Pro Cycling Backpedaling Fast

By Bill Schneider, 8-16-07

Two weeks ago, I posted my reactions to the 2007 Tour de France, including as much encouragement as I could offer for the sponsors to stay with the sport as it aggressively cleans itself up from doping scandals. Then, eight days later, the bottom fell out. America’s team, sponsored by the Discovery Channel, imploded.

True, Discovery Channel had already given notice in February that it wouldn’t renew its sponsorship, but cycling fans like me hoped the spectacular showing in this year’s race (first, and third place, best young rider, and the coveted team championship) might sway Disco to re-consider, but no. Even by winning the Yellow Jersey without Lance Armstrong on board wasn’t enough.

Worse, the actual owner of the team, Tailwind Sports, the most successful cycling team in the world (winning Le Tour 8 out of the last 10 years) couldn’t find a replacement sponsor and decided to disband, leaving the sport behind.

Can pro cycling’s rapid descent be stopped?

I’m trying to be optimistic, but it’s tough. Compare it to NASCAR Team No. 48, owned by Hendricks Motorsports, winning 8 out of 10 races, but its signature sponsor, Lowe’s, deciding not to renew--and then Hendricks being unable to find a new sponsor and disbanding the team. Or the San Francisco Giants winning 8 out of 10 World Series and then closing down the team and giving up its franchise without looking for a buyer because Barry Bonds might have taken steroids.

You might say cycling is not exactly as all-powerful in marketing as NASCAR or Major League Baseball, but guess what, in the rest of the world, it is.

So what caused the sudden implosion?

Clearly, the doping controversies contributed to it.  “We can control what goes on in our own team but we can’t control what goes on in the sport and with other teams,” Bill Stapleton, co-owner of Tailwind Sports told CyclingNews.com. “We couldn’t in good conscious make a recommendation to a company to spend the sort of money that would be required to sponsor the team in the current environment.

“There are all kinds of issues in the sport, doping and others,” said Stapleton. “It’s not an environment conducive to a lot of investment.”

Stapleton also admitted they had bad timing. “We went into the market at a time when almost every day there was new news regarding doping and admissions or disputes within the sport, and those became an issue in the talks. It’s not an environment conducive to a lot of investment.”

But then, the real shocker. Despite all the problems, Stapleton said they had it in the bag anyway, but decided to quit a few feet from the finish line. “We were in talks with a number of companies about the opportunity and were confident a new sponsor was imminent. We have chosen, however, to end those discussions.”

“I think we had a firm commitment for three years,” agreed Armstrong who is co-owner of Tailwind and was at the press briefing for the disbanding. “Based on my impression I think we were 90% there. We are walking away from that today. We are not comfortable managing and running a team right now.”

To this I say, wow, there most be a big back story on this decision. What company would achieve the number one ranking in its market niche, have the current Tour de France winner (Alberto Contador) and third-place finisher (Levi Leipheimer) under contract, have a $45 million sponsorship deal almost cooked and then suddenly volunteer to go out of business?

Speculation is running hot and heavy on Tailwind’s decision. Although the team hasn’t had major doping scandals, cycling officials widely criticized the signing of Ivan Basso, winner of the Giro d’Italia, (Tour of Italy, the second largest bike race in the world) and runner up to Armstrong in the 2005 Tour de France after he had been tainted by doping controversy. Basso was cleared and free to race when Disco signed him, but shortly thereafter, as more revelations came out, he was suspended and eventually admitted to doping. Even though Basso never actually raced for Discovery Channel, I’m sure the sponsors saw it as disastrous publicity. 

And on top of doping scandals, we have the long-standing dispute between Armstrong and ASO, the management company that owns the Tour de France. ASO subscribes to the Golden Rule (i.e. he who has the gold rules) and doesn’t mind flaunting its power.

In my view, things have been tense ever since American Greg Lemond embarrassed Frenchman Lauren Fignon in the 1989 race, overcoming a seemingly insurmountable margin and beating him in the concluding time trial and winning the race by only 8 seconds, right there on the Champs-Élysées with all the French brass looking on. Then, came Tailwind and Armstrong, winning 8 out of 10, plus one more by American Floyd Landis riding on the now-disbanded Swiss team sponsored by Phonak. So, to the French, it’s 9 out of 10.

In short, Americans have been sweeping the pavement with French cyclists in their own race for the last two decades.

At the press conference, Armstrong criticized ASO’s talk about going back to national teams instead of continuing the current trend depending on commercial sponsors. “If something like that were to happen,” Armstrong noted, “If you get a company to invest and then all of a sudden the ASO decides that it should go back to national teams, their investment goes to zero. With issues like that up in the air it is too risky to ask people for that kind of money.”

But then, what if more and more sponsors bail out? We might have to go back to national teams like we do in other sports such as track and field funded in part by governments but most money coming from private donations, almost like the Olympics.

Hmmm,. I’m saying to myself, maybe under these circumstances, that that’s an option worth considering.

As I was writing this column, Pat McQuaid, president of cycling’s governing body, UCI, came out and more or less supported what Armstrong was saying and claimed the owners of the Grand Tours, such as ASO, might be responsible for the demise of Tailwind Sports. “Especially when organizers come out and make all kinds of statements, which are against the rules, deciding who gets to race and who doesn’t, all based on subjective opinion,” McQuaid said in an interview with AP. “If sponsors aren’t guaranteed their team can race, they won’t commit to the sport. It shows exactly why the sport can’t allow such a thing. We can’t just allow organizers to do their own thing.”

“It’s not good for world cycling. It’s not good for U.S. cycling,” McQuaid continued, adding that the bad relations between the Le Tour, the French and Armstrong contributed to the demise of Tailwind. “The French have a love-hate relationship with Lance. They can’t get it into their heads that he won the Tour seven times. The French media continue to make insinuations. They haven’t made Lance or the Discovery team very welcome.”

But here’s my real solution to the problem. A big globalized, USA-based company like Google or Microsoft or Bank of America needs to do two things. Become a signature sponsor for Tailwind Sports while secretly buying the assets of ASO and then move the Tour de France to Virginia, re-name it Tour of America, and finish the race every year on The National Mall.

Footnote: Hey, just for the record, how many of you know that the women’s Tour de France is underway? Be honest, now. Almost nobody, right? Actually, it’s officially called La Route de France Féminine. But you won’t see it on Versus or read about it in USA Today. Even CyclingNews.com doesn’t write stories about it, but at least the website posts the results. I surfed around a bit and couldn’t find any podium photos. I was wondering if they hired male models to kiss the winners on the podium, but apparently not. So, if you want to be a podium boy, sorry, no chance.  Oh, by the way, American Amber Neben is leading, ahead of all the French women.