Armstrong Confesses!

[wolfix]

Hobson's choice.

Based on those numbers watching an event like the TDF, is a marketing executives wetdream.

But then if you're caught cheating - that wetdream becomes a nightmare.

Given the history and the individuals concerned ........would you put your company's good name at that level of risk????????????


Horner is 100% correct in one aspect : the numbers at the TDF 2007 were huge.
And he's also correct - it is a marketing fest which any sponsor would kill to be part of (given all things being equal, of course).

The numbers were high in GB because they were offered to see something close up that they watched on TV for so many years. I think the number in France were down ???? Cycling is not a wetdream for marketers. It is a real gamble at this time. There are many other sports to put your money where the actual sporting bodies have control over their sport. The UCI has allowed the sponsors to be nervous. When german TV does not show races, when German race promoters won't allow a Zabel to race, when riders without anything but accusations are not allowed to race..... Why would a sponsor want anything to do with cycling?????/
Tailwind Sports owes cycling nothing.

 

[nns1400]

...and as Horner states: If Armstrong with his love of money doesn't want a piece of that pie then so be it ! its a big pie ! or again is it something else Armstrong doesn't want to be a part of ? maybe clean cycling ?

Ask Unibet. They threw all their money away.

 

[nns1400]

I was in Paris (not Hilton) for Lance's 5th victory and saw him being congratulated by Chuck Norris. Lance turned to Chuck and said "Texas aint big enough for the both of us" before round house kicking him.

If this were true, Lance Armstrong would be dead!

 

[limerickman]

The numbers were high in GB because they were offered to see something close up that they watched on TV for so many years. I think the number in France were down ???? .

According to the ES commentary about the stages in France - they were as big as usual.

The numbers for the first three days of leTour - as Horner pointed out - were
huge.
Huge especially given the fact that London was hosting LIVE EARTH, Wimbeldon finals and British F1 was being held as well north of London.

Cycling is not a wetdream for marketers. .

Given the number of the first three days of 07 TDF - in that context - it is a wetdream.
And on the basis that the spectator viewer numbers for LeTour 07 were as high as previous years (if not higher when you factor in the huge British turnout), the TDF is a sponsors fest.

I accept the point that cycling is a niche sport and compared to other sports the exposure may not be as great in your country.

Go to the continent and cycling is hugely popular - especially the grandtours.
Cycling in Italy is second only to football.
Cycling in Belgium the same.
Cycling in Holland is the same also.
Cycling in Germany has grown in popularity : numbers at the inaugural Tour of Germany, two years ago, were huge.
Cycling in Germany is under a cloud for sure at present though.

 

[adamastor]

So now he can attack LA when LA isn't around to defend himself.

LA not around to defend himself???? You are joking, right? You sound like Horner should shut up, because poor Armstrong cannot defend himself today?????

Only a handful of cycling fans have/will read Horner's comments about LA. If tomorrow Armstrong open his mouth and says something to the papers to answer Horner, millions in the US will read it. And Horner will be in deep **** (but, ultimately, famous, even outside cycling world). The loser in this (unlikely) story might be Horner. This has happened before: ask Bassons, ask Simeoni.

So now LA isn't around to defend himself ??? LOL

 

[azdroptop]

I have to agree with Wolf, the numbers in England were so big because they don't get the Tour "in Town" every year. Cycling has it's problems right now, but the fans will still come out and watch despite the drugs and such. We will loose a lot of American viewers, but who cares, cycling was huge way before Lance starting winning. Not to take anything away from the great impact he had here in the states. I picked up riding 5 or 6 years ago in large part because of him and now I'm doing local races.

 

[Doctor.House]

T-Mobile does. No questions asked. They love their own funded doping disclosures. (Ulrich, Aldag, Zabel, Riis, Sinkewitz)

Over ten years of systematica doping, lying and winning.

No hobson choice. More like the Nike policy of; Just do it & LIVE WRONG!

Doping is acceptable to most sponsors. The media must do a better job of cover up and the Police must move on to dog fighting.

Hobson's choice.

Based on those numbers watching an event like the TDF, is a marketing executives wetdream.

But then if you're caught cheating - that wetdream becomes a nightmare.

Given the history and the individuals concerned ........would you put your company's good name at that level of risk????????????


