Tour De France 2020

Do we start these threads too early?

tao to win
150/1 odds currently

you heard it here first

Ha.

Egan.

Are you a dancing james alias? :)

If there had been a tour this year, I sadly would have been cheering for literally ANYONE except Ineos. Arseholes. I liked Geraint.

https://twitter.com/GeraintThomas86/status/1278663736421744642

You’ll still get your chance to boo them this year no?

.

1 Attachment

I have not been paying attention.

Sponsored riders doing sponsored things. Which of the other teams/sponsors are better?

I think that ineos monstrosity is particularly jarring because it’s a ridiculous vanity project which makes a point of not giving a fuck about the environment both in its design (“uncompromising”) and the way its development is funded. I don’t have nearly as much of a problem with a team funded by a chain of supermarkets or a telecom operator.

I don’t like any of the riders less because of their sponsor, though. I do think less of riders with leadership potential selling out to become wagon B in the Sky train.

I know this is a tired point, but there are more egregious companies and totalitarian regimes involved in cycling than Ineos. Not saying Ineos is bad, but is anyone profiting from cycling? It’s all a big vanity project.

Sponsored riders doing sponsored things. Which of the other teams/sponsors are better?

Mitchelton-Scott and Astana are also in Oil, but only Ineos is promoting a vehicle that pointlessly burns more oil than anyone needs, it's excessive size clogging up our streets and increasing air pollution and road danger that kill tens of thousands a year.

Most of the other teams are in telecoms or tech.

3 teams sponsored by nations/regions of debatable human rights status.
3 oil or oil related
3? lotteries
1 bank
Out of 19 teams, I would say it is hard to pick out one as being the worst, and if I was picking, it wouldn't be Ineos - shitty as they are. And yes, fuck expanding car usage.

Mitchelton-Scott and Astana are also in Oil

Mitchelton are a wine producer and hotel, owned by Gerry Ryan who owns the team. He made most of his money from Jayco, who built caravans and motorhomes. As far as I'm aware, he has no interests in oil.

The team were previously sponsored by Orica, who manufactured explosives to assist in mineral extraction and mining.

What, no mention of Quickstep? Those laminate flooring bastards!

I do find it interesting that there are some people who see professional cycling as some kind of active campaigning arm of prioritising investment in cycling infrastructure and who should be promoting cycling as a form of active travel.

Since its inception, professional cycling has been about promoting sponsors, nothing else. You could argue that should change, but the professional teams are primarily focused on getting sponsorship to pay their costs.

Aka The Wolfpack?

You're right that pro cycling has always been nakedly commercial, but it's not unreasonable to question the suitability of sponsors.

If it can only survive through the patronage of ethically dodgy entities, should it still exist?

I thought I was neutral, I would much prefer the sport to have a more ethical stance when it comes to choosing sponsors. The trouble is, most teams have very little choice.

Does the positive societal impact of professional bike racing outweigh the negative social impact of the Bahraini or Khazakstan governments?

I don't have the answers.

I bought mapei tile adhesive because I recognised their name from cycling sponsorship and I like their logo (also because the tiler recommended their products too).

i started doing a lot of coke because of tom boonen

when Peter Sagan pinched that lady's arse, I bought some long extendable cartoon pinchers and spend a couple of weeks prancing around town, molesting women from the other side of the street, and knocking back aperol spritz after aperol spritz like the men I watch on tv

That's not a very nice thing to do.