Pro team sponsorship

Chips Lovell

I see Caisse d'Espargne (who are one of the older teams in the peloton) aren't going to fold after all and have gotten Telefonica, who are a huge company, in as a new sponsor. The team will be called Movistar, which is Telefonica's mobile network in Spain. English speakers will no doubt call them Movie Star from now on.

It follows on from Saxobank announcing that they had changed their mind and would continue to the team next year. Footon Servetto now have a major new Italian sponsor in the form of Geox and could be signing Damiano Cunego.

For the past couple of years all we've been hearing about is how sponsors are deserting the sport. Yet now it seems that some even bigger companies are coming in. All three teams mentioned above have had their problems. Caisse had Alejandro Valverde suspended for two years, Saxobank had its problems with Puerto and Footon, who used to be called Saunier Duval, had the whole Ricco/Piepoli scandal.

papac

I find this interesting myself. I wonder if the "cycling establishment" has managed to convince sponsers that they are doing something to clean the sport-or do sponsers really care that much.??? No such thing as bad publicity.

How many people refuse to buy a Festina watch because of 1998??? How many millions have the Festina Brand imprinted somewhere in their subconscious because of the scandal.

If I were a cynical ceo of a corporation I might think about sponsoring a cycling team and engineering a drug scandal.More exposure for your buck.(Not suggesting anyone has done this but, in the smoke and mirrors of international corporate chicanery, stranger things have happened.)

niceonetom

I've never thought about it before but I supposed to be said like this:
?

I have slightly mixed feeling about this reprieve from penury that's come about in the last few weeks. The departure of Saxobank in particular seemed like a serious sign of impending doom, for the sport not just Riis.

Given some time to get used to the idea that a team with the PR winner and TDF runner up and a whole bunch of other talents could come so close to going under, I'd rationalised it as a good thing: a wake up call to the sport as a whole that the public was jaded and the sponsors, especially ones from northern europe could no longer turn a blind eye.

It general I'm against any form of collective punishment as it necessarily hurts the innocent as well as the guilty, but if the long-term result of smaller wages and budgets might be cleaner peloton, then perhaps it's not so bad after all. Un fortunately there's always oligarchs from the former soviets states who'll fund teams like katyusha and astana so a two tier system (both financially and, eh, medically) might emerge...

Anyway, rumours of cycling's demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated so it's all moot now. The Italians and Spanish just see the whole thing diferently, and as long as they do there'll still be money from businesses there.

RobFowl

Apparently the sales of Festina watches went through the roof after 1998 so .......

Inquitus

RobFowl wrote: »

Apparently the sales of Festina watches went through the roof after 1998 so .......

I think word got out they make you go faster.......

neris

how do those teams develop or start off? do they start off as small clubs and just get to a high level or is it if you can buy the best riders you can enter the top events?

blorg

Depends on the team. Some develop and move up from the lower divisions but most current teams have evolved over time with either sponsors, management or both changing and the new team taking over the license of the old. Astana, for example, actually started off as ONCE, a Spanish team, back in 1989.

Some, like Sky this year, spring fully formed.

LCD

Sponsors don't care what athletes do. Wayne Rooney caught with hooker before wedding did Nike run? Tiger Woods loose his? Ferdinand misses drug test? Cycling versus every other sports, whats the difference? It airs its dirty laundry! Also it seems to be willing to take the big stars down (Vino, Ricco, Basso), though jury is still out on some of the stars!