Jun
30
Wow. Now What Bike Industry?
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Racing
So we’ve all heard the news by now. I haven’t had the time to read too deeply and get all of the facts, but aside from the sense of shock, I feel encouraged that the teams are being bold enough to take action against their big moneymakers and key Tour contenders. Should I be? Is that naive of me?
Should I feel positive that this is a step in the right direction and teams/sponsors are taking a no tolerance attitude? Is it too little too late as they have ignored the illicit activities for so long? After the shock my thoughts turned to: who are the contenders now? Vino? Levi? Floyd? George?!
Then how this would affect my livelihood crept into my thoughts: what effect will this have on the bike industry? If we assume that Armstrong inspired many to get into the sport and others to become bigger enthusiasts through his dedication and perseverance, will the illegal actions of other top riders have the opposite effect? Will people be turned off from the sport? I saw a comment on another blog about how we should support the “clean” riders who are left to compete in the big race around France. I could agree with that. Or I could get even more engaged in the World Cup as that event approaches its climax where the biggest scandal seems to be that there has been too much enforcement of the rules with the record number of yellow and red cards?
Any other thoughts on how the bike industry is affected by this latest disappointing news?
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2 Responses to “Wow. Now What Bike Industry?”
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You know, I look at the baseball industry and doping, (I’m a huge baseball fan) and the funny thing is, in that situation, I felt like the organization basically let it all happen.
They didn’t want to bring down people who were helping the popularity of the sport! I don’t think the fans minded either. But, when it comes down to it, people say “hand the cheaters.”
When guys are doing amazing things (doped or not) people love it because at the end of the day, they are still human. We see pictures of someone on TV and we love it.
The industry took a hit in 1998 with Festina. This latest scandal will kick that scandal in the teeth because we aren’t talking about one team. Since we are talking about the best of the best spread out over several teams, this will be much farther reaching.
I predict (I’m notorious for predictions too) that the industry will see a drop in road sales this summer. It will hopefully rebound when people get over the initial shock and disgust, but I think the industry will have to take a long hard look at whether team sponsorships are the place to put their money.
This really hurts. Doping is as old as the sport and is prevalent in all sports, nobody should kid themselves otherwise. The clean riders, and there are lots of them, will now live under a shadow of doubt and suspicion. I feel bad for them. I also feel bad for any team about to try and get sponsor dollars too. Those are going to be really uncomfortable conversations. Expect to see some team budgets getting smaller.
There will be a lot of fallout and this is just getting started.