Road Bike Racing - Why doesn't Trek/Cannondale et al put together a competitive UCI Road Team?

Considering how CRUCIAL to the American bicycle industry success in Euro road racing seems to be (particularly the Tour de France), why doesn't the CEO of Trek make it his Mission in Life to get the dough together for another American cycling team like Discovery? We're not exactly talking super high finance here - the Discovery Team budget is a reported $13 million annually. That's like bar tab money for many major corporate ad budgets. Surely all the various major players in the American bicycle industry (retailers, Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc) can figure out a way to combine forces and leverage other corporate sponsorship to bring a major team to Europe - with the specific goal of providing a more American-cyclist friendly venue for promising young American pros. I've heard too many stories of pros TRYING to ride in Europe (like Chris Horner) and having profoundly negative experiences, most of them based on culture shock. That doesn't have to be.

Discovery Channel's sponsorship is a start. But if I were a big player in the US bike industry, I'd be looking for something more. I'm convinced that if a consortium of a few big companies could just muster a sum of money lower than ARod's baseball salary (the Yankee recently referred to as 'E-5' by the local fans) it might greatly increase the chances of the next Lance or Floyd actually materializing on the Tour de France podium over the next 10-15 years. And it would easily pay for itself in increased sales and interest.

Sounds simple, but I'm sure the reality is far more complex. Just a thought. But it sort of blows my mind with all the gazillions of dollars a company like Nike spends on advertising - nobody can get them to sponsor a major UCI racing team. Hey, maybe nobody ever ASKED.

it'd be a good PR thing for FoMoCo, GM or Daimler-Chrysler. environmental responsibility and all that what-not.

it'd be a good PR thing for FoMoCo, GM or Daimler-Chrysler. environmental responsibility and all that what-not.

With all the worldwide press coverage the Tour de France and other UCI cycling events get, you'd think the sponsors would get back their $15 million worth. The largest team budget is Team Telekom @ $30 million. That's stlll relative chump change in the big corporate world of promotional/marketing expense. How come I get the feeling the Ferrari F1 team spends that every year in gas/tires/parts?

it'd be a good PR thing for FoMoCo, GM or Daimler-Chrysler. environmental responsibility and all that what-not.

didn't a certain floyd landis and chris horner both ride for the mercury cycling team? and get screwed out of a lot of money?

I will say while the cycling audience is smaller than other sports it seems our demographic is a lot like that of golf-we all pull down a pretty good buck and are willing to spend.
My question - is Discovery sponsoring for image or something else. I mean everyone has cable and that usually comes with Discovery anyway so is it a ratings / image thing or what.
What would be hot is if Steinbrener sponsored a team and called them NY Yankees Cycling. They could go to Europe in gray pinstripped kit:)

I will say while the cycling audience is smaller than other sports it seems our demographic is a lot like that of golf-we all pull down a pretty good buck and are willing to spend.
My question - is Discovery sponsoring for image or something else. I mean everyone has cable and that usually comes with Discovery anyway so is it a ratings / image thing or what.
What would be hot is if Steinbrener sponsored a team and called them NY Yankees Cycling. They could go to Europe in gray pinstripped kit:)

haha.. yeah..and spend more money than anyone else on trying to win championships, but come in second in every race:p

Specialized supplies and sponsers the Gerosteiner and supplies several others with helmets and shoes.
Cannondale had big wins with Gilberto Simoni, Damino Cunego, and Mario Cipolinni back in the Saeco days. Cipo even won a world championship with a Specialized bike in 2002. Cannondale got outbid for Lampre this year and ended up sponsering and suppling South African based Barloworld, who does have a former world champ on their squad.

Specialized supplies and sponsers the Gerosteiner and supplies several others with helmets and shoes.
Cannondale had big wins with Gilberto Simoni, Damino Cunego, and Mario Cipolinni back in the Saeco days. Cipo even won a world championship with a Specialized bike in 2002. Cannondale got outbid for Lampre this year and ended up sponsering and suppling South African based Barloworld, who does have a former world champ on their squad.

