We could boycott the Tour

[Mr Haematocrit]

Tinkoff-Saxo team owner explains how he wants to change the cycling business model

Oleg Tinkov is proud to be a self-made man after creating a series of businesses and then selling them for a profit. Now he wants to use his business instincts to revolutionise the way professional cycling is managed. He wants the major race organisers to share their TV revenue to create a more stable team structure.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tinkov-we-could-boycott-the-tour-unless-we-get-a-share-of-tv-revenue

 

[Fab Foodie]

Bernie Ecclestone might be looking for a new job ....

 

[steveindenmark]

We have a guy at Hull City who is threatening to leave the club if the FA won't let him call them the Hull Tigers. He is also a self made multi millionaire.

Now Tinkoff, this other self made man is throwing threats around.

You don't get anywhere by threatening people. He should just take the team out of the tour. A lot of good that would do them.

Tinkoff should put his point across for the team, but in the right way.


Steve

 

[tigger]

I think he makes a valid point. Cyling teams have little income other than sponsorship. It's free for spectators so there's no revenue source there. The only source of income is the TV rights which the teams don't get. This is anathema to pretty much all other professional sports where teams get a slice of the TV money (plus they charge admissions to add insult to pro cycing team's injury). As the cost of competing at the highest level increases, this cost no longer becomes viable for a marketeer to fund in its entirety (the cost simply out strips the value of their exposure). So the top teams are reliant on the additional funds of a sugar daddy to win, the other teams just can't compete at all. So we'll see cycling stagnate. Just imagine what will happen to the British contingent if James Murdoch pulls his millions...

So the business model is screwed. Will the ASO voluntarily change this? Probably not, so militant action may be the only way forward...

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Just Tinkov pulling out won't do anybody any good at all. It will take the a much greater menace of disruption to get ASO to have a long and hard think about it. So, does anybody know, who else is likely to join up with him?

 

[tigger]

Just Tinkov pulling out won't do anybody any good at all. It will take the a much greater menace of disruption to get ASO to have a long and hard think about it. So, does anybody know, who else is likely to join up with him?

I think he'd have to get all the top teams and the majority of the pro tour on his side...

 

[thom]

If Tinkov had a prospective tour winner in his team he wouldn't be talking such crap

 

[montage]

Fairly valid point regarding the business model- but if you read the other interviews with him, jesus is he wacky. I will be extremely surprised if his team makes it through a couple of seasons if he calls the shots. Doesn't sound like a bad person at all, just a bit deluded.

 

[The Couch]

Could be something to consider for the big races, but I I don't think ti would be good to do it with the lower ranked races.
You don't want to cut into the little money (I expect) that these races make to stay alive (and by that giving smaller teams and riders an opportunity to shine).

By the way... with the financial situation in Spain, I'm not quite sure the Vuelta organizers would have had much money left to give to the teams. So even with the bigger races, some (financial troublesome) years, this might not even be easy to do.

Don't much like the thought that each team should have a wealthy Kazakh, Russian or ... behind it though. Even in this trialing times (post-Festina, post-Telekom, post-Oprah) there are still enough sponsors to find, so the further this lays into the past (and - hopefully - with not such big quantities of doping perrils to go) I can only see the sponsors being more and more attracted to remain/get into the sport. (Especially with the TdF canival getting more and more international appeal, and with more riders from different countries getting stronger).