ROAD columns, posted and preview
Posted on 09. Sep, 2008 by Josh in ROAD Magazine
I’ve added another of my columns for ROAD Magazine to the archive. This one discusses the choice that a sponsor faces when their team is involved in a doping scandal, based on what SRAM went through with the Riccardo Ricco mess.
Also, here’s an excerpt from the column that will be out at Interbike:
So, getting back to the original question, how will people interpret the current sponsorship shuffle? Of course, lots of fans will say that it’s just about money, and there’s plenty of truth to that. It’s no secret that teams want to maximize revenue and sponsors have an incentive to sign whomever will help them move the most bikes. But this principle extends far beyond cycling and fans of all sports seem willing enough to accept it, albeit cynically at times.
But there are some cycling-specific implications as well. On the one hand, the realignment of teams and bikes suggests that all the bikes are good enough to win races at the highest levels of the sport. On the other hand, this undercuts each company’s ability to argue that their products are superior. That’s a mixed result for most of the brands involved, but it seems to me like one stands to benefit.
