Comments on: Call me a dinosaur

By: no_use_for_a_name

no_use_for_a_name — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:25:32 +0000

To be clear, the UCI is Pat and Hein’s fiefdom. They do as they please including suing journalists for, among other things, calling them terrorists. (which they are)
In rare, extraordinary circumstances the member federations show a little common sense and restrain those two predators.
There is only anti-doping controversy at Pat and Hein’s level. Doping makes the sport more spectacular. Witness Sky destroying every stage race they entered in 2012 like never ever seen before in the last 100 years and raised the level of cycling as a sport awareness in the UK JUST IN TIME for their Olympic games.

By: no_use_for_a_name

no_use_for_a_name — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:20:32 +0000

ploughclose
No, none of this comes from the way Pat and Hein have been running the sport. it’s about money and Pat and Hein getting paid.
Pat and Hein have a big-money fish on the hook and will further shrink competitive cycling to skim some money off of both ends of the deal.

By: LarryTheobald

LarryTheobald — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:35:31 +0000

Seems like a “fix” to a problem the UCI itself created back when they excreted the Pro Tour idea onto the world of pro cycling. Too many teams in the top-tier and too many commitments for them, making teams too large and funding never enough, while taking too many wild-card options away from the race promoters. While the sport certainly needs the crowds massed at the roadside in the same way F1 needs packed grandstands, the money-men here have other ideas, none of them related to sport – it’s all commerce to them with dreams of TV broadcast revenue leading the way. This fellow should spend his loot bribing the bosses at UCI to leave, turning things over to a new generation so it can be cleaned up. With a cleaner sport and one where cheaters are tossed out for a long time and without waiting for 10+ years for it to happen, sponsors can be drawn back in when the world-wide economy improves. The idea of generic, made-for-TV events is an answer to a question that nobody asked in my view.

By: no_use_for_a_name

no_use_for_a_name — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:10:30 +0000

Shrink the sport, but pay Pat and Hein better.
This may be shocking to some, but I predict World Cycling Productions is central to the yet-to-be-established events.

By: World Series Cycling a masterclass in how not to tell exciting stories | Chasing Wheels cycling blog

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:58:13 +0000

[…] Cyclismas: Call me a Dinosaur […]

By: ploughclose

ploughclose — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:30:35 +0000

@UCI_Overlord Although much of what you say is true, would you be prepared to put up an alternative proposal for the way pro cycling should be run? Surely much of this is borne out of frustration with the way things are at the moment? We do need constructive support for a fantastic sport – can we look forward to a complete restructuring? A bigger share of TV revenue, perhaps? Move the focus away from corporate sponsorship? If we have to run a points system, give credit to the domestiques who work their guts out for the team and get no reward because they don’t win anything? So much work needs to be done.