HMF

For you guys out there who are sponsored, what does that actually mean?

I see guys that are on teams in my Saturday ride, but I usually get dropped before I can ask some questions.

So how did you get sponsored and what exactly does that mean? And at what level of competition do sponsors actually take interest in you?

I see a lot of guys here in Austin riding with Hotel San Jose and they all seem pretty hardcore, but I don't know exactly what Hotel San Jose is covering for them, if anything. Are your bikes free? Entry fees all covered? Salaried?

Consider this a 41 Refugee-type thread

NomadVW 

Team sponsorships vary greatly, based on exposure and team make up. It goes from the "average club" type sponsorship which might just be deals at their establishment to helping pay racing expenses or bike parts. Teams composed of higher cat racers may have really good deals on bikes, and some go to the full sponsorship which could be full bikes, uniforms, racing, etc.. Each team is a little different.

umd

What Nomad said. Each team is going to have a different arrangement, but the general outline will be some form of discounts on "sponsors" products (typically those shown on the jersey). Some sponsors may kick money to the team to subsidize some team and/or rider expenses.

This is different from "going pro". A pro rider is on a team with a professional license and is paid a salary, likely gets all equipment and clothing provided.

mattm

My team (a bike shop) does give us discounts, good ones at that. And deals on Raliegh frames, as another one of our sponsors. And race reiumbursements. No salary though.. =[

Guys on the local Starbucks team don't even get free coffee... which sucks! So it varies greatly from team to team.

BigSean

and usually the bikes must be returned to the team.

umd

It goes both ways. I know riders who get to keep them and riders who have to give them back... sometimes on the same team...

esammuli

Not necessarily. Many pro teams don't pay a salary, or at least not to all riders. In many cases the only thing that differentiates a pro team from a well sponsored elite team is the license.

umd

I thought they had to be paid something even if it was a pittance.

caloso

I guess I qualify under the terms of your question, but given my annual net fiscal loss, it's hard for me to think of myself as "sponsored." To answer your question: Our deal allows us clothing, race fees, an occasional free pizza, and a shop discount.

echappist

true indeed, though i do think lodging is at least provided. somehow i recall that the mountain khakis team is operated this way, though i could be wrong

hey, it's not like you want to drink starbucks coffee

caloso

Like others have said, it really varies from team to team. On my first team, I had to buy my own clothing (albeit at wholesale) but the race reimbursement and equipment deals more than made up for it.

kensuf

nope, not for domestic.

kensuf

what sucks more, that they have to buy the coffee, or the coffee itself?

ZeCanon

If your'e getting travel covered and are half decent, then prize money is pretty good in and of itself.

mattm

Yeah yeah - it's just that my friend was hearing about the free frame I got from teh team, etc, and he's all, "they don't even give us drip coffee!" It's not the coffee he wants, it's something for free.

MarkSch

Back in the mid 80s when the triathlon bug was just taking off I did pretty well in the age group (2nd at Nationals) and turned pro. Not really teams as there are in cycling, so you just had to show some good results and buy the pro license. I was offered sponsorship by a then local, eccentric, billionnaire, who sponsored a number of other triathletes among other elite athletes. Also managed to line up a number of equipment sponsors.

Paid for all travel expenses, including lodging at the sheeshy race headquarter hotels, all equipment, clothing, training expenses (ie gym memberships) and bonuses on top of winnings. A few guys who continued at it longer than I did also ended up living on his estate for a time.

echappist

i guess springfield, ma is pretty close to your neck of the woods

mike868y

My team (which is a new team this year) gets a solid discount at the shop, and an even better discount on trek/bontrager stuff. We also get our clothes subsidized somewhat, but we still pay for them.

FWIW, the collegiate team I'll be on next year gets free transportation, entry fees, and lodging. Not sure about kits or discounts yet though, but it seems like a really good deal.

Chris R.

I'm far from being sponsored but us Master riders get our races paid back, if we are 4 or more at a race we get the hotel and dinner paid, we have deals at the local shop we work with and all the kit for free. A few of us also went to a training camp for free, just the flight was paid to us...and we went to spain. Hotel and food paid for. Pretty cool...
But I still suck so....

Grumpy McTrumpy

my team kit has some pretty big company names on it, but it doesn't mean "I am sponsored"

It just means they paid some money to our amateur team to have their name on the kit. Not a lot of money. It helps us with some expenses

echappist

be ready to write out a $150 check to your club. most of it, however, will be paid by people who sign up & join @ the beginning of the school year & is never seen again

Creakyknees

THSJ fields a very strong elite men's team, and they also have a regular club member's team, which as noted is the typical pay your dues, buy a jersey / kit, maybe get some discounts and expense reimbursement.

carpediemracing 

Also, the school probably pays for a lot of stuff. UCONN reimbursed the team for travel expenses if we asked for them. If you pay tuition, you're helping pay for that free travel etc (as well as the football team's travel, whatever other sports the school has, etc etc etc). Since I felt like I didn't want to try and use the system, we only asked for reimbursement if it was a long trip (Cornell, maybe one other) or if the whole team got involved (I wasn't going to go to endless budget meetings to get gas money for someone who didn't want to bother to show up, but when everyone bothered to show up, I felt it okay to ask for money).

A couple people at work complain about state taxes (property tax on car/house, income tax in state) and in the next breath proudly boast about how they got such and such through welfare/state-sponsored-programs (big things, like oil furnace or a new roof or a fuel allowance from the town etc). They don't realize that the taxes pay for their furnace (as do my taxes and your taxes, since you're in CT). Kinda sorta the same thing - school covers a bunch of stuff, you pay the school. Big circle.

cdr

Bob Dopolina 

Wasn't there some discussion about this 2 or 3 years ago?

Continental Team= no salary but Continental Pro = salaried?

They were even discussing minimal salaries for Continental riders? Am I wrong about this or did the idea fizzle out?

timster

Dang... I've been on the wrong team. I haven't gotten anything free/discounted because of sponsors. Actually the team I just left was proud of the fact that they didn't have a shop sponsorship.