Professional Cycling For the Fans - Is anyone riding Cannondale?

Just curious. I am a newbie TDF watcher. Given that Cannondale seems to be one of the larger manufacturers I expected to see a team riding them. But I couldn't even find anything on Cannondales website? Do they sponsor any major teams?

-D

None of this year's TdF teams are on 'Dales.

C'dale is sponsoring Barloworld which is a Euro continental team and Healthnet Maxxis here in the states. Neither team is in the Tour.

i'm kinda surprised that no Tour de France teams picked up Cannondale.. they make some good bikes

Whats Lampre on Williers?

seems so:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2005/news/11-24

I believe every team has a different manufacturer's bike, and everyone on every team rides their sponsor's machine.

1. is that right?
2. Wouldn't a manufacturer be willing to sponsor more than 1 team? -- or has the history of cycling always been manufacturer driven teams, and its just the recent financial aspects that make the teams use mainstream sponsor names even when cycling industry runs everything.

2. Wouldn't a manufacturer be willing to sponsor more than 1 team? --

Of course, and they do.

I believe every team has a different manufacturer's bike, and everyone on every team rides their sponsor's machine.

1. is that right?
2. Wouldn't a manufacturer be willing to sponsor more than 1 team? -- or has the history of cycling always been manufacturer driven teams, and its just the recent financial aspects that make the teams use mainstream sponsor names even when cycling industry runs everything.




Milram, Rabobank, Navigators, Panaria, Landbouwkrediet all ride Colnago

Euskaltel, Jelly Belly and Communidad Valenica ride Orbea

Quick Step and Bouyges telecom ride Time

Cofidis and Lampre ride Wilier

there's no doubt more, but you get the picture..

but only disco rides trek, because everybody knows that treks suck. right........ (some people:rolleyes: )

but only disco rides trek, because everybody knows that treks suck. right........ (some people:rolleyes: )


AIS Women's team ride Trek.

i was talking pro tour teams.


and being sarcastic

i was talking pro tour teams.


and being sarcastic



Hey....aussies wrote the book on sarcasm.

I believe every team has a different manufacturer's bike, and everyone on every team rides their sponsor's machine.

1. is that right?
2. Wouldn't a manufacturer be willing to sponsor more than 1 team? -- or has the history of cycling always been manufacturer driven teams, and its just the recent financial aspects that make the teams use mainstream sponsor names even when cycling industry runs everything.

Lampre was on Cannondale on the last year of a contract that extended back to Saeco. This was the '05 season. Lampre elected to go to Wilier, which had in the past been the bike of choice for Gelosteiner. Now, it's Specialized.

Cannondale was contacted by the DS of Barloworld, Claudio Corti (who's top rider is Igor Astarloa), as he was the DS at Saeco when they were winning tons of big races (Cippolini, Simoni, Cunego). Barloworld probably needs another season or two to get to the next level. In the past, it was pretty much a South African team. This is slowly changing. They rode the Giro.

Cannondale's biggest highlight...when Super Mario had won (memory) six consecutive TdF stages, he looks into the camera and says, "Cannondale makes the best bikes!".

It's not so much what they are willing to do. You just don't wake up one day and "sponsor a team"...in addition, Cannondale had been the bike of choice for Seven-Up which went out of business. They really needed (since their racingbikes are US built) to pick up a US domestic team...and they got the big fish with Healthnet which did not make Giant really happy.

Hey....aussies wrote the book on sarcasm.

o i had no idea. thanks for clearing that up, what kind of bike do you ride? a trek?:D

would it be fair to say that Willier might have the most desirable bikes by European pros? or would every rider have something nice to say about any of the bikes in the tour? Is it common for riders to choose teams based on their bike sponsors?

would it be fair to say that Willier might have the most desirable bikes by European pros? or would every rider have something nice to say about any of the bikes in the tour? Is it common for riders to choose teams based on their bike sponsors?


Pros don't care what they ride. As long as it fits, is light, stiff and relatively comfortable for 7 hour days. Commerical obligations means in any interview they will always say their current bike is "The best I've ever ridden..." or some crap.

Only example I can think of to the contrary was when Baden Cooke and De Peet were at the ill-fated Mercury-Viatel.....the LeMond 853 bikes they had to ride really were crap. And they said so.

Pro's ride whatever bike the team owner orders them to ride. The team owners are paid by bike companies to use a particular bike. Every rider in the Tour would be riding a Cannondale (or a Trek, or a Giant) if those companies made the team owner's an offer they can't refuse.

Robert Millar used to say (but he was always a bit of a loose cannon.......that's why we love him :D) that the old twin-downtube Ti and carbon Colnagos of the WordPerfect squad were lusted after by other pros. There was even a photo of him in Cycle Sport "making off" with Raul Alcala's rig....

Pro's ride whatever bike the team owner orders them to ride. The team owners are paid by bike companies to use a particular bike. Every rider in the Tour would be riding a Cannondale (or a Trek, or a Giant) if those companies made the team owner's an offer they can't refuse.

I would of guessed that if one bike company either had more money than others (some do), or if one bike was better than others, then either the bike companies would approach more teams, and teams would approach the same companies asking them to "match" sponsorship arrangements from other companies if one bike was much better than others.

Golf is an equipment driven sport I'm more familiar with. There might be outright best equipment, but familiarity is more important, and all the top level equipment have a nice balance of features, and reasons to prefer each item. But, Irons tend to be much more individualistic than drivers. Sponsorship loyalties prevent players from using the latest and best driver, while the sponsor products are all "close enough"

got a pic of those Colngao's anywhere ed?

got a pic of those Colngao's anywhere ed?
www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2002/sponsors/colnago/?id=Olano_detail_a. I think this is the bike referred to. Called a Bititan.

There's one on eBay: Item number: 320002620434

For some reason it doesn't show up in 'Colnago' searches. Search on the item number.

I heard of riders that like a certain bike thats not the team bike so they take the bike they like and rebadge it with the team decals. does this still happen or was this only in the old days?

www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2002/sponsors/colnago/?id=Olano_detail_a. I think this is the bike referred to. Called a Bititan.



Ooooh yeah...that's the one. Dimitri Konychev rode the steel version to the silver medal at the 1989 Chambery Worlds. They also did a carbon model.

Beautiful piece of work.

I heard of riders that like a certain bike thats not the team bike so they take the bike they like and rebadge it with the team decals. does this still happen or was this only in the old days?


I don't know about still... but I believe the 99 Tour was actually won on a bike built in Chattanooga rebadged as one from Wisconsin.

I don't know about still... but I believe the 99 Tour was actually won on a bike built in Chattanooga rebadged as one from Wisconsin.



Sure was. Lance bought that Litespeed Blade with his own money.

it was just the TT bike wasnt it? the road bike was a Trek?

it was just the TT bike wasnt it? the road bike was a Trek?


Correct. But he "won" the Tour in the TTs.

so this is a litespeed?

http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/99/9-17-99.jpg

Yep. Painted Blade.

would it be fair to say that Willier might have the most desirable bikes by European pros? or would every rider have something nice to say about any of the bikes in the tour? Is it common for riders to choose teams based on their bike sponsors?

No...it's common for riders to choose team by which ones offer them a job and a nice contract.

Sometimes a rider will bring a bike he likes and have it repainted.

Most desired? Depends on the season. A couple of years ago, Look had four teams in the TdF.

Correct. But he "won" the Tour in the TTs.

Really?

I thought he won the Tour on stage 10 to Sestriere...where he beat everybodys' butt.