Professional Cycling For the Fans - Rock Racing

Im not to familiar to Pro teams here in the USA.

Whats the deal with Rock Racing? They seem to be controversial

They are good for cycling no? Whats the vibe with them in the cycling community here in the US?

chicks dig em.

I think they degrade the sport. I hope they fold soon.

I think they are a good team and nice to have around as a regional pro team. The consensus seems to be that they are pretty much a joke at the national level but they are good at crits:

http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/images/6807.jpg

I think they are a good team and nice to have around as a regional pro team. The consensus seems to be that they are pretty much a joke at the national level but they are good at crits:


Why are they a joke? Dont they or didnt they have some really big names signed up? I also heard that their thing is if you dont win you get fired, so i thought they would be winning all the races??

Why are they considered a joke? Even Mario Cipo rode for them no?

Why are they a joke? Dont they or didnt they have some really big names signed up? I also heard that their thing is if you dont win you get fired, so i thought they would be winning all the races??

Why are they considered a joke? Even Mario Cipo rode for them no?

The thing with Cipo was only for a few weeks, during the tour of California and then a tiny bit after. He was going to go into management of the team after the race but there was too much personality conflict with Ball.

They are a joke because Ball cares more about his bad boy image than actually running the team and being successful, has alienated most of the team and last I heard was having trouble paying people. They've lost a lot of their bigger riders, I'm not even sure who's left.

lol, you're a joke, dude.

Endless Lance bashing, but boy that Rock Racing sure is great for the sport!

whatever.

To be fair he seems to be trying to branch out and talk about something other than Lance and the tour, so cut him some slack, or give him some rope to hang himself, or whatever.

If he is who he claims, I'm sure we will get some good insight from him after the tour/lance fever subsides. If he isn't, then we'll find out eventually.

Howzit, if you want to talk about racing (and act like an adult), you should check out the road bike racing forum.

To be fair he seems to be trying to branch out and talk about something other than Lance and the tour, so cut him some slack, or give him some rope to hang himself, or whatever..

True, I deleted my post because of this, it was uncalled for.

I agree with you about Rock, btw - Ball always seemed more interested in image and flash than actual bike racing. Not surprising perhaps, considering where Ball's background lies. I think a lot of people thought Rock would be 'good for the sport' because of their high visiblity, but that visibility was limited pretty much to those already interested in the sport. Paradoxically, cycling isn't big enough yet in the states that having someone with a big image makes a difference. And image isn't enough to make it in Europe, so that left Rock with not much to go on...

imo

:)

The thing with Cipo was only for a few weeks, during the tour of California and then a tiny bit after. He was going to go into management of the team after the race but there was too much personality conflict with Ball.

They are a joke because Ball cares more about his bad boy image than actually running the team and being successful, has alienated most of the team and last I heard was having trouble paying people. They've lost a lot of their bigger riders, I'm not even sure who's left.

I wouldn't be suprised if Rock n Republic is suffering in this economy and that is why the team is suffering.

True, I deleted my post because of this, it was uncalled for.

I agree with you about Rock, btw - Ball always seemed more interested in image and flash than actual bike racing. Not surprising perhaps, considering where Ball's background lies. I think a lot of people thought Rock would be 'good for the sport' because of their high visiblity, but that visibility was limited pretty much to those already interested in the sport. Paradoxically, cycling isn't big enough yet in the states that having someone with a big image makes a difference. And image isn't enough to make it in Europe, so that left Rock with not much to go on...

imo

:)

Its cool subframe. I know a little more about Rock Racing than you think.....

It is very puzzling to me becuase it seems like Rock Racing is EXACTLY what the US needs to grow cycling.
The deep culture of cycling from Europe is not in the US, but it can be substituted with what Americans love about sports, the flash, pizzaz, drama and "bad-ass" branding.
If every Team was like Rock Racing, showing up in big fancy Cadillacs, bright colors and putting on a big show, cycling would be a big spectacle.
Sports in the US have proved that if you can get it looking cool on TV, in commercials, controversy, it will sell.

Yes Ball seemed over the top, but he single handedly made a team the whole cycling community loves or hates. I couldnt do that, and neither could anyone on these forums. Im just not sure how its not good for cycling when he has created a "tornado", bad or good.

Maybe I just dont understand Americans.

It is very puzzling to me becuase it seems like Rock Racing is EXACTLY what the US needs to grow cycling.
The deep culture of cycling from Europe is not in the US, but it can be substituted with what Americans love about sports, the flash, pizzaz, drama and "bad-ass" branding.
If every Team was like Rock Racing, showing up in big fancy Cadillacs, bright colors and putting on a big show, cycling would be a big spectacle.
Sports in the US have proved that if you can get it looking cool on TV, in commercials, controversy, it will sell.

