Originally Posted by
gsteinb
elite teams generally run and perform better than lower level teams because the DS makes decisions re:who is working for who and tactics.
new racers are in a diy position. is a cat 4/5 'team' going to pay a coach to train guys? kind of expensive. and 95 % of those guys will never even make it to cat 2.
My take is that a coach would let a low team fake being a much better team than it is. They'd do far better and no one would be the wiser! : )
The money thing is also partly what I'm wondering about. Racing is moving up demographically. Many involved have tons of discretionary income. Bikes are pricey, everything is pricey, yet they pile it on. Sure, they'll still poor-mouth but it's nothing like the old days! : ) If they knew how important it was I bet they wouldn't mind spending $100 on the annual dues rather than $50 (or whatever it is). In short, in the scheme of things and considering the advantages (in my mind, huge), a coach is DIRT CHEAP. And, compared to wheels, is literally cheap to afford across a team. Heck, people have personal trainers/coaches and that cost is not divided up among many. Sure, they might feel that they're getting close to breaking the bank, but when a coached team shows up and mops up, and shows class all around, the money will be found like magic.
Unless I'm just stuck in the dark ages and truly a team can be held together and thrive in peace and joy and riders can readily find their form -- and the savvy can readily triumph over their rivals -- all based on the miracle-Web and datafeeds alone.
PS: ...Thanks for the background thoughts, CDM.