Pro-cycling thread

All?

There's possibly also the issue that most of the racing is in Europe. How much trade is Aus doing with Europe to the point where advertising in EU is going to benefit an Aussie company?

Sort of.

In corporate Australia, especially Melbourne and Adelaide, cycling has come to replace golf and is held in high regard.

Orica sells dynamite to mining companies. It doesn’t give a damn about joe public. When times are good, big companies will allocate cash for events/sponsorships so they can improve their standing in the community, invite other execs to events and do what they like. When the market swings, all these expenditures are the first to go.

Orica is so big that the $10-20m odd they gave the team in good times isn’t a big deal.

It’s cache and probably a pet project of the CEO. There’s no way anyone, except maybe a bike brand, can argue that sponsorship pays off.

It’s true in almost all sports, isn’t it? I’m trying to think of one sport where an advertiser can truly make a good ROI... it’s usually about the free passes, the tent out the back and the CEO’s ego.

Maybe I’m cynical.

This is why I think losing Michelson Scott would be sad.

It’s plainly obvious that every dollar sunk into cycling sponsorship would be more efficiently spent on Facebook, there’s no doubt in my mind. So the old Backstage Pass was just starting to develop a critical mass of viewers online, where the sponsor could really start to see who was watching, what the analytics looked like etc. It’s a strategy that could start to make sponsorship look attractive to more companies because they would have more data to calculate returns to the business.

But Orica fucked offf, which likely means smaller budgets for video this year, which means less staff, which means lower quality and on and on.

WTF was the reason on backstage pass going?

They could and should have monetised that, like you say.

Not sure what the details were. The reason they gave was the bloke that made it wanted to spend more time with his young family - totally acceptable.

But it came the same time as Orica leaving. If they had the budget, it would be relatively easy to find someone else to make it.

They’re not idiots, they’ll come back with something similar. Yet the budget, or lack there of, will limit its impact.

Read Tom Dekkers book. A colourful 20s indeed. And a sorry tale.

OK Peter, lets do some warm up stretches

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcnbJ-CjNdB/?taken-by=petosagan

lower back strength looks OK too

where the sponsor could really start to see who was watching, what the analytics looked like etc

Orica is not a consumer facing business.

Is Froome knackered?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/dec/13/chris-froome-team-sky-reputation-abnormal-drug-test

EDIT: should have put this in the doping thread :S

Sky have had a bit of a mixed year on the news front...

You did read when I made that point 6 posts up, right? ;)

The point is not to retain Orica, but to build a platform that is attractive to the next big title sponsor.

Orica was basically a good times sugar daddy. It wasn’t getting a measurable economic benefit (arguable) but rather a ‘brand enhancement’ while times were good. It was a bad deal for Orica’s shareholders therefore they weren’t going to be around for ever.

To be sustainable, the teams need to build platforms and demonstrate that they are delivering value above and beyond the sponsorship dollars they are requesting.

Or register as a charity and start running those ads on daytime tv:

Meet Esteban.
All Esteban wants to do is climb mountains in Lycra using a bike. A bike that costs money. Money Esteban does not have.
Help Esteban climb mountain by texting CLIMB to 555-1024 for only £1 a day.

Sweet, so Cadel remains the only legit Tour winner, ever. :)

lol

And Andy Schleck...? I know he gets mixed views on here, but I enjoyed reading this at least: http://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/3863/as-a-professional-you-always-live-from-one-goal-to-another-the-sad-thing-is-you-don-t

https://twitter.com/SammyNeyrinck/status/940995137534070784

Stig Broeckx

I’m very happy to see this, it should be in every cycling news channel instead of Froome’s asthma-gate.

Amazing. I’m so happy for him.

Just went back and re-read the stories around his accident, awful. Hopefully we can avoid anything like this next year.

Been reading Millar's autobiography. Not sure what to make of it yet, only half way through.

Racing Through the Dark?

I've read it but can no longer remember my opinion of it. This is what old feels like.

First one is good, second one is a bit self-aggrandising.

Been reading Millar's autobiography. Not sure what to make of it yet, only half way through.

I found it kinda funny whiny sad weird. 'Sub-optimal Life Decisions by D Millar' would have been a better title

Yeah. So far it seems that he’s setting the stage for the reason he chose to dope, to excuse himself. Rather than just taking responsibility.