# If team Discovery Channel signs Axel Merckx....



## telecaster (Feb 26, 2004)

....wonder if the team will ditch Trek and switch to Merckx rigs.....given Lance's relationship with Eddy, could be, perhaps?


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## Trevor! (Feb 28, 2004)

telecaster said:


> ....wonder if the team will ditch Trek and switch to Merckx rigs.....given Lance's relationship with Eddy, could be, perhaps?


Doubt it, I would imagine Trek would do whatever is required to keep that sponsorship up on order to save all those sales. 

I would imagine that if they dropped Trek, that Treks sales would plummet quite a good bit.


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## SPINDAWG (Aug 24, 2003)

*Relationship that he has with Trek*

I'd say it would be hard for them to get away from the boys at Waterloo. Besides, I can't imagine Lance and Eddie working together creating new bikes. I can see the Lance chronicles now. Lance out testing a new machine and Eddie hanging out the window of the car with his Krispie Kreme yelling crap at Lance....too funny!


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## mtbykr (Feb 16, 2004)

*trek*

does any other team ride trek besides the posties....errr...discovery? i have yet to see any!


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

I'm curious where you came up with Axel Merckx signing with Discovery. Did I miss something?


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## bigdeal (Jul 24, 2002)

Einstruzende said:


> I'm curious where you came up with Axel Merckx signing with Discovery. Did I miss something?


it's still speculation, or 'they're talking', but check out cyclingnews for what you've been missing.


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## MyPeace (Jul 27, 2004)

I'm a big Lance fan and all, but he's made it tough for me with Trek.

I worked at the LBS in college and fell in love with the 5500, pre-Lance. I've been riding an old Paramount (Schwinn) racer for the last 10 years, and have now taken the plunge on a 5200 after all these years. Now my friends are accussing me of "jumping on the bandwagon".

But I tell ya, after shopping around, the price on a high end Trek is FAR cheaper than most high end bikes that deliver that kind of performance.

I think Trek could bounce back pretty quickly if they lost Lance.


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## gogogomoveit (Nov 20, 2003)

MyPeace said:


> I'm a big Lance fan and all, but he's made it tough for me with Trek.
> 
> I worked at the LBS in college and fell in love with the 5500, pre-Lance. I've been riding an old Paramount (Schwinn) racer for the last 10 years, and have now taken the plunge on a 5200 after all these years. Now my friends are accussing me of "jumping on the bandwagon".
> 
> ...


Maybe you should check out the price on Giant TCR composites...their price is what I call the benefit of mass production.


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## tube_ee (Aug 25, 2003)

Trevor! said:


> Doubt it, I would imagine Trek would do whatever is required to keep that sponsorship up on order to save all those sales.
> 
> I would imagine that if they dropped Trek, that Treks sales would plummet quite a good bit.


No doubt. Once the PR machine gets rolling for the Tour, you wouldn't believe the numebr of calls I get at the shop that go like this:

Riiing, Riing..."Performance bike shop, Shannon speaking, How can I help you?"

"Do you have Trek bikes?"

"No, we don't, but we carry Giant, Cannondale..."

CLICK.

Trek owes their market position to Lance and the Tour. They know it. They'll likely spend whatever it takes to get that going.

If Merckx can out-bid them, Lance would be OK with that, I bet. I've read that he does (or at least did) the majority of his training on his custom steel Merckxs from the Motorola days, because they fit bitter than the off-the-shelf Treks.

--Shannon


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## eddymerckx (Jul 9, 2004)

$$$ talks, bottom line .


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## MyPeace (Jul 27, 2004)

> I've read that he does (or at least did) the majority of his training on his custom steel Merckxs from the Motorola days, because they fit bitter than the off-the-shelf Treks.


I bet the fellas back at Trek would have a fit if that's true. Or do you mean prior 1999 "(or at least did)"  

Is Merckxs that big to compete with Trek money?


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## rufus (Feb 3, 2004)

if discovery doesn't give up trek, i'd say that axel doesn't sign. when he signed with lotto, part of the contract was that merckx provide the lotto bikes. i think they kind of go hand in hand, like with laurent jalabert, whatever team signed him had to sign nicolas too.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

*Merckx on a Trek*



rufus said:


> if discovery doesn't give up trek, i'd say that axel doesn't sign. when he signed with lotto, part of the contract was that merckx provide the lotto bikes. i think they kind of go hand in hand, like with laurent jalabert, whatever team signed him had to sign nicolas too.


Not necessarily true. Axel rode Coppi frames back when he raced for the Polti team (97-98) and Colnago frames when raced for Mapei (99-00). Merckx supplies the bikes to Lotto-Domo first and foremost because they are a Belgian team and his is a Belgian company. And I think Eddy is probably more happy to have race winners like Robbie McEwen and Peter Van Petegem riding and therefore advertising his bikes than his own son, who does not win a lot of races.


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## zooog (Mar 18, 2002)

I don't think its even a chance the the discovery team with LA will not be riding treks.


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