Horner is 100% correct in one aspect : the numbers at the TDF 2007 were huge.
And he's also correct - it is a marketing fest which any sponsor would kill to be part of (given all things being equal, of course).

 

[wolfix]

I accept the point that cycling is a niche sport and compared to other sports the exposure may not be as great in your country.

Go to the continent and cycling is hugely popular - especially the grandtours.
Cycling in Italy is second only to football.
Cycling in Belgium the same.
Cycling in Holland is the same also.
Cycling in Germany has grown in popularity : numbers at the inaugural Tour of Germany, two years ago, were huge.
Cycling in Germany is under a cloud for sure at present though.

The history of cycling has been good for sponsors, but not currrently. If it was we would see more people getting involved. What we have seen is Discovery unable to get a decent sponsor, UniBet pulling out, T-M barely hanging on, [watch for them to pull out at the end of the year], CSC debating it, and what others?????

The TDF still might be a good sell, but not enough to pull a sponsor for just that. I understand cyclings importance in Europe. But I do not see any major sponsors jumping on the bandwagons there.With the current crop of unemployed riders this would be an ideal time to get involved. The UCI can be blamed for this mess.

 

[Doctor.House]

The history of cycling has been good for sponsors, but not currrently. If it was we would see more people getting involved. What we have seen is Discovery unable to get a decent sponsor, UniBet pulling out, T-M barely hanging on, [watch for them to pull out at the end of the year], CSC debating it, and what others?????

The TDF still might be a good sell, but not enough to pull a sponsor for just that. I understand cyclings importance in Europe. But I do not see any major sponsors jumping on the bandwagons there.With the current crop of unemployed riders this would be an ideal time to get involved. The UCI can be blamed for this mess.

T-Mobile disagrees with Wolf. They plan to own road cycling in 2008.

But first they must defeat with Quick Step, CSC, Cofidis, Liquigas, Milram and Lotto.

The UCI & Hein Verbruggen protected Lance Armstrong for seven boring years.

Doping does add spice.

 

[whiteboytrash]

I have to agree with Wolf, the numbers in England were so big because they don't get the Tour "in Town" every year. Cycling has it's problems right now, but the fans will still come out and watch despite the drugs and such. We will loose a lot of American viewers, but who cares, cycling was huge way before Lance starting winning. Not to take anything away from the great impact he had here in the states. I picked up riding 5 or 6 years ago in large part because of him and now I'm doing local races.

hmmmmm are you sure ? What Lim was saying was "yes" it was a "one off" event but it was competing against F1 and Wimbledon which are bread and butter British sports. However it wasn't just successful it was amazingly successful and proved how cycling (its it has been getting huge promotion in the London and the UK) is a big sport....... you see cycling in the UK (unlike America which is in the hands of the petrol companies) is becoming bigger and bigger because governments see the importantance of cycling not just for fitness but for a transport strategy.... cycling in London is easy... there is almost a cycling lane where ever you go and cars will always yield for you... the fines for cars moving into cycle lanes and not giving way to a cyclists are huge... why does the government want this to work ? one is the environment and another is obesity (pressure on healthcare systems) and number one is getting cars off the road and people off public transport - its much cheaper than throwing more and more money into transport and more roads.... paris have recently done same with their free bike scheme (and don't even think of riding in paris until now).... go to any city in the US and try and ride a bike through town.... if you don't get mugged you'll surely get hit by a agrro car driver who thinks they only belong on the road !

Its the mentality thats key here and British people know and understand cycling.

 

[Rolfrae]

British people know and understand cycling.

When did you last cycle on a British road? Maybe it's just Edinburgh roads but I get grief every time I go out - although it has been a bit better of late. I'll probably get in a scrap at the weekend now I've said that!

 

[Doctor.House]

T-Mobile disagrees with Wolf. They plan to own road cycling in 2008.

But first they must defeat with Quick Step, CSC, Cofidis, Liquigas, Milram and Lotto.

The UCI & Hein Verbruggen protected Lance Armstrong for seven boring years.

Doping does add spice.

T-Mobile funds doping without apology!

 

[wolfix]

go to any city in the US and try and ride a bike through town.... if you don't get mugged you'll surely get hit by a agrro car driver who thinks they only belong on the road !

Its the mentality thats key here and British people know and understand cycling.

