elviento wrote:A bit off topic, what worries me is the fact that sponsors are fleeing the sport, with bike manufacturers having to back up teams, like cannondale, bmc, merida, trek, maybe giant next. Meantime chinarellos will keep chipping away their market. You guys will ultimately pay for this. Imagine cycling becoming a thing among a bunch of bike nerds ONLY. I know ppl would like to think manufacturer s are filthy rich. Fact is, they are not. Cycling needs attention and revenue from crowds other than hardcore cyclists to thrive.
IMO it seems pretty natural for bike manufacturers to sponsor pro teams as they are the first in the queue, if not the only one, to benefit if a given team prooves successfull. same goes with clothes/equipment producers, like Selle Italia.
it's no strange either that some teams are sponsored or even owned by companies run by cycling fans. there's probably hardly any profit in running a cycling team, contrary to e.g. football club, where you've numerous possibilities to earn huge money - though even here you get teams backed by large industries who don't quite need that sort of 'advertisement' or recognition). for many said sponsors, cycling is merely a PR thing, or rather a CSR (corporate social responsibility) thing.
