A Scandinavian wins Paris - Roubaix. But did anyone there notice it?

Davide Tosi

Yesterday, 29 years old Swede Magnus Backstedt won the most important
classic bicycles race, the Paris - Roubaix.
Such an achievement would lead to a great appreciation at home for someone
coming from Flanders, Tuscany or almost any other place in the Central or
Southern parts of Continental Europe.

For the Scandinavian public, this achievement should be even more great
news since this is the first time that someone coming from above the Baltic
sea won one of the immortal "Monument" cycling classics.
But today it was very difficult to find even just a mention of this
marvellous accomplishment in Scandinavian newspapers.

This leads me to a reflection: is it good for cycling to let into those
great races riders coming from places were this sport is not popular at
all?
With more "Backstedts" winning Monument races, the risk is that the local
crowds in Flanders, Lombardy and wherever else those races take place will
eventually get disaffected by this trend and start skipping to attend them.
Probably even the sponsors will experience a decrease in return to
exposition. Sure wheels producer Alessio didn't gain as many new customers
with Backstedts win as it would have with i.e. Venetian rider Baldato
taking the top spot instead.

It just seems to me that the UCI (Union of International Cycling) dream of
cycling becoming a worldwide popular sport is just a utopia without any
chance of ever getting real. Even with other dozens of Scandinavian winning
classic races, cycling will ever remain a fringe sport up there.
It should be better to restrict the partecipation in them to riders coming
from the usual 6-7 traditional Central and Southern European countries.

Tom Kunich

"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote in message
news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de...
>
> With more "Backstedts" winning Monument races, the risk is that the local
> crowds in Flanders, Lombardy and wherever else those races take place will
> eventually get disaffected by this trend and start skipping to attend
them.

Come on Davide, you know that every couple of years the impossible happens
and everyone in northern France shakes their heads. It isn't as if cycling
is all that big in France anyway.

Nev Shea

davide.tosi@comune.re.it (Davide Tosi) wrote in
news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de:

> For the Scandinavian public, this achievement should be even more
> great news since this is the first time that someone coming from above
> the Baltic sea won one of the immortal "Monument" cycling classics.
> But today it was very difficult to find even just a mention of this
> marvellous accomplishment in Scandinavian newspapers.
>
> This leads me to a reflection: is it good for cycling to let into
> those great races riders coming from places were this sport is not
> popular at all?


No, because it makes the traditional cycling powers look like a bunch of
pussies when they get their asses kicked, and the folks in the rider's
home country don't appreciate it. Just look at Tyler Hamilton's LBL win
last year -- the US news media couldn't care less.

However -- I have a proposal the UCI should adapt that can remedy this
sorry state of affairs. All the riders from outside the traditional
cycling countries need something to get the media to take notice -- add
sizzle to the story. Did people in the US care about Armstrong the
cyclist? NO! Give him cancer though, and he is the media darling; throw
in a divorce and banging movie stars and pop singers, and he keeps his
name in the headlines. And of course, this is supported by the fact that
the fans haven't stopped watching the TDF as we would expect from your
original theory.

Similarly, Tyler Hamilton didn't become newsworthy until he rode the TDF
with a broken collarbone -- even finishing 2nd in the Giro bandaged like
a mummy got no media attention at all. Lemond was just a little faggot on
a bike until he got shot -- then the US media could do sappy pieces on
his struggle to recover from near death. Vinokourov becomes interesting
because of Kivelev's death; David Millar has it for being "mentally
fragile" . . . and if by chance Hincapie were to win a classic, perhaps
he can announce he has leprosy or something.

Now, I hope the UCI puts me on the payroll for this.

NS

Amit

davide.tosi@comune.re.it (Davide Tosi) wrote in message news:<407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de>...

