Current and upcoming ROAD columns
Posted on 15. Aug, 2008 in ROAD Magazine
My column in the current issue of ROAD is now posted. It talks about the long term implications – some of them potentially negative – of the sponsorship deals for Garmin, Columbia, and Saxo Bank.
Here’s an excerpt from the next column, which will hit newsstands around September 1.
The sponsor’s choice is to stick with or walk away from the team as a whole. There is no middle ground, which makes a case like Ricco’s – where there’s no indication of systematic doping within the team – all the more difficult. Dropping the sponsorship is a clear statement against the cheater, but you can’t avoid some people interpreting it as a lack of confidence in the movement towards a clean sport. Continuing with the team avoids that portrayal, but it will always look to some like a gesture of leniency.
While the first is a debate of incentives, this one is more emotional. At its heart, it’s a question of loyalty to the community of people who love cycling. When a sponsor cuts ties with a team, is that a statement against individuals who violated the basic tenets of the community? Or is it a statement against the community itself? It’s difficult to separate the two.
