Below is the final prize list from the 2011 Tour de France. BMC top the list with €493,990, largely thanks to the €450,000 first prize. The Swiss team banks a sum 47 times greater than Radioshack.
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On betting
You might not to gamble with a bookmaker but in fact you probably do it every day. Ride a bike? Consciously or not you’ve worked out the risks and the benefits and decided to go for a spin. Similarly we can take all kinds of risks, from fun things like asking a stranger out on a date to mundane decisions like the level of insurance cover for a family car. But many do bet on outcomes in sporting events and cycling is no different… or is it?
It’s almost impossible to write about Armstrong
This might appear contradictory but I struggle to write about Lance Armstrong each time a new controversy blows up… yet here’s some words on the subject. Today’s allegations by Tyler Hamilton are the latest instalment of an ongoing saga. It’s not that the subject matter lacks ideas, angles to explore or it’s irrelevant to the sport. Quite the opposite, Lance Armstrong’s name reaches well beyond the sport of cycling and it covers everything from sport to business to law and more.
No, it’s the way everything goes around in circles. Someone accuses Armstrong of doping. We get the “most tested athlete” response from the man. Then cycling fans rally. Many loyal ones point out that no court and no sporting body has ever convicted him. On the other side fans dredge up a variety of circumstantial evidence. We go nowhere.
UCI to ban doped directors?
I was alerted by a reader this morning to the BBC’s two-part look at doping in cycling. The second part features a brief interview with UCI President Pat McQuaid where he mentions the prospect of banning riders involved in doping scandals from working in the sport. Here’s a snapshot:
“I’m not happy there are team managers who have been doping as athletes themselves… …Any cyclist who is involved in a doping infraction in their career cannot come back into management of a team in the future”
This is an idea that McQuaid will present to colleagues at the next Management Committee meeting in June, the UCI’s high-level decision making forum. It would mark a big change. But would it work?
On the Tour of California
I feel for any race organiser trying to put an event on at the same time as the Giro d’Italia. How you you compete? The answer is you don’t. Instead of wild climbs and off-road riding the Tour of California is a more classic kind of race. Many riders are wary of doing the Giro … Read more
The future of cycling?
This is tongue-in-cheek posting but several riders have been wondering aloud what’s next for them in the Giro. Some didn’t appreciate the offroad sections in the stage to Orvieto and we’re still waiting to see whether the roads are safe for Sunday’s stage up Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. Above all riders … Read more
Keep on riding
It’s been a heavy week. The death of Wouter Weylandt will overshadow the Giro and leave an indelible mark on the whole season. He won’t be forgotten, more so since the Giro has taken the number 108 out of the race for good. A nice touch but I’d like to see a more lasting and … Read more
Who makes what
Like any industry, the bicycle sector is a broad one and international, with sophisticated supply chains going around the world. There are so many companies from garage artisan frame builders to corporate giants quoted on several stock exchanges at once.
I’ve put together a list of some of the main companies involved and the brands they operate. You might find some surprises, for example that Lapierre is Dutch-owned and part of the same corporate empire as Tunturi gym bikes. Or that helmets from Giro and Bell are from the same company.
RIP Wouter Weylandt
At times like this I struggle for words. I never knew Wouter Weylandt and it’s hard to say much that’s not been said more eloquently by others. Like you, I can only wish his family, friends and team mates lots of strength. If it’s conventional to heap praise on the deceased, Weylandt was a genuine … Read more
What if the Giro disappoints?
I feel like a bit of a party-pooper but for all that the Giro promises, what if it doesn’t deliver? There are two main concerns for me: first that 2010 was so good it’ll be hard to beat. The random, ever changing race was thrilling. Second, and maybe it’s my problem and not yours, is the presence of Alberto Contador. He could dominate the race… and there’s also the possibility of the results being rewritten by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.