donrhummy

UCI president, Pat McQuaid: "Our sport is not in crisis"

MORE:

"I don't accept that the sport is in crisis. I can see the sport is going through a difficult period but that is a period of change and I can see at the far end of that period the sport will come out of it a lot better and a lot stronger," McQuaid told BBC radio on Thursday.

40 Cent

Explain why you think the sport is in crisis, as compared to other sports for example. Thanks.

marin1

Discovery, Cofidis have both pulled the plug with Astana and T-mobile soon to follow. Good luck finding sponsers after this years TdF. German TV refusing to show the tour, swiss papers refusing to print a word about it, french papers saying it should be stopped immediatly, doesn't sound good to me. Sure football has dog fighting, baseball has Barry, and basketball is fixing games but none of that matters when you are trying to solve the problems cycling has, unless your arguement is " at least we're not football".

donrhummy

^^ Exactly. And even further, a number of other sponsors are saying they're going to pull out and the Olympics have said they might remove cycling. This is really, really dangerous to pro cycling's financial survival.

gmason

Discovery ceased because of new priorities by new CEO.

German satellite picked up the TdF immediately after state TV dropped it.

The Swiss ... well, they are Swiss.

dknight07

Of course, Discovery's term of sponsorship was ending this year anyway, and the new executive leadership decided they could get more out of their dollars than by sponsoring this team. How is that the same as a sponsorship being pulled suddenly because of their riders cheating?

Whats really funny to me is that if, say, the Olympics canceled cycling, then they're canceling the one sport that actually works to get rid of the cheaters. Do they really think all those runners & swimmers are cleaner than the cyclists?

marin1

Don't forget that the whole Basso issue came up at the same time Discovery was making their decision. I'm sure the press release said in was money related but you don't honestly believe the people at Discovery were unaware of the drug problems in cycling and it had no influence on their decision. Plus how is that search for a title sponser going?

40 Cent

I agree this year's tour is messy. '98 was messy too. Sponsors saying they're pulling out, that's sure to disrupt things, yes. But "crisis" implies we've reached a critical point and the sport of cycling may not survive. Do you think the sport won't survive? Do you think if they decide to hold a tour or a giro next year or any of the other races that make up the sport, people won't show up, or watch?

R.O.P.

+5

dknight07

It appears to be going horribly. Is that the fault of a member of Discovery, or is it the fault of this ridiculous image that cycling has, as the 'worlds dirtiest sport?' My point wasn't that it should be easy for them to find a new sponsor. Its not going to be easy for any team that ends up looking for additional sponsorship dollars.

gmason

A few days ago, the DS said he was "awaiting a signature."

marin1

I don't think that cycling will stop holding races, but I do think that cycling as we know it is done. There will be major changes to the sport, what they will be I don't know but i expect huge changes.

esther-L

The previous CEO of Discovery was the supporter who wanted to sponsor a bicycling team. When he was no longer the CEO, there wasn't an executive in the company who was interested in sponsoring a cycling team.
Esther

Helmet Head

That's pretty dumb. But this is at least a close runner-up:


"I think it's a mistake in part due to my crash. I have spoken to the team doctors who had a hypothesis that there was an enormous amount of blood in my thighs, which could have led to my positive test." - Vino

https://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007...l07/jul25news5

donrhummy

I think it's the misquote there that's dumb. I've also heard him quoted as saying that it was the blood he received to treat his injuries to his leg. this would make sense if he was losing a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. I doubt it actually happened but if that's what he's saying it's actually a logical defense.

sykerocker 

Cycling is going through a very bad time, but it's not dying. Yeah, there's a good chance that for the next few years sponsorships are going to get a bit more difficult, team budgets are going to contract, salaries will probably drop. But there will still be professional cyclists, there will still be races, and things will start to grow again.

And the world hasn't ended. Professional sport has survived disasters of this magnitude before. You Americans, go back into your history and look at the Cincinnati Redlegs vs. Chicgo White Sox world series, 1919. Aka, the Black Sox scandal. Every bit as bad and earth shaking to the primary viewership as what's going on today. Yet, a new commissioner, a couple of years of really bearing down on the problem, and (not incidentally) this Boston Red Sox pitcher that got traded to the New York Yankees and transferred to right field - and within less than a decade everything was bigger than before.

I don't see why cycling can't do the equivalent - they're already gotten a good start.

By the way, following these threads over the last few days I'm surprised I haven't noticed anyone hasn't thought of the following:

In 13 months of press releases and pompous statements since Puerto broke, did we REALLY think that we'd scared all the dopers into going straight? If we did, we're certainly a naive bunch. I was expecting something to blow up sometime during these three weeks, although I'll admit I really underestimated what happened.

This battle isn't over yet, and there's a good chance that the 2008 Tour will have an ugly moment - but it's going to survive. As is cycling. Darkest before the dawn, and all that?

classic1

Pat McQuaid. LOL

His comments are dumber than Romingers yesterday, which takes some doing IMO.

Helmet Head

First, if he had lost so much blood that he needed a transfusion, how did he finish the stage and lose only, what, a couple of minutes?

Second, if he had really needed a transfusion, the doctors should have gotten a waiver.

gpsblake

If his hemoglobin was below 8.5, he would need a blood transfusion. If this were the case, he would be in no condition to ride the next day...or the next... or the next.

I had to have two transfusions a few months ago (no, I'm not doping but had Colon bleeding) totalling four pints and it took me a while to get my hemoglobin back to normal. (13.0)

But again, why didn't Vino simply store his own blood, then have someone transfuse his own blood back into him?

Simoni

Yeah...the suits thought that signing a piece of paper would make all the difference.

Try to get that salary penalty from a rider that's not working. LMAO...Sue me...

"I can't sign that. I am doping."

Good grief.

This is why they need someone to run the Pro Tour that understands cycling. Not like the Olympics where some duke or baron with a big checkbook gets to be on the Olympic Committee...UCI guys are basically bureauocrats.

And they need a rider's union. A strong one to represent the interests of the riders.

silver bullet

It all depends on your definition of the word crisis.

Cycling as a sport will not cease to exist.

El Diablo Rojo

No the dumbest quote was from Vino, "this is a mistake, my doctors say it's because of my crash, I had too much blood in my thighs". Yeah someone else's blood. Dumbass.

indygreg

+100

This is nothing but an immature response (those that defend their sport by attacking others) and I am amazed at how much it happens here. Cycling from the outside is totally dirty. From the inside, loyal fans are losing interest. Sponsors are becoming less in number. Teams are less in number. IMHO everyone in and around this sport should essentially say: We have a serious problem. Our sport is plagued with drug us to enhance performance. We need to fix our sport to save it and regain our reputation to the world.

If you must look at other sports in this argument, look at it this way: If Cycling admits it, owns up to it, and attacks it . . . they will be the role model for everyone else. There would be a great deal of pride in that.

Colonelmom

I can't help but think back to 2003.. THERE ARE NO AMERICANS IN IRAQ...

The sport is in a crisis.. how do I incourage my children to pick up the sport... IF there isn't a clean forum... At least the body building community has a "natural" venu for those who really are clean to compete...
SO lets have TWO versions of the tour.... the naturals... and the dopers....

oldsprinter

Vino's B test result is due tomorrow. Didn't seem to be a Vino thread anymore - funny how cheats get forgotten so quickly.