> This leads me to a reflection: is it good for cycling to let into those
> great races riders coming from places were this sport is not popular at
> all?

dumbass, no one "let's in" anyone. anyone can get a UCI license and if
they are good enough become a euro pro. magnus was signed by an
italian team based on his results and reputation. he won PR with his
skill and power -- sorry if this isn't scripted they way you'd like it

> With more "Backstedts" winning Monument races, the risk is that the local
> crowds in Flanders, Lombardy and wherever else those races take place will
> eventually get disaffected by this trend and start skipping to attend them.

that would be shitty for them

> Probably even the sponsors will experience a decrease in return to
> exposition. Sure wheels producer Alessio didn't gain as many new customers
> with Backstedts win as it would have with i.e. Venetian rider Baldato
> taking the top spot instead.
>

maybe it's alessio's fault because they decided to field a masters
team in div I instead of getting some young riders.

Henrik Jensen

"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> skrev i en meddelelse
news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de.

....snipped....

Backstedts victory was certainly noticed and covered in the papers/media
here in Denmark. Furthermore, we had Frank Høj finishing 10. (and 8th in
Flanders) which was also covered as much as anyone could wish in the Danish
papers.

Hell, we were even cheering for Bartoli who also had a flat with a few K's
to go. Riis was certain he would have been one of the top riders if it
hadn't been for that bad luck. Bartoli will take a win in one of the
upcoming races according to Riis in the Danish newspapers, so we are
noticing cycling here in Scandinavia...

Did you check the German media if anyone is noticing the victories of
Jaksche, Voigt, Zabel, Wesemann... (Ullrich in a few months)?

HB

Davide Tosi

Dalla voce di "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo.com>, eresiarca minore:

>"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote in message
>news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de...
>>
>> With more "Backstedts" winning Monument races, the risk is that the local
>> crowds in Flanders, Lombardy and wherever else those races take place will
>> eventually get disaffected by this trend and start skipping to attend
>them.
>
>Come on Davide, you know that every couple of years the impossible happens
>and everyone in northern France shakes their heads. It isn't as if cycling
>is all that big in France anyway.

It is still the third most popular sport there, after soccer and Rugby.
Among mature public it is still the old times sport, the traditional one.
The problem in France is that the young people are mostly of African, Arab
or Caribbean origin and those people could care less about cycling.

Davide Tosi

"Henrik Jensen" <marrone@STOPSPAMsol.dk> wrote:

>"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> skrev i en meddelelse
>news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de.
>
>...snipped....
>
>Backstedts victory was certainly noticed and covered in the papers/media
>here in Denmark. Furthermore, we had Frank Høj finishing 10. (and 8th in
>Flanders) which was also covered as much as anyone could wish in the Danish
>papers.
>
>Hell, we were even cheering for Bartoli who also had a flat with a few K's
>to go. Riis was certain he would have been one of the top riders if it
>hadn't been for that bad luck. Bartoli will take a win in one of the
>upcoming races according to Riis in the Danish newspapers, so we are
>noticing cycling here in Scandinavia...

OK. Denmark is part of Scandinavia and cycling is rather popular there.
But I was refering more to the countries that are North of the Baltic sea;
those ones have a sport tradition that is completely different from
Denmark. Those are the countries of ice hockey, nordic skiing, rally racing
and frankly I doubt cycling could ever be any popular there.
Yesterday I checked personally some on-line versions of Swedish newspapers.
It has been very hard to find any reference to Backstedt winning the P-R.

Henrik Jensen

"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> skrev i en meddelelse
news:407cde6e.10525870@news.individual.de...
> "Henrik Jensen" <marrone@STOPSPAMsol.dk> wrote:
>
> >"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> skrev i en meddelelse
> >news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de.
> >
> >...snipped....
> OK. Denmark is part of Scandinavia and cycling is rather popular there.
> But I was refering more to the countries that are North of the Baltic sea;
> those ones have a sport tradition that is completely different from
> Denmark. Those are the countries of ice hockey, nordic skiing, rally
racing
> and frankly I doubt cycling could ever be any popular there.
> Yesterday I checked personally some on-line versions of Swedish
newspapers.
> It has been very hard to find any reference to Backstedt winning the P-R.
>

That's too bad, it should give cycling a boost in Sweden and Norway. Thor
Hushovdt and Backstedt have shown that it _is_ possible to become good
riders even if the national sport mostly requires snow and/or ice.

