slovakguy said:
some interesting racing this weekend, no? big sprinters with team support taking the honours. are we to take it that cervelo and quick-step are looking to make their years in the classics and just show the colours at the g-t's? wondering if that's the case since rabo contested mightily for both.
Yeah I think that is the case for Rabo. They did put in a huge weekend. Not so sure about Cervelo. The spring classics seem to fall on deaf ears (mostly) in the North American market so it would be unusual for a brand led team like Cervelo to only focus on the euro spring and not try to give a focused account of themselves come July.
Its an interesting discussion. Do you let the talent dictate where the season focus goes or do you map your talent to events in accordance with where your key sponsor needs exposure. For most teams its probably a balancing act. It will be worth following the Cervelo situation to see just how far they allow the marketing premise behind the venture to dictate the season parcours. Then there is the issue of volatility of riders comments in the press. What zone of influence are they exerting there? Can we see evidence of a healthy freedom of opinion.
Personally I am not convinced Cervelo understand the branding risks to team ownership and I think there is a conflict of interest which is, at least potentially, unhealthy for the sport. Mind you I am not completely convinced its unworkable but merely paying attention to how the relationship unfolds.
"Cervelo Test Team" isnt a concept I would advise as being an intelligent one for a brand. That is not to say it wont pan out well for them. It may. It is just that there are really sound arguments against it.
And from the sports governing perspective - we want athletes to be free to express their views on all matters regarding professional racing. For athletes to be mindful of sponsors concerns but most certainly not governed by them.
I agree those teams were right on the money this weekend though.