In my county of 100,000 people we have over 100 miles of paved trails, we just hosted a 7 day ride that had about 20,000 daily riders and a 7 time TDF winner. . We had the best TDF rider here and the TDF that was going on didn't even have a TDF winnner there. {Oh I forgot...... Lance won it so many times and then in 2006 the TDF doesn't know who won yet.......] Cycling is a alive here in the states. Recreational cycling is huge. We have had many people from Europe ride around here aand in the rural area around my city tell us we have it good here.

 

[No_Positives]

"As soon as they turn off the camera, he is gonna' **** that little dog"-Shakes the Clown

Thought, your mind is warped. But still sort of funny.

 

[thoughtforfood]

In my county of 100,000 people we have over 100 miles of paved trails, we just hosted a 7 day ride that had about 20,000 daily riders and a 7 time TDF winner. . We had the best TDF rider here and the TDF that was going on didn't even have a TDF winnner there. {Oh I forgot...... Lance won it so many times and then in 2006 the TDF doesn't know who won yet.......] Cycling is a alive here in the states. Recreational cycling is huge. We have had many people from Europe ride around here aand in the rural area around my city tell us we have it good here.

You do realize that Lance was a doping fiend right? You do realize that what Horner said is pretty on the mark as far as LA being totally full of **** regarding why they took their ball and went home, right? Horner may be a *****, he probably is a doping *****, but past all of that, he hit the nail on the head in terms of what he was saying. You can try to discount the numbers of people if you want; you can discount the crowd because of the negative effect of doping; you are obviously not in advertising though because that kind of exposure is worth its weight in gold, irrespective venue.



You seem like an alright guy because you defend Armstrong without throwing around saluki like insults, but you need to get over the inability to admit that "heroes" are very fallible, and in the case of Armstrong, he is at best a liar. At worst, well, you can read the forums here for that. I don’t like the guy for several reasons. I do not know him personally however, and can only judge based on the criteria I decide to use. What I do know is that there is no way in the real world, that he could have destroyed other riders in the manner he did if he were not doping, because they definitely were. It is physiologically impossible, and that is just the way it is.

 

[Doctor.House]

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/51324

 

[Serafino]

Lim,

There is a big difference between sponsoring a race or cultural phenomenon like the TdF in some manner, and sponsoring a team.

A title sponsor must be in for $10-15 million per year on a multi-year deal. That type of money could even give you decent exposure in F1/Nascar/etc.

In cyling, that's a big long term risk for a new sponsor from a non-traditional cycling country. Its still a largely Euro-centric sport. Sponsoring a smaller budget team maybe. I'd be surprised to see non-traditional sponsor come to a big time ProTour team anytime soon.

Like you said, a couple of positives and its "Your Company's" rider who is a doper. And on the other side of things, look at the ASO/UCI battle and ask Unibet.com if their money was well spent.

Horner is delusional.

 

[No_Positives]

Final GC Vuelta 1998
1. Abraham Olano Manzano (Banesto) 93:44:08
2. Fernando Escartin (Kelme-Costa Blanca) 1:23
3. José Maria Jiminez Sastre (Banesto) 2:12
4. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 2:18

Nah! I wouldn't call it a win, but I would call it 4th

Final GC Vuelta 1998
1. Abraham Olano Manzano (Banesto) 93:44:08 - Doped with Rominger at Mapei
2. Fernando Escartin (Kelme-Costa Blanca) 1:23 - Admitted doping
3. José Maria Jiminez Sastre (Banesto) 2:12 - Heavy doper who died of a heart attack at age 32
4. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 2:18 - WINNER

 

[limerickman]

Final GC Vuelta 1998
1. Abraham Olano Manzano (Banesto) 93:44:08 - Doped with Rominger at Mapei
2. Fernando Escartin (Kelme-Costa Blanca) 1:23 - Admitted doping
3. José Maria Jiminez Sastre (Banesto) 2:12 - Heavy doper who died of a heart attack at age 32
4. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 2:18 - WINNER

and all four of them never failed a dope test - either, Saluki.

 

[Doctor.House]

Armstrong & Nike got drug busted good.
Marion Jones
CJ Hunter
Tim Montgomery
Justin Gatlin
Barry Bonds
Regina Jacobs
Tori Edwards
Michelle Collins
Kelli White
LaTasha Jenkins