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In Print: Articles of Interest

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Mark Taylor
Aug 22, 2021 at 10:30 PM
mugwump said:
eloy said:
Outside on Brooklyn's Sanba team, photos include some Kissenistas:
https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/daniel-perez-sanba-cycling-team/
I really disliked this piece.

So lazy.  The writer couldn't bother to check facts, nor did her editor(s). The Prospect races never have more than 295 starters and there are usually a good number of no-shows.  And they made the races seem slow--this was a stupid mistake, especially by a magazine that prides itself on knowing outdoor sports.  

Furthermore, the story doesn't ring true.  I can believe a delivery guy was discriminated against a few times, but I'd venture that a good 75% of NYC bike shops have Latino mechanics, so he should have been easily able to find a shop that had employees who would treat him right.  I think of the ten geographically closest bike shops to me, more than half are owned by a spanish-speaking immigrant (JS, Talent, Correcamino, Talent, Innovation, Master Bike, Low Rider Bike Shop all come to mind, and the other nearby shops are Trek, Larry's, Hilltop), and I'm in Manhattan.  And it ignores the reality that there are plenty of laborers racing bikes (and always have been), plenty of Latinos racing bikes, that there is an older Mexican-centric bike club (FIRE) and ethnic clubs have been in NYC since at least the 1950s.  There was even a Latino Cycling Team and a different club for Colombians in the 1980s.  

And why does everything have be be about 'disruption'?  I understand that's the abused trope of the day, but there was no evidence of Sanba disrupting anything.  
I think it’s ok to say it’s badly written 
but who are any of us here “old white guys” to say how real discrimination is 
mugwump
Aug 23, 2021 at 08:28 PM
Mark Taylor said:
mugwump said:
eloy said:
Outside on Brooklyn's Sanba team, photos include some Kissenistas:
https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/daniel-perez-sanba-cycling-team/
I really disliked this piece.


I think it’s ok to say it’s badly written 
but who are any of us here “old white guys” to say how real discrimination is 
I guess I didn't articulate myself well.

I am certain that discrimination exists.  That I am not doubting.

I am doubting the framing of the article.  While the individual bits may be true, she omits so much context that the world she evokes is one I barely recognize.

And this I see as a problem.
Mark Taylor
Aug 25, 2021 at 12:19 PM
What a douche bag
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tom-danielson-wants-your-sympathy-for-breaking-the-spirit-of-gravel-racing-dont-give-it-to-him/
mugwump
Aug 25, 2021 at 02:12 PM
Mark Taylor said:
What a douche bag
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tom-danielson-wants-your-sympathy-for-breaking-the-spirit-of-gravel-racing-dont-give-it-to-him/
Not a surprise that a solipsistic bike racer goes on to be a solipsistic coach.  But still terrible.

While Danielson did the dick move with the video, it seems, from the article, that he was just taking informal surreptitious teamwork that had already been going on to a new level.  

"Often the support involves wives riding with their husbands and vice versa or riders surfing groups that contain male and female competitors to chaingang away from their rivals. That’s all legal and commonplace but the idea of having several male riders support a female rider at the expense of female competitors, and on a grand scale, is certainly new and disturbing."

So a spouse or partner is ok, but a male teammate isn't?  What if one's spouse is a pro?  

What should be noted is that we're probably witnessing the end of the gravel racing's honeymoon period, when racing was supposed to be about pure enjoyment or some such.  Just as former WorldTour pros took over the top of the men's division, this was probably inevitable.  

RobertMullen
Aug 25, 2021 at 05:44 PM
yeah it is kind of an odd thing because they clearly didn’t break any rules rules but it feels a little wrong for a pro male/spouse to be a domestique for a female rider. I feel less weird about it being 2 people in the women’s category or 2 in the men’s category working together. I wonder if outrage will push organizers to have distinct men’s and women’s races which takes something away from the “mass start” vibe of gravel events. 
eloy
Aug 25, 2021 at 06:04 PM
PETTY GRAVEL IS PEEEEEETTTTTTY
Matt Budofsky
Aug 26, 2021 at 02:20 AM
Tommy D comes off like such a dick. “It’s causing me trauma”. Bro you got what can barely be considered a slap on the wrist for being part of one the largest doping rings in the history of the sport and then got caught with a banned substance in your body, yet (as the article points out) still very much make a living off of the industry and sport. Mazel on being part of the problem ya dolt 
eloy
Aug 26, 2021 at 07:27 PM

Chris Blevins became the first ever winner of the UCI men's Short Track XC title, taking the rainbow stripes in Val di Sole, Italy.

https://www.velonews.com/news/mountain/christopher-blevins-wins-first-ever-world-short-track-xc-mtb-title/
eloy
Aug 26, 2021 at 09:19 PM
Not long enough for an FTP test, but fast enough for a World Champion Jersey!!
https://instagram.com/p/CTCzDj_F0f-/embed/

jim_nelson
Aug 26, 2021 at 11:56 PM
How did the others not realize that the sprint to the final corner was actually for the win! No one was going to come around whoever got to that corner first.
RobertMullen
Aug 27, 2021 at 01:43 AM
https://twitter.com/flobikes/status/952642957622071296?s=21

Cyclocross is yada yada yada 
eloy
Aug 27, 2021 at 02:34 AM
RobertMullen said:
https://twitter.com/flobikes/status/952642957622071296?s=21

Cyclocross is yada yada yada 
That's right. 
Jules
Aug 27, 2021 at 04:23 AM
RobertMullen said:
https://twitter.com/flobikes/status/952642957622071296?s=21

