If you were a DS

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Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
None of them. Wouldn't go near them with a barge pole.

If you want to create a team that is credible with sponsors over the long term, then you will have to look elsewhere. If sponsors wouldn't have anything to do with them collectively at Disco, why would they want to be involved with the same riders individually? Too risky.

But there is good news today in cycling. It look likes the German authorities are going to run the World Championships in Stuttgart by complying with full WADA standards. Finally someone's got the balls to do the drug controls properly even if they have had to tell one of their own (Zabel) he's not welcome.

They are even going to impose the basic testing requirement after the race of chaperoning the chosen riders at all times between the finish and the testing area. At last cycling is going to impose the same sort of standards you would find at a club orienteering event in the UK, and which for many years has been required practice.

All this and Contador 'choosing' not to ride the Vuelta, perhaps we are making progress.
 
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Keith Oates

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
Now who was talking about Paranoia the other day?

However as far as I know there are no question marks over any of the riders, with the exception of Contador!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Keith Oates

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
I agree with the choice of Popo, he was as much to do with the win in the TdF as the actual winners with the supporting work he put in. He may not be a GT winner in the future, as he seems to lack a bit in the big hills, but I think he'll come good in the one day races early in the season if he makes his training schedule to suit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tetedelacourse

New Member
Location
Rosyth
chris42 said:
i'd take contador with conditions
Popo definatly

Conditions being he exonnerates himself in press conferences regularly?;)

I'd steer clear of the lot of them too, but if I HAD to take one, it would be Lance:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 

monnet

Guru
I'd steer well clear
 

Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
However as far as I know there are no question marks over any of the riders

Running a successful team is about selling advertising space. The only event that penetrate an audience outside the world of true cycling fans (which is limited either geographically or numerically) is the Tour de France. This is the event that reaches markets completely untouched by the Vuelta, Worlds, Paris Nice, etc, etc... Therefore it's the key component of any sponsorship pitch for a top team.

So being the winners of this event would seem to be the greatest marketing advantage. But (at the moment) this is clearly not so. Otherwise the most successful team at the TdF in recent years (Tailwind / Postal / Disco) would be inundated with offers.

So there is obviously something blocking the 'attractiveness' of this outfit, despite having just won the last event. It's patently obvious that saying 'there are no questions marks hanging over any of them (except their team leader)' is not enough. Because we're at a time when the whole of cycling has an enormous question mark hanging over everyone and everything.

And in the minds of many, including the board members of the firms considering their marketing strategy, is this riddle: If we now except that so many of the top riders have been doping, how come one guy (and his team) were able to blow them all away seven years on the trot and again this year? Cycling's hard core fans can debate this until the cows come home, but I think we have passed the tipping point where for a lot of people, they sadly now accept that 'being the most tested athlete in the world' doesn't equate to being drug free.

So Ex Tailwind riders out in the marketing world would appear to be spoilt goods. It will take a new approach and some radical ideas to get companies back on board. If I was a team owner / DS, I would face up to this reality and put together a team in which everyone could have 100 percent confidence. Where they would come from is another issue, but importing someone from Disco, the team that showed the world its true colours when they hired Basso, wouldn't be part of my new radical plan.

So it's not paranoia, just realistic in trying to get sponsors to give cycling a last chance (again).
 

Tetedelacourse

New Member
Location
Rosyth
Tim I reckon that's pretty much the jist of the discussions that took place within T-Mobile recently. I would like to know more about how "they've found a way to remain in the sport".

You could search Kazakhstan for new riders. There's a lot of high performance stuff coming from there.
 

fuzzy29

New Member
Location
Somerset
It's not just the signing of Basso and having the 'most tested rider in the world', don't forget they also had Landis, Hamilton and Heras. Strange how these three domestiques went on to become team leaders and then test positive.
 
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Keith Oates

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
Tim, I agree with you that the TdF is the big one that all sponsers would like to be represented in showing their company etc. However I think that one of the biggest things, or maybe the last straw, for Tailwind, was the very heavy suggestion that the TdF would revert back to national teams and not trade teams. If that happens then the advertising would be some what less affective!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
However I think that one of the biggest things, or maybe the last straw, for Tailwind, was the very heavy suggestion that the TdF would revert back to national teams and not trade teams.

Smoke and Mirrors. There was never any serious suggestion about national teams. No one took it seriously as the biggest problem was with, what was effectively, the Kazak National Team!

Tailwind were spinning the situation for all it was worth to both save face and try and position themselves for a return. The final sanctimonious speech from LA about how cycling would have to change before they would consider returning to the arena was either self delusional in the extreme or intended for an audience with stronger stomachs than me.

I puked all over the TV.
 
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