But that's different from a more concerted move to sponsor a whole program. Cannondale, Trek and Specialized are smaller supplier/sponsors in their roles. I'm talking about an arrangement that would float a whole team - not a deal where Cdale or Trek simply supplies a few $100k worth of bikes//support/cash.

But that's different from a more concerted move to sponsor a whole program. Cannondale, Trek and Specialized are smaller supplier/sponsors in their roles. I'm talking about an arrangement that would float a whole team - not a deal where Cdale or Trek simply supplies a few $100k worth of bikes//support/cash.
But why sponsor the whole team? Would their exposure be that much greater as title sponsor than it already is as bike supplier? The manufacturers get so much exposure from the riders being shown on their bikes with a small placement on the jersey that the additional visibility from being the title sponsor isn't worth the additional cost.

Considering how CRUCIAL to the American bicycle industry success in Euro road racing seems to be (particularly the Tour de France), why doesn't the CEO of Trek make it his Mission in Life to get the dough together for another American cycling team like Discovery?

With the exception of Bianchi's last minute bail out of JU in the 2003 Tour, bike companies gave up sponsoring top teams long ago. Too expensive. They get all of the exposure they need by sponsoring the bikes.

As far as culture shock - no amount of money is going to make someone comfortable living abroad. It is what it is. To be honest, with satellite TV and globalization as a whole, IMO you'd have to be a total p@ssy or a complete hick to experience culture shock in Western Europe these days.

American companies don't need no stinkin' tour to stir up hype! ;)

haha.. yeah..and spend more money than anyone else on trying to win championships, but come in second in every race:p

Yeah, 26 World Series championships. That's aweful!

I implied that bicycle companies should illicit the aid of a much larger company, i.e. Nike. Or pool resources (which is very impractical). It does make marketing sense - but you do have to convince the men who hold those big pursestrings.

Simply put, Trek doesn't need to fork out the cash each year to get their name out there. After all, "their bike" won the Tour 7 times....and they're gonna milk that for all its' worth I'm sure. Same goes with most other major players in the bike brand market out there -

There is a Trek/Volkswagen domestic team though as far as I know - not sure on the particulars of it and how organized it is.

But that's different from a more concerted move to sponsor a whole program. Cannondale, Trek and Specialized are smaller supplier/sponsors in their roles. I'm talking about an arrangement that would float a whole team - not a deal where Cdale or Trek simply supplies a few $100k worth of bikes//support/cash.
The industry CANNOT support racing on it's own. Look at mountian bike racing. 10 years ago they had big non-cycling industry sponser. They had 6 digit rider salaries, huge endorsment deals, and some decent TV coverage. When the beer and soft drink companies left, the industry couldn't support it. They are just now getting back to giving riders living stipends.

Look at NASCAR. You've got ot dig further, but stock car racing was a money loosing hobby for many drivers for a long time. The first non-automotive sponser to put money into racing was Mercury Outboard Motors, but they didn't last too long. It wasn't until Winston put money into it did it start to thrive to the point it is now almost out of control.

The industry CANNOT support racing on it's own. Look at mountian bike racing. 10 years ago they had big non-cycling industry sponser. They had 6 digit rider salaries, huge endorsment deals, and some decent TV coverage. When the beer and soft drink companies left, the industry couldn't support it. They are just now getting back to giving riders living stipends.

Look at NASCAR. You've got ot dig further, but stock car racing was a money loosing hobby for many drivers for a long time. The first non-automotive sponser to put money into racing was Mercury Outboard Motors, but they didn't last too long. It wasn't until Winston put money into it did it start to thrive to the point it is now almost out of control.

I would agree. But it is in their collective interest - in a HUGE way - to try and get ONE big entity - be it Nike or Apple Computer or whoever - to ante up the dough for this. And it DOES make sense for companies that market their products on a global scale, particularly if they have a big market in Europe.

