Comments on: The danger of public relations disguised as nationalistic fervour

By: UCI_Overlord

UCI_Overlord — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:27:05 +0000

@andy1608 which is exactly the reason why I’m questioning this dated marketing method of the Team Sky brass. It has caused a schism in the GB cycling community and caused fans to be polarised that previously were united.

By: UCI_Overlord

UCI_Overlord — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:25:36 +0000

@doolols nothing wrong with questioning the motives of the Team Sky brass. And nothing wrong with a British winner of the Tour.

By: UCI_Overlord

UCI_Overlord — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:24:41 +0000

@Ali_VS you might want to check your definitions.

By: andy1608

andy1608 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:18:34 +0000

@CyclingRox The concept of being the nationality of where you were born is outdated especially within the EU. Nationality of birth relies on your parents nationality. There are exceptions to this that are specific to certain situations, for example, Northern Irish citizens can hold a Republic of Ireland passport if they wish.

By: Martin360

Martin360 — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:25:11 +0000

I can’t say I agree with this article. Britain has had a very long wait to have cyclists of the calibre of Wiggins, of Froome, of Cav. Other countries celebrate they’re nations riders doing well. You don’t see the French hoping for a Spanish win on Bastille day or the Italians backing a foreign winner of the Giro. We have no idea when we’ll have another generation of British riders anywhere near this level, I intend to enjoy it and cheer them on while it lasts.

The whole ‘Believe in Britain’ campaign is just to get people to take notice. Sure for some it will be a fleeting interest but everyone started in this sport somewhere and I have no doubt it will help convert some to become life long fans of the sport.

By: doolols

doolols — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 23:51:01 +0000

I abhor overt nationalism. I dislike intensely Rupert Murdoch and his empire. However, I find myself supporting Team Sky/GB. Why shouldn’t we applaud the prospect of a UK passport holder winning the Tour de France? We’ve had precious little success in that sphere over the years, despite a healthy local and national cycle racing scene.
Once again, we see, with this article, someone taking the opportunity to have a swipe at Wiggins / Sky et al. We’ve had the doping accusations, the boring accusations, and now we have nationalistic accusations. I’m British, fiercely anti-racist, and love the fact that one of ‘our’ boys is in yellow, riding for ‘our’ team.

By: Ali_VS

Ali_VS — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 17:02:43 +0000

Yet more pot stirring masquerading as journalism. Go back to pretending to being Pat Mcquaid…

By: CyclingRox

CyclingRox — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:46:51 +0000

You left out the irony that none of the riders from Team Sky were actually born on the island of Great Britain. The four holding UK passports were born on the Isle of Man (rigourously independent), in Kenya, Belgium and Malta. As far as I can determine, in the entire peloton, only Steve Cummings (riding on that American/Swiss team) was born on Great Britain. Nationalism only goes so far, and then you have to start getting foreigners to do the work. Wait, isn’t that the message of the current political season, too? /sarcasm