
Finally, one point no-one is willing to make is that Floyd is the only solo mountain breakaway in recent if not other than maybe Merckx or Coppi to gain time on the final climb. Sastre had made up around a minute, Cunego and/or Moreau maybe seconds. Rasmussen, albeit not as strong a TT rider as Floyd, but certainly in the same general class as a mountain climber, lost minutes.
Nicholas A. Chivily
Monday, March 5, 2007
Recent letters pages
Letters 2007
- March 2: Ullrich's retirement, Altitude tents and EPO, Home-made altitude tents, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, The agony of Unibet?, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Upside down Disco solved, Tour of California mistake, Graeme Brown, Hats off to Dick Pound?, Grand Tours, who really cares?, ProTour and contracts, ProTour vs wildcards, RCS' decision, UCI vs. the world, Floyd's big ride, Asthma everywhere
- February 23: Altitude tents and EPO, Tour of California mistake, Chavanel's training regime, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, Grand Tours, who really cares?, The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?, A solution to the Unibet situation, UCI and the ASO, UCI vs. the world, Will the fight never end?, Paris Nice and others, Pro Tour and contracts, RCS decision, Hats off to Dick Pound, Armstrong owes Dick Pound nothing, Graeme Brown, Asthma everywhere, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 16: T-Mobile, Adam Hanson and doping, Unibet's new jersey, Double standards for Unibet?, RCS decision, A letter to ASO, Hamilton and Tinkov, Discovery Channel, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the cross worlds, Best moment?, Crowd control at the cross worlds, Doping reconciliation, Get into 'cross racing, Pound still wants answers from Armstrong, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 9: Unibet show they won't be put down, Double standards for Unibet?, Unibet's new jersey, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the Cross Worlds, Crowd control at the Cross Worlds, Jonathan Page's mechanic beaten, Cheers to Bradley Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins' comments, Jaksche lashes out, Get into 'cross racing, Le Tour was created to sell newspapers, The stakes are too high, Doping reconciliation, Best moment of 2006?, Ivan Basso interview, Ullrich's DNA sample, Ullrich to Relax-GAM?, Ullrich partners with sports-clothing company, Still love to ride, My perfect state of mountain biking, A terrible model for cycling
- February 2: The sanctimonious need to be taken out back, Confidentiality of test results, Oscar Pereiro cleared, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Riders' nicknames, Doping reconciliation, Help for Floyd Landis, Museeuw's insults, Sven Nys, The Floyd Fairness Fund, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- January 26: Drug testing methodologies, Museeuw the PR man, Museeuw's insults, Johan Museeuw and Tyler Hamilton, Sven Nys, Conduct in the pro peloton, McQuaid unhappy with Pereiro, Put doping in the correct context, Moreau wins 2006 TDF, Who wins the 2006 Tour now?, Drapac Porsche's exclusion from the TDU, Bike sponsorship, Compact geometry, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 19: Drapac-Porsche and the TDU, Bettini to win the Ronde?, Frame geomtry, Phil Liggett's recently stated views, Prudhomme's zealotry, 3 cheers for Christian Prudhomme, Deutschland Tour, 3 cheers for Saunier Duval, Dick Pound, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Do the maths, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 12: Dick Pound, Just 'Pound' him, Pound casts doubt on Landis, Pound comments, The Dick and Pat Show, McQuaid starts cultural polemic, Why the Pro Tour model will never work, The Floyd Fairness Fund, Riders' union, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Danny Clark - an inspiration, Allan Peiper, Do the maths, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Justice and America, Lance in Leadville, Tubeless road tires
- January 5: Danny Clark - an inspiration, Legal standards and cycling, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Lance a no show for Leadville, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Do the maths, A fair trial, Tubeless road tires, Manzano's polygraph test, Blind trust in implicated riders, A terrible state of affairs, Armstrong's credibility - the conspiracy theories, Best ride ever
Letters 2006
- December 29: Lance in Leadville, Leadville Trail 100, Manzano's polygraph test, British Cycling and the Tour de France, Tell me, what's the problem?, "Disco" team?, Presumption of innocence, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, American culture, Armstrong's credibility, Back room politics and the IPCT
- December 22: Scott Peoples, Hypocrite?, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, Rumours and innuendo, Bjarne Riis interview, Enough already, Back room politics and the IPCT, Armstrong's credibility, American culture, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 15: A totally predictable situation?, Armstrong's credibility, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Back room politics and the IPCT, Holczer and others, Holczer and the Discovery exclusion, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Can't we all just get along?, DNA safety, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Genevieve Jeanson, Mark McGwire, Operación Puerto bungled...deliberately?, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 8: Genevieve Jeanson, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Deutschland Tour, Bjarne's ignorance factor, USADA does it again, Labs and testing, Astana denied ProTour license, Isaac Gálvez, McQuaid, Question about DNA testing, Le Tour de Langkawi 2007
- December 1: Hamilton, Isaac Gálvez, USADA does it again, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Shorten the Vuelta?, Vuelta short, shorter, shortest, Labs and testing, Ullrich to CSC, Clean up cycling's own house first, Fed up with doping, Strange sponsorships, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, What's going on behind the scenes?, Graeme Obree
- November 24: Graeme Obree, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, Richard Virenque, UCI are the problem, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 17: Saiz and Tinkoff, Countdown to the 2007 Tour, Improving the reliability of testing, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, Forgetting Tom Simpson, Operación Puerto and national federations, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?. Reverse blood doping, Richard Virenque, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 10: Forgetting Tom Simpson, Tour Route, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, What is DNA testing?, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Jan Ullrich, Operación Puerto and national federations, Reverse blood doping, What's going on behind the scenes?, Comments on McQuaid
- November 3: Tour Route, Return of a real good guy, Cameron Jennings, Future Australian ProTour team, Neil Stephens, 2007 Tour Intro Video Snub, Richard Virenque, Reverse blood doping, Comments on McQuaid, Marc Madiot, Who's more damaging?, What's going on behind the scenes?, Wada & Cycling's Governing Body, UCI and Doping, The Pope of Cycling and the Spanish Inquisition, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Put up or shut up!, DNA, its so ‘easy', DNA Testing In Cycling