I would agree. But it is in their collective interest - in a HUGE way - to try and get ONE big entity - be it Nike or Apple Computer or whoever - to ante up the dough for this. And it DOES make sense for companies that market their products on a global scale, particularly if they have a big market in Europe.
Microsoft presents the Cannondale, Trek, and Specialized World Series of Cycling sponsored by Hankook (formerly known as the UCI Pro Tour)

Has a nice ring to it, no? :lol:

Oh, and as a condition of sponsorship, all cyclocomputers used in the competition must run the latest version of Windows. And starting next year, all bikes must be running Windows, too. They crash randomly once in a while? Don't worry... MSFT promises that a patch will be available in time. And Hankook--seeing MSFT get away with its crazy demand--insists that the teams start using the company's motorcycle tires on the bikes. (Hey, they're designed for two wheeled vehicles, right? And if it's non-optimal, what difference does it make? Everyone's equally (dis)advantaged. Why not provide publicity for a higher profit item instead of cheap old bicycle tires?)

Cervelo became one of the major players solely because of CSC, getting your bike on the UCI ProTour should be #1 priority for any manufacturer.

I'm not sure how big Cervelo is, but they're one of the most sought bikes and a they grew enough to have a huge marketing blitz on OLN with a top hollywood director.

Cervelo became one of the major players solely because of CSC, getting your bike on the UCI ProTour should be #1 priority for any manufacturer.

I'm not sure how big Cervelo is, but they're one of the most sought bikes and a they grew enough to have a huge marketing blitz on OLN with a top hollywood director.

My question - is Discovery sponsoring for image or something else. I mean everyone has cable and that usually comes with Discovery anyway so is it a ratings / image thing or what.


Viewers aren't the customer in television, they're the product. When you pay your cable bill, you're just paying the company who brings service to you. Networks make their money from advertising - they sell viewers to the advertisers. Well, that's how it's supposed to work, but in reality the networks and cable providers are owned by a lot of the same people, so it gets a little muddy.

While I don't pretend to understand Discovery's marketing strategy, my guess is that they're trying to drum up ad revinue in Europe, from both European and US companies. And if they get a few more viewers as a result, that's icing on the cake.

You guys are vastly overestimating the bike market. There are so many frame companies (too many), that the share for each is not that big.
Cervelo's total sales are ~$15million, so they aren't going to sponsor a team.
Cannondale was a 50/50 sponsor with SAECO in the past, but neither sponsor could continue to foot the bill.

Discovery was essentially swindled. They signed to sponsor the team understanding Armstrong would race for a few more years. I doubt they will re-sign, the team has little sponsor effect without Armstrong.
Discovery makes lots more money from the idiots on American Chopper than they ever will in cycling.

You guys are vastly overestimating the bike market. There are so many frame companies (too many), that the share for each is not that big.
Cervelo's total sales are ~$15million, so they aren't going to sponsor a team.
Cannondale was a 50/50 sponsor with SAECO in the past, but neither sponsor could continue to foot the bill.

Discovery was essentially swindled. They signed to sponsor the team understanding Armstrong would race for a few more years. I doubt they will re-sign, the team has little sponsor effect without Armstrong.
Discovery makes lots more money from the idiots on American Chopper than they ever will in cycling.

Where do you get this 'Discovery was swindled' nonsense from? Lance signed up to ride ONE MORE TOUR, and he WON it. D.C. is still using Lance in its programming, he is still a part owner of the team, and guess who's going to sign Floyd next? Hell, Lance can afford Landis' salary from what he earns alone. I think Disovery Channel and pro cycling are a good match.

And money does talk. Floyd will have an easier time winning Tour # 2 with Discovery. And if anyone doubts his ability to ride after a hip replacement - all indications are that will be MUCH easier than riding with a painful, degernated, necrotic hip joint.

But OF COURSE American Chopper is more profitable. And they may be idiots at OC Chopper, but they're very RICH idiots. And in my neck of the woods they're LOCAL idiots (I live about 12 mile from their shop).

