Visit the websites of Cofidis, Ag2r-La Mondiale, FDJ.com and Bbox-Bouygues Télécom and none of them have links to Facebook or Twitter. Given the whole reason to back a pro cycling team is to get publicity for your brand, why aren’t these teams using all the media available to them? A Twitter account is free after all and it only takes a minute a day to add a few quick thoughts or to upload a picture of a shiny bike.
What’s more remarkable is that the BBox-Bouygues Télécom team is backed by a mobile phone operator yet these guys aren’t promoting the very technology they are supposed to have at their fingertips.
Anyway, not to stick it to the French teams, I’m based in Monaco and can get by in French so it’s easier for me to verify these things. I’m sure other Italian, Belgian and Spanish teams are in the same position. It does give the impression that many cycling teams are stuck in the past. Many a team manager today was successful a rider in the 1980s but this qualify them to handle the a chunk of a large corporate marketing budget. Teams need to seperate their publicity and PR from their tactics and training. French teams have a chance to reach out to fans for free but they’re not taking it.
You can follow this humble blog via Twitter at inrng.