But we'd happily adopt a P/R winner )

HB

Tom Kunich

"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote in message
news:407bdd82.10289384@news.individual.de...
> Dalla voce di "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo.com>, eresiarca minore:
>
> >"Davide Tosi" <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote in message
> >news:407e1961.645622382@news.individual.de...
> >>
> >> With more "Backstedts" winning Monument races, the risk is that the
local
> >> crowds in Flanders, Lombardy and wherever else those races take place
will
> >> eventually get disaffected by this trend and start skipping to attend
> >them.
> >
> >Come on Davide, you know that every couple of years the impossible
happens
> >and everyone in northern France shakes their heads. It isn't as if
cycling
> >is all that big in France anyway.
>
> It is still the third most popular sport there, after soccer and Rugby.
> Among mature public it is still the old times sport, the traditional one.
> The problem in France is that the young people are mostly of African, Arab
> or Caribbean origin and those people could care less about cycling.

On the Paris stage of the 2000 Tour I was sitting at the southern turn of
the course and talking to a Breton. I mentioned that while in France I
hadn't seen ONE solitary recreational rider in two weeks. Whereas while one
day in Switzerland I saw thousands riding.

He said that it was a completely different story in Breton area.

Tom Kunich

Funny piece Nev.

Tom Kunich

"Henrik Jensen" <marrone@STOPSPAMsol.dk> wrote in message
news:407bb4d2$0$146$edfadb0f@dread11.news.tele.dk...
>
> Did you check the German media if anyone is noticing the victories of
> Jaksche, Voigt, Zabel, Wesemann... (Ullrich in a few months)?

One thing is very interesting - for a rider that didn't have a large
palmares, Riis is proving to be a genius Director Sportiff.

Bob Schwartz

In rec.bicycles.racing Henrik Jensen <marrone@stopspamsol.dk> wrote:
> That's too bad, it should give cycling a boost in Sweden and Norway. Thor
> Hushovdt and Backstedt have shown that it _is_ possible to become good
> riders even if the national sport mostly requires snow and/or ice.

> But we'd happily adopt a P/R winner )

I think what we're seeing is the difference between the impact of a
classics winner and the winner of a Grand Tour, particularly the Tour
de France. Denmark is a good example of this.

I'm sure Henrik will correct me if I am wrong on this, but it was
Riis' emergence as a Tour contender that made cycling popular in
Denmark. Prior to that Rolf Sorenson became the first ever Danish
classics winner in the 1993 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and I'll bet he
got about as much coverage in the Danish press as Backstedt's win
in Paris-Roubaix got in Sweden.

Lemond won a World Championship and won the 1983 Super Prestige
Pernod trophy, but he never would have hit the mainstream press
if not for the Tour. Much like Andy Hampsten, who is pretty much
unknown to the average NASCAR fan in spite of having won the Giro.

Bob Schwartz
cvcc@execpc.com

Benjamin Weiner

Davide Tosi <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote:

> It just seems to me that the UCI (Union of International Cycling) dream of
> cycling becoming a worldwide popular sport is just a utopia without any
> chance of ever getting real. Even with other dozens of Scandinavian winning
> classic races, cycling will ever remain a fringe sport up there.
> It should be better to restrict the partecipation in them to riders coming
> from the usual 6-7 traditional Central and Southern European countries.

Should Southern Italians be allowed, or only Lombards and Tuscans?

I mean, you gotta have some standards.

Tom Kunich

"Benjamin Weiner" <bjw@mambo.ucolick.org> wrote in message
news:407c2427$1@darkstar...
> Davide Tosi <davide.tosi@comune.re.it> wrote:
>
> > It just seems to me that the UCI (Union of International Cycling) dream
of
> > cycling becoming a worldwide popular sport is just a utopia without any
> > chance of ever getting real. Even with other dozens of Scandinavian
winning
> > classic races, cycling will ever remain a fringe sport up there.
> > It should be better to restrict the partecipation in them to riders
coming
> > from the usual 6-7 traditional Central and Southern European countries.
>
> Should Southern Italians be allowed, or only Lombards and Tuscans?

In the latest Gibson novel he uses the term "Lombard" to mean "Lots Of Money
But A Real Dick"