I did say that they are a good regional team, it's just at the national level that they aren't taken seriously. They are certainly a force to be reckoned with in any socal crit.

During the Tour of California, Rock Racing's spectacle drew the crowds second to Lance and in that sense is good for the sport. From the perspective of trying to grow the viewership of the sport, if they can hold the team together and get some good results it should help. But I think among the racing community they aren't taken very seriously. Teams like Bissell, Colavita, OUCH, Team type 1, etc. are much more respected.

Its cool subframe. I know a little more about Rock Racing than you think.....

It is very puzzling to me becuase it seems like Rock Racing is EXACTLY what the US needs to grow cycling.
The deep culture of cycling from Europe is not in the US, but it can be substituted with what Americans love about sports, the flash, pizzaz, drama and "bad-ass" branding.

Americans, all North Americans, also like their sports teams to be the best in the world and they want the players to be making big bucks. Our heroes are rich. If the players in Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, NASCAR were at best third tier and made the same salary as an entry level office clerk, much like soccer no one would watch it.

No one cares if the owner is the coolest billionaire in the world. Those are the guys the public love to watch fall. The player who makes 10 million a year is the one he public watches win. I don’t get it either, but until US cycling can dominate the ProTour and the riders make a $300,000 starting salary it will never break into the big sports.

Yeah Michael Ball has a certain image, but laying off his big riders and not paying some of the others does not bode well for creating a breakout in cycling’s image. Personally, I don’t think this is the time for a bad-boy image in cycling. With the resurgence of utility cycling its image seems to be moving in the opposite direction anyway.

I would be very surprised if ``here to stay`` is here next year.

Actually the big American teams Columbia Highroad and and Garmin-Slipstream are going to be much better for growing the prestige of cycling in the US, IMO. Probably Garmin more than Columbia, as the team appears more "American". They are based less than 100 miles away from me too :D

Americans, all North Americans, also like their sports teams to be the best in the world and they want the players to be making big bucks. Our heroes are rich. If the players in Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, NASCAR were at best third tier and made the same salary as an entry level office clerk, much like soccer no one would watch it.

I think you have that backwards. The athletes get paid more because more people watch them. It's all about exposure for the sponsors, or ticket sales, depending on the sport.

Similarly, people don't watch Brad Pitt movies because he gets paid a lot, but he gets paid a lot because people watch his movies.

Its cool subframe. I know a little more about Rock Racing than you think.....

It is very puzzling to me becuase it seems like Rock Racing is EXACTLY what the US needs to grow cycling.
The deep culture of cycling from Europe is not in the US, but it can be substituted with what Americans love about sports, the flash, pizzaz, drama and "bad-ass" branding.
If every Team was like Rock Racing, showing up in big fancy Cadillacs, bright colors and putting on a big show, cycling would be a big spectacle.
Sports in the US have proved that if you can get it looking cool on TV, in commercials, controversy, it will sell.

Yes Ball seemed over the top, but he single handedly made a team the whole cycling community loves or hates. I couldnt do that, and neither could anyone on these forums. Im just not sure how its not good for cycling when he has created a "tornado", bad or good.

Maybe I just dont understand Americans.

I think you have misinterpreted the cause and effect here. Much of the hype around big sports has been created by the media and certain individuals or organizations who seek to exploit it. But the original fan base for big sports was there before the media hype started. Americans seems to be more attracted to the sports that are more symbolic to them of going to battle. And cycling isn't one of them. It's not going to matter how flashy you try to make it. Bike racing doesn't lend itself to flashy bravado to the same degree as say Professional wrestling. Which it can be argued is not a real sport at all since it is really choregraphed fighting combined with bravado and bad acting. The big three sports in America are Football, Baseball and Basketball. They evolved with the American psyche and are the traditional big sports. Auto racing would be the other big sport in America.

There is an evolutionary tradition to these sports in America that is distinct from the media hype.

I did say that they are a good regional team, it's just at the national level that they aren't taken seriously. They are certainly a force to be reckoned with in any socal crit.

During the Tour of California, Rock Racing's spectacle drew the crowds second to Lance and in that sense is good for the sport. From the perspective of trying to grow the viewership of the sport, if they can hold the team together and get some good results it should help. But I think among the racing community they aren't taken very seriously. Teams like Bissell, Colavita, OUCH, Team type 1, etc. are much more respected.

***, i will check out the Road racing Forum for more answers, but I thought Rock Racing was a top national level team. I guess I must have bought into their Larger than life branding.
I would never have guessed they are more regional level based on all the big names they have/had on the roster, including names like Mario Cipo. I guess thats even more credit for Ball for making Rock Racing seem bigger than it is for people like myself who dont know much about the Pro circuit in the US.