Is it not odd Carlos has barely raced all year ? & when he did his results sucked.... If he wins the final TT I'm going off to support Contador.
whiteboytrash said:Is it not odd Carlos has barely raced all year ? & when he did his results sucked.... If he wins the final TT I'm going off to support Contador.
Wow. Valverde and Chavanel are overpaid. So is Sastre, but CSC may luck out if he can pull off the win on Saturday.whiteboytrash said:
Cycling's top salary, according to coaches, sponsors, cyclists and team executives, belongs to Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, who makes nearly $4 million a year. Prerace favorite Cadel Evans pulls in somewhere around $2.3 million. But those riders are exceptions. Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, who led the race for three days, makes roughly $1 million, about $500,000 less than teammate and current leader Carlos Sastre. The bargain of all bargains may be American Christian Vande Velde, currently in sixth place, who will earn less than $500,000. France's brightest hope, Sylvain Chavanel of the Cofidis team, makes about $1 million.
"It's much more about team chemistry than having the highest-paid cyclist," says Johan Bruyneel, the director of the Astana cycling team.
Good pick-up. I missed that double entendre...JensCph said:HAHA! That is true on so many levels!
Yes thought it was interesting in particularly about how much coverage a sponsor can get from the Tour alone compared to the amount they pay their cyclists.Bro Deal said:Wow. Valverde and Chavanel are overpaid. So is Sastre, but CSC may luck out if he can pull off the win on Saturday.
No wonder the French have such bad results. They can make bank by seriously underperforming.
Actually...Since the article contains the following quote, it is hereby exempt from further critisism on this forum:whiteboytrash said:On the other side of this you have poor journalism like this:
[url="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JG26Aa01.html"]http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JG26Aa01.html[/url]
The sport is in disarray
My favorites:JensCph said:Actually...Since the article contains the following quote, it is hereby exempt from further critisism on this forum:
whiteboytrash said:OK thats a redundant thread now !
Here's a somewhat interesting article:
Cycling's Thousandaires
By REED ALBERGOTTI
July 25, 2008; Page W4
When the three fastest riders stand atop the final Tour de France podium in Paris Sunday, they won't be the biggest stars the sport has produced. They won't be the richest, either.[/font]
Based on the current crop of contenders, the combined salaries of the three top-finishing riders could add up to as little as $3.5 million. That's less than half the combined salaries of the top three riders in 2005 -- Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich -- and less than the average salary for a single NBA player.
Given these relatively low numbers, one team has been able to field a competitive effort in this year's Tour for $11 million, roughly half of what some of the top teams are spending.
Cycling's top salary, according to coaches, sponsors, cyclists and team executives, belongs to Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, who makes nearly $4 million a year. Prerace favorite Cadel Evans pulls in somewhere around $2.3 million. But those riders are exceptions. Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, who led the race for three days, makes roughly $1 million, about $500,000 less than teammate and current leader Carlos Sastre. The bargain of all bargains may be American Christian Vande Velde, currently in sixth place, who will earn less than $500,000. France's brightest hope, Sylvain Chavanel of the Cofidis team, makes about $1 million.
Given all the bad news in cycling, one bright spot for the sport is that it is becoming a relative bargain for sponsors, especially in this year's Tour de France, where many of the top riders have been suspended for doping or haven't been invited back. The top cyclists compete for a tenth the salary of a top Formula 1 driver and less than most mediocre European footballers. With the Tour broadcasting live on TV in 95 countries, cycling is still a pretty cheap way for an obscure hearing-aid manufacturer or flooring company to get noticed. "You couldn't touch soccer in Europe for less than $25 million," says Columbia team owner Bob Stapleton. But "you can have the dominant team in cycling for less than that." The relatively low salaries of cyclists are a function of the sport's unusual economics. The average budget for a top-notch cycling team ranges from $15 million to $23 million, about 60% to 80% of which goes to riders' salaries; the rest goes to travel costs, equipment and personnel. Teams don't get anything from the TV deals the events make, as they do in some pro sports. Though millions of people turn out for races like the Tour, there are no ticket sales. The winner's prize for the Tour, just $700,000, is usually distributed among the nine members of a team.
In most cases, a cycling team competing in the Tour de France consists of one marquee rider who takes up a sizable chunk of the payroll. Beneath him on the pay scale are a few nicely paid specialists who handle the mountains or the sprints, followed by the support riders, or domestiques, whose jobs are to support the overall contender. Experts say these domestiques could make as little as $45,000, but usually earn somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000. The typical winner's bonuses aren't high, either. Riders can earn about $50,000 for winning a stage, and the overall Tour winner can earn a $1 million bonus on many teams. But CSC, the team that employs Messrs. Schleck and Sastre, doesn't pay bonuses at all.
By recruiting up-and-coming young riders willing to work cheaply and adding in a few older riders who seem undervalued, Jonathan Vaughters, the director of the American team Garmin-Chipotle, says he has held his annual budget for the cycling season down to just $11 million. As of Thursday the team's leader, Mr. Vande Velde, holds a lead of nearly a minute over Mr. Valverde, the sport's highest-paid rider.
"It's much more about team chemistry than having the highest-paid cyclist," says Johan Bruyneel, the director of the Astana cycling team.
In the early days, cycling was considered a peasant's work. Professionals came from small farm towns or poor urban areas and the pay reflected it. Some of the greatest cyclists in the sport, like Frenchman Bernard Hinault, and Belgian Eddy Merckx, made peanuts compared to today's professionals. Oddly, it was the Americans who caused the change. The first million-dollar salary in cycling belonged to Greg LeMond, who became the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986.
Next came Mr. Armstrong, whose sponsors -- which included the U.S. Postal Service and the Discovery Channel -- helped drive his salary to about $2.5 million, which was still a tiny fraction of his overall income including endorsements.
As cycling struggles with its image, the salary slump may last awhile. But it's unlikely cyclists will ever make the kind of stratospheric incomes other athletes see. "This is not the best financial decision you can make with your life," Mr. Vaughters says. "But that sort of makes me proud of cycling."
Minewhiteboytrash said:
Leading? Where? Is he the Coonabarabran Heralds head football writer? The Yorkies Knob bestest sportzrighter award 4 joornalizm?Jesse Fink is a leading football writer in Australia. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation and has won various awards in Australia for his sports writing.
Really? You don't appriciate the hard work Popo has done for Evans...."hey guys, please don't go so fast, please?"Crankyfeet said:Thanks WBT. Interesting. If Evans wins...I'm not sure his team deserve to split the prize money.
Sastre has done the Vino preparation I think.whiteboytrash said:Is it not odd Carlos has barely raced all year ? & when he did his results sucked.... If he wins the final TT I'm going off to support Contador.
Sastre is a racialist? I'm disgusted. There's no place for that type of thing in this day and age. He'll probably front up for the TT wearing a KKK hood or a Nazi uniforminterested said:Here is his racelist since march:
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