And why would they only sign American riders if they did have teams?

guess who's going to sign Floyd next?
iShares/Phonak.

Lance had a two-year contract going into last year's Tour. He promised one more Tour, but I don't think anyone believed that he was actually going to retire. It doesn't make a whole bunch of sense for Discovery Channel to sponsor a team that races and gets most of exposure in Europe, but I don't know if American Chopper and Overhaulin' are dubbed in French and broadcast over there.

Discovery Channel has already made it clear they will not renew.
Discovry signed in 2003, way before any retirement talk from Armstrong.

Discovery Channel has already made it clear they will not renew.
Then we should look for Team Livestrong next year. I hope they redo the jerseys.

And it DOES make sense for companies that market their products on a global scale, particularly if they have a big market in Europe.

Sort of like the US Postal Service who tried that very thing to only be hugely criticised by people that had no clue that the Post Office is not a government supported entity...and who wanted to market in Europe to get more business...

BTW...companies like Cannondale and Trek and Specialized and Scott USA supply way more than $100,000of bikes and supplies. Way more.
And that's not counting the R&D these companies do to stay out ahead of the curve with new stuff (System Six, Madone 6.9, etc.). Heck, Trek spent more than $100,000 on wind tunnel test time, alone. So did Scott last spring after the Tour of California.

The problem, frankly, is that there were only about 200,000 people in this country of around 300 million of us that actually tuned into the TdF each day. To spend more than they do to "market" themsleves, well, it's a pretty small market. They are preaching to the choir. And, being in this bike business, I rarely have a person walk in to buy a racing level bike, a bike over three grand and say, "gee, I saw this bike on the OLN Tour broadcast and I have to have it!!". To sponsor a team will not garner them any appreciable increase in business. They can market themsleves for a lot less to the hybrid crowd and make a lot more money. They will get more mileage off local sponsorships of club rides.

Most high end bike sales I do are done to existing racers who know what they want, or to people with money who have already done the research and show up with paper in hand of the sites they have reviewed. Or they spend the time and money to go through a fitting and we recommend frames to them based on their body dimensions. Not because Lampre used to ride Cannondales or Lance won the Tour a bunch of times on a Trek.

TV watching info on the TdF (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/21/business/tour.php)

Note that decreases were not limited to only OLN and the US. Although a million people tuned in the CBS show Sunday night, but that was still a 43% decrease over last year. They keep the cycling fans, lose the sports fans who were probably unaware of Floyd's comeback.

The point? Companies here will look at this and will not pay what previous companies have paid due to the decrease. That, and the lack of local coverage makes it pretty hard for a team to go looking for money right now.

Discovery Channel has already made it clear they will not renew.
Discovry signed in 2003, way before any retirement talk from Armstrong.

Not so...when Discovery signed, part of the agreement was that Lance would ride one more Tour. What was not known was if it would be 2005, or 2006. He had considered, after his sixth win (2004), sitting a year. He actually, after breaking the record, considered retiring. Then the Disco deal was cut. Remember it was not until April of '05 that he announced he'd ride the '05 Tour. The deal was one more Tour, and it could have been this year (06) if he had chosen such.
They signed in January of 2005....and were on the jersey as an associate sponsor with USPS for Lance's sixth win.

BTW...I find no information about Discovery not being interested in discussing continuing. Not that it really matters.

BTWII...they are getting a lot of publicity with the "Race 2 Replace"...

I would also like to hear more on Disco pulling out, not that i don't believe it, im just interested.

Discovery Channel has already made it clear they will not renew.
Discovry signed in 2003, way before any retirement talk from Armstrong.

This contradicts every press account I've seen involving the negotiations for Disco to replace Postal. Everything I've read was that Disco knew Lance would retire and would ride one more Tour. All indications are that their relationship is still cordial. Why would that still be so if anything you're alledging here is remotely true?