The Way Things Work

Bruce E Hildenbrand — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:59:27 GMT

Congratulations to the Slipstream/Chipotle team for its second place finish in
the first stage of the Tour of Quatar. Jonathan Vaughter's boys were a scant
two seconds back of Tom Boonen's Quick Step squad in the opening stage, a
6km Team Time Trial(TTT). You might all be wondering, what's the big deal about
second place in an early season race in a country most of us couldn't even
point out on a globe!

Well, unlike the NFL which owns all the events it sanctions, in cycling,
individual race organizers and corporations such as ASO own and promote the
races while the NFL-equivalent, the UCI, just exists as the sanctioning body.
OK, the UCI, with its Pro Tour, tried to become more than just the sanctioning
body, but we have all seen how that has worked out. It is best to leave race
promotion to the professionals.

So, if you are a team, and you want to get into a race, you have to catch the
eye of the race promoter. Winning big races is one way to catch the eye, but
if you can't get into the big races unless you prove yourself, then you have
a Catch-22. Enter races such as the Tour of Quatar. These early season,
predominately low-key, events are the perfect platform for up and coming teams
to show race organizers that they can play with the big boys.

And, it doesn't hurt that the Tour of Quatar is owned by ASO, the same company
which organizes the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and a whole host of the top
professional races. So, if you are a team like Slipstream/Chipotle presented
by H30(say that fast three times) then the pressure is on in Quatar and they
delivered.

Also participating in Quatar is the BMC Professional Cycling Team which, while
not hoping for a slot in the Tour in 2008, is hoping for a wild-card invite to
some of the one day races, such as Paris-Roubaix, owned by ASO. The boys in
black finished 12th just 12 seconds behind the winners and 10 clicks behind
their American counterparts.

Hopefully, ASO and other race promoters are taking notice and we will see more
American teams and US riders in the biggest and best races on the professional
cycling calendar. Yeah, Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonen are exceptional racers,
but I want to be cheering for a homie when the season gets into full swing.

Bruce

Pro Tour vs Grand Tour Organizers: a New Beginning

Bruce E Hildenbrand — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:35:28 GMT

In 2005, the UCI, the governing body of cycling, created the Pro Tour in an
attempt to form a season-long competition involving the premier European pro
races. Unfortunately, the organizers of the premier European races such as
the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, known as the grand tour
organizers, were skeptical of the real reasons behind the UCI forming the
Pro Tour.

Over the past three years of its existence the Pro Tour has been a rocky road.
At the end of 2007, the UCI and the grand tour organizers agreed to remove the
grand tours and the other races put on by the grand tour organizers such as
Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Milan San Remo from the Pro Tour. So,
instead of the original 30 races, the 2008 edition of the Pro Tour will have 16
races. Is this divorce and new version of the Pro Tour a good thing for
professional cycling? I think it is and for a lot of good reasons.

First off, the UCI needs to prove that it can manage and promote a premier
race series on its own. Trying to latch onto races like the Tour de France,
Giro d'Italia and Paris-Roubaix, which are already wildly popular, is like
coming in to close a game with two outs, two strikes in the ninth inning with a
ten run lead. It doesn't prove the UCI's capabilities to deliver what they
promised with the Pro Tour, notably to grow cycling by increasing it's
popularity and sponsorship.

Secondly, the Pro Tour was an huge burden to the already established events
because its 20 team format severely limited the wild card invitations a race
organizer could offer non-Pro Tour teams. This caused a real have and have-not
situation. If you weren't a Pro Tour team, your squad was unlikely to get the
opportunity to prove yourself on the world's stage. A few teams, like
Barloworld at last year's Tour, got the chance and they stepped up their game
several notches and were one of the real bright moments in France last July.

This is great news for the two US teams, Slipstream-Chipotle and BMC Racing,
who are trying to gain a ticket into Europe's big races. Slipstream just
received an invite to the Giro. Would that have happened under the Pro Tour
system last year? BMC and Slipstream are also looking for a slot in the Queen
of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix. With 2004 winner, Maggy Backstedt on his
roster, Jonathan Vaughter's Slipstream squad should get an invite. It would
be great to see the BMC boys alongside them at the start as well.

And for those of you used to seeing a US-based team at the Tour, the removal
of the Pro Tour restrictions means that Slipstream could be lining up at the
start come this July.

Don't get me wrong. I am not a Pro Tour hater. One of the things I really
liked about the Pro Tour is that if a team held a multi-year Pro Tour license,
it was guaranteed entry into the biggest races. With such a guarantee, a team
could approach a potential sponsor in, say 2007, with the promise that they
would be at the Tour in 2008. Unfortunately, there were just too many Pro Tour
teams and they basically sucked up all the spots at those same big races.
Again, this was the case of the haves versus the have-nots.

It's extremely early in the season, the first Pro Tour race, the Tour Down
Under in Australia has just started, but I have a good feeling that this new
arrangement is going to force both the UCI and the grand tour organizers
to bring their A games which will ultimately be the best for professional
cycling. What do you all think?

Bruce

Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand

The Way Things Work

Pro Tour vs Grand Tour Organizers: a New Beginning