Cyclocross is yada yada yada 
Say it!!!
Matt Budofsky
Aug 27, 2021 at 10:19 PM
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/08/three-years-later-my-stolen-bike-is-back/

what a crazy story. Fingers crossed something like this happens for @StephenAschkenes
Jules
Aug 31, 2021 at 05:43 PM
Jacobson's return to form is amazing. It's incredible that it isn't the story of the season. I guess that says a lot about what an unbelievable season it's been.
eloy
Sep 01, 2021 at 03:33 PM

Rohan Dennis leaves Ineos Grenadiers for Jumbo-Visma

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rohan-dennis-leaves-ineos-grenadiers-for-jumbo-visma/


eloy
Sep 01, 2021 at 09:59 PM

USA CYCLING NAMES 2021 UCI ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

https://usacycling.org/article/usa-cycling-names-2021-uci-road-world-championship-team

Amber Neben is on the TT team, but she was hit by a car while training and fractured her pelvis, while she is doing ok, not totally clear if she'll be able to race.

Notably, Chloe Dygert is not on the team.
David Yang
Sep 01, 2021 at 10:11 PM
I don't mean to come off vindictive or petty, but good.

eloy said:

Notably, Chloe Dygert is not on the team.


RobertMullen
Sep 02, 2021 at 12:34 PM
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/09/greg-van-avermaet-blames-lack-of-form-on-covid-vaccination/



Jules
Sep 02, 2021 at 01:30 PM
RobertMullen said:
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/09/greg-van-avermaet-blames-lack-of-form-on-covid-vaccination/



Absolutely savage.

https://giphy.com/gifs/kid-savage-3WkoT69H9uzgk
Jules
Sep 11, 2021 at 01:16 PM
Cyclocross is everything you want cycling to be™️

https://twitter.com/uec_cycling/status/1436642506737922051?s=21
RobertMullen
Sep 11, 2021 at 05:13 PM
Jules said:
Cyclocross is everything you want cycling to be™️

https://twitter.com/uec_cycling/status/1436642506737922051?s=21
Apart from Nys, that’s an interesting  podium! You don’t see too many world CX medalists from Spain and Italy. 
Jules
Sep 11, 2021 at 05:35 PM
Svenness - sort of required reading for CX

https://vimeo.com/cxhairs
Jules
Sep 15, 2021 at 01:28 PM
JFC can someone please stage an intervention for this guy?

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-mark-cavendish-thinks-its-time-to-cash-in-again/
mugwump
Sep 15, 2021 at 04:15 PM
Jules said:
JFC can someone please stage an intervention for this guy?

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-mark-cavendish-thinks-its-time-to-cash-in-again/
Which one?
Jules
Sep 15, 2021 at 11:15 PM
I’m at the point where I want to see Lefevere get punched.
mugwump
Sep 16, 2021 at 09:49 PM
Same old, same old.  

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/justin-williams-bike-racing/

I don't see how a single $100k race will save American bike racing, even if it's a day-long festival.  Those Lance Armstrong crits down in lower Manhattan got a crowd, but I didn't see them do anything to help racing. 

This is just the kind of top-down thinking that favored the Tour of California over smaller stage races.

  
David Yang
Sep 16, 2021 at 11:18 PM
Seems like they're trying to create a similar vibe to Redhook to create a big marquee event which in turn would spark sponsorship interests to hold more tentpole races (weekends). If you want a ball sports analogy it would be something like the NFL - a limited number of events creates higher stakes per game/match which means more fan interest which means higher value per game/match for sponsors which means they would be willing to spend more.

Some downsides would be: Since cost of sponsorship would be higher it would prevent smaller sponsors from participating. And for sponsors paying out the big bucks, a higher ROI would be expected and if not met, they would not want to keep dumping marketing funds into the events (paging Myles...).


ANYWAY backseat driving aside what piqued my interest was the $100k payout!
  • 50/50 split between men and women fields (awesome)
  • $10k ea for men and women's fields for Primes
  • $40k ea for top 10, with a note saying "healthy 5 figure payout" for top placements in both fields

I made a quick interactive spreadsheet to see a potential payout schedule and came up with this:


mugwump
Sep 16, 2021 at 11:33 PM
@David Yang

Thanks for the spreadsheet.  and the insights.  (Is there a way to configure it to see what a breakdown would look like for 20 or 30 places?)

For me, the tentpole event is all well and good.  But unless they can promote several races in a year for at least a few  years with that kind of package, a one-off doesn't move the proverbial needle.  We've seen plenty of crit series come and go over the years, and continuing funding is the problem.  Like...the Red Hook Crit.  Like several cyclocross series.  Like the NCL, like the Wheat Thins Mayors Cup races.  

One thing that's striking to me is that by going so top-heavy, it's not really a benefit to most racers.  The big teams will probably come fully stacked, and those racers are already making a living at it.  It might feel great for someone to cross the line first knowing her team is going to split $14,000, but realistically, few privateer pro racers are even going to be in a position to get that.  

When the Tour of Somerville was a big race, it would get 200 male starters for a 50-mile race, have a cash prime every Lap, and paid 30 or 40 deep.  For teams scraping by, a deeper payout is a better road to making a living.  

David Yang
Sep 17, 2021 at 12:51 AM
I think that's what they're hoping for - this is a proof of concept so that they can attract more benefactors/sponsors. And TBH it almost feels like their attitude is if nothing beyond this happens at least they threw one amazing race where all their dreams came true.

Feel free to duplicate the tab and mess around with the spreadsheet. You just need to copy the formulas and change up the percentages so that it all adds up to 100%.