As you all know, I have felt free to express my opinion on the poor performance of Mr Becca, and the way he broke the terms of his contract to support Leopard Trek for four years, without even explaining why.
I then did some research into sponsorship, and I read a book all about the Linda McCartney team and their problems, and I came to the inescapable conclusion that sponsors are fickle and elusive, and we just have to be grateful for what we get from them, and cannot really expect them to behave like professionals, disgraceful and annoying though that is.
Now I have realised that it goes both ways.
Eddie Merckx Cycles had a three year deal with Quickstep, and 2011 was the second year of that deal. Now Quickstep are merging with Omega-Pharma, and the new combined team have brought in a whole bunch of the HTC Highroad riders, along with their Specialized bikes.
So Specialized are taking over as bike supplier/sponsor for the team, and Eddie Merckx Cycles have been shoved out.
The news report contains lots of lovely positive phrases and quotes from Eddie Merckx Cycles, as you would expect, but I can almost feel the gritting of teeth going on underneath, can't you?
Does this make me feel better, knowing that sponsors can find their contracts to be worthless, and can find themselves thrown out at a moments' notice, just like the riders?
Well, no, actually: I would much prefer to live in a world where a contract is binding, and cannot be broken at a whim.
Hi Cougs and gals
ReplyDeleteI have been on a cycling hiatus as still mad at Badass Becca and feeling jilted by LT. Think I am coming around now but will have to see.
So sweet to see Contador get married. Also the Curacao pics are always worth a giggle at stick men in bathers. I thought Cav was meant to be there with his lady love. I bet the photographers are disappointed!!They would have packed their extra wide lenses and all.
I think OGL looks so content with TinkerJil. It must be love if she is prepared to get pictures taken in her bikinis for the cycling world to see. I also think she is very pretty (darn it).
I was confused by her name on twitter but you have probably all realised it is her real name spelt backwards. It took me a while to work out if there was 2 Tinkerjils or not.
I am quite happy for this off season as feel quite exhausted by everything that has happened this year. It has been a full on year with drama and tragedy. I hope 2012 is a bit more sedate.
I also hope I can regain my love for our boys and the new RANT as at the moment it still feels a bit tainted.
Cindy
Oh how I love Jensi - http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/10338/Jens-Voigt-Interview-Part-I-The-Tour-de-France-is-still-my-dream.aspx
ReplyDeleteI'll be extremely sad (and angry) if RANT don't bring him to next year's Tour!
Brisbane Gal
Hey Cindy, take heart, it will only be a few weeks before we have all the excitement (?) of new kits, and then before we know it, we'll be watching the Tour Down Under, then it will all those strange desert races in Qatar, and then we'll be back in the swing of things.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm sure that once we see OGL and the others riding as a team, we'll feel better about accepting them "as a team".
I'm still struggling with having to support RadioShack, I guess it will take a little time to adjust to it (please please let their kit be pretty, I don't think I can bear another year of "errr, which team is that?" kit). I think I will need to see them rolling along at race speed before I can start to believe in them.
And look! I have a pretty new Flag Counter! Just see what an extraordinary range of countries contain Schlecklanders! (I'm trying to be cheerful here, can you tell?)
Hey Brisbane Gal, you and me both! Soooo glad that they managed to find a place for Jensi on the team. Now we all hope that they find a place for this "famously hyperactive" rider on the Tour.
Coug
Hi Cougar girl,
ReplyDeleteI just don't like Radio Shack and Nissan as companies. Being new to the cycling fan world, I liked the Leopard Trek riders, the color of the uniforms and Mercedes. It was understated but cool. Not like the pepto bismal color (bright pink) iniforms of one of the cycling teams. The new radio shack kit better be nice.
By the way, is the any way you could ask Ken S. from Ltrek to donate any trek items ( bidons, musettes, jerseys etc) for you very popular blog. Have a contest to get the now outdated LTrek items?
Just a thought.
Toronto Leopard Trek fan
Hi TLT, I have to stand up for Nissan at this point, as I used to work for them: but I don't care for RadioShack at all, and I'm really not keen on shouting "Up the R's!".
ReplyDelete(This is a UK joke - sounds a bit rude when you say it out loud. Sorry.)
Luckily the Shack colours seem to be black/grey/red so we are unlikely to be landed with another Lampre Pink Shock Horror kit. Although I did read that in Germany (I think it was Germany: correct me, someone, if I'm wrong) the pale blue colour of the Leopard stripe is considered unmanly. In the UK it's that pink that we consider to be pouffy.
Wow! What a great idea! I shall write to Ken at once! Unfortunately, I doubt that I am any more than just "one more fan" to Ken, and the times that he has responded on Twitter are just me being lucky, I think: you know, catching him at just the right moment. I do the same: if I am not actively chatting to a Tweep, I check my @mentions tab (if you don't Tweet, this is where "incoming" messages for me appear, from all and sundry, rather than just the people that I follow) and I often just reply to the top three or four, just for fun. Luck of the draw. I'm pretty sure that Ken gets about a million tweets a day, I don't think he's waiting for mine!
But it's a lovely idea, and I will certainly follow it up.
If anyone has the postal address of L-T in Lux, do please let me know!!
Coug
On the LT website there is also an e-mail contact adress :)
ReplyDeleteHope it works out.
Barbara
Just to suggest balance in the whole merger thing (and I was/am a rabid LT fan - NOT a Shack fan...but)...Chris Horner stole all our hearts last year with his concussed interview...and all the boys from Shack are really good guys. We will come to love them too and we know the LT boys will be gracious and welcoming - because that is just who they are...so I am really trying to remain positive in terms of the team itself. They all already know each other. My only real concerns are the historical politics and management vs UCI. McQuaid was a big fan of LT and is a big adversary of Johann...so it should all be really interesting. I just hope they get these details of being able to race at all worked out!
ReplyDeleteBE
FYI Bruyneel's latest fb status says the full team should be announced in the coming days.
ReplyDeleteLeelu
OK I have emailed the LT website... I feel like a 14-year old, ("Dear Ken, mummy says that if I write to you, you might send me a musette...") but fingers crossed for some sort of reply.
ReplyDeleteAlthough they probably have a thousand and one things to do.....
BE, yes, we must all try to be nice, and look forward to the new team. It's not the riders, it's the management that worry me, not to mention the UCI politics. So yes, it should be an interesting year.
Thanks Leelu, it will be good to get the final line-up sorted out. According to my "New Team" page (above) there are less than 12 Leopards left, and I've lost track of the Shack riders, so it would be nice to know who "we" have for next year.
Coug
Coug
Nice to be called Mummy again ;)
ReplyDeleteBarbara.