# Disco Channel should have no problem finding a sponsor now..



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

They could sell almost guaranteed TdF wins for maybe the next 10 years to the new sponsor.

The start of a new era with Contador leading.


----------



## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

How about this? Team IPOD. Certainly Apple has $15 mill laying around.


----------



## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

More like Team ePod.


----------



## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

We'll see.....

I'm not convinced.

Len


----------



## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

bas said:


> They could sell almost guaranteed TdF wins for maybe the next 10 years to the new sponsor.
> 
> The start of a new era with Contador leading.


Maybe the sponsors aren't to happy about the thought of Alberto Contator, the Manolo Saiz student for 5 years, may turn out to be Dr. Fuentes client, and that the reemerging "document 31" is his doping plan. Everything points in that direction. If A.C.'s DNA is found in the blood bags, everything will explode.

-- 
Regards


----------



## desmo13 (Jun 28, 2006)

iTeam , has a good ring to it


----------



## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*Umm...*



bas said:


> They could sell almost guaranteed TdF wins for maybe the next 10 years to the new sponsor.
> 
> The start of a new era with Contador leading.


You are obsessed with the Disco team are you not?

Anyway, they were never going to have an issue finding a sponsor anyway.


----------



## Slartibartfast (Jul 22, 2007)

*Funniest thing I've read in theses forums!*



FondriestFan said:


> More like Team ePod.


Of course I've only been a member a few days... :thumbsup:


----------



## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)

I'd be stunned...sponsors are falling away not getting in line.


----------



## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*There's always...*



chuckice said:


> I'd be stunned...sponsors are falling away not getting in line.


There's always someone.

Dollar for dollar, a cycling sponsorship is about as cheap as it gets for the exposure that a title sponsor gets. 

Exactly which sponsors are falling away again aside from Disco? And it's not unusual for sponsors to drop out and all. It just happens. Disco for instance, dropping out for corporate reasons, No other reason than that.


----------



## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)

Why would any company want to associate their company with dirty athletes...I personally respect the sport for trying to deal with it but no way I'd want to sponsor a team and they turn out to be filthy (or a national disgrace, i.e. Astana). I'd be stunned...best hope seems to find an "angel" like Mark Cuban.


----------



## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*Because...*



chuckice said:


> Why would any company want to associate their company with dirty athletes...I personally respect the sport for trying to deal with it but no way I'd want to sponsor a team and they turn out to be filthy (or a national disgrace, i.e. Astana). I'd be stunned...best hope seems to find an "angel" like Mark Cuban.


Haven't you ever heard that there is no bad publicity?

Anyway, again, cycling sponsorships (as far as sports goes) is super duper cheap. Exposure is huge. There is a lot of bang for the buck in sponsoring a cycling team.


----------



## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)

magnolialover said:


> Haven't you ever heard that there is no bad publicity?
> 
> Anyway, again, cycling sponsorships (as far as sports goes) is super duper cheap. Exposure is huge. There is a lot of bang for the buck in sponsoring a cycling team.


Should be interesting if TMobile pulls the plug in the next few days. Cycling popularity has dropped from 67% to 12% in Germany. We'll see.


----------



## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

magnolialover said:


> Haven't you ever heard that there is no bad publicity?
> 
> Anyway, again, cycling sponsorships (as far as sports goes) is super duper cheap. Exposure is huge. There is a lot of bang for the buck in sponsoring a cycling team.


Bruyneel has pegged it at $15million. No US company that markets predominatly in the US would get enough positive exposure to justify that..especially in light of the current negative press about the tour...so you need a multinational that is looking to expand it's Euro presence. That cuts the number of possibilities dramaticially.

I think that it's going to be hard for them, not impossible, but hard. Home depot was in the running (as I understand it) but has backed off in recent weeks. 

Not sayin' they won't, but there are better places to spend $15 million. I love cycling, but my advice to any of my clients would be to go elsewhere.

Len


----------



## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

bas said:


> They could sell almost guaranteed TdF wins for maybe the next 10 years to the new sponsor.


The only question is how many Americans will tune to Versus to watch Contador win. Let's see... The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer team, presented by Esurance.


----------



## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

magnolialover said:


> Haven't you ever heard that there is no bad publicity?


That's what Andy Rihs said about Phonak three weeks before he pulled the plug


----------



## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

They need to reach out to an older audience. How about Team Depends. They don't even have to stop to roadside breaks anymore.


----------



## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

*Team Wal Mart (not)*

An interesting comment that Joe Lindsey posted to his Boulder Report blog:Consider this: Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, is a committed cycling enthusiast and member of the USA Cycling Development Foundation’s Champions Club. This is an elite development circle in bike racing – a veritable who’s-who of deep pocketed big wheels who are fanatical enough about the sport to each kick down at least $25,000 a year (members must be voted in unanimously and give $100,000 in their first year) to support the development of young American cyclists.

Now, have you ever heard Wal-Mart seriously mentioned as a potential team sponsor? Wal-Mart probably has a number of reasons for steering clear of a sport its chairman loves, but it’s not far-fetched to suggest that one is that it dare not risk its reputation sponsoring a cycling team when there’s a chance that the star rider, a racer like, oh, just for giggles, let’s say Ivan Basso, isn’t really clean. And Wal-Mart is in consumer goods. Imagine if you’re in a trust business, like financial services.​


----------



## cadence90 (Sep 12, 2004)

Unibet.

By hook or by crook....


----------



## giro_man (Oct 29, 2003)

While the Discovery team victory is great, the overall pro cycling situation is chaotic. In effect, the ASO today declared war on the UCI. There is no guarantee of when and where any pro team will race next year. For potential sponsors, Unibet is an ugly example of wasted sponsorship money. And, it only takes one doping incident or related incident to make a sponsor squeamish. In the case of Rasmussen, it was not the cycling team but the Rabobank board of directors that made the decision to yank him. The risk for a sponsor is great. Both the Tour de France and professional cycling have been disgraced this past week and as a consequence, been mocked in the non cycling media. It would take an awful lot of courage for a new sponsor to come forward, for any team.


----------



## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

cadence90 said:


> Unibet.
> 
> By hook or by crook....


Funny. I thought that was Astana's motto.


----------



## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

MikeBiker said:


> They need to reach out to an older audience. How about Team Depends. They don't even have to stop to roadside breaks anymore.


"Born from Space Shuttles!"


----------



## cadence90 (Sep 12, 2004)

Fredke said:


> Funny. I thought that was Astana's motto.


Available now, pay no interest until 2008!


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

chuckice said:


> Why would any company want to associate their company with dirty athletes...


Like the ones that pay big bucks to have the naming rights to NFL and MLB stadiums?


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

Fredke said:


> Now, have you ever heard Wal-Mart seriously mentioned as a potential team sponsor? Wal-Mart probably has a number of reasons for steering clear of a sport its chairman loves, but it’s not far-fetched to suggest that one is that it dare not risk its reputation sponsoring a cycling team when there’s a chance that the star rider, a racer like, oh, just for giggles, let’s say Ivan Basso, isn’t really clean. And Wal-Mart is in consumer goods. Imagine if you’re in a trust business, like financial services.[/INDENT]


At least walmart could get the clothes made in Africa and cheap.

Wait - Nike already does that with Asia, but charges us a freakin premium ($85+).

Maybe we could at least get a real WalMart cycling jersey in walmart for $25. haha


----------



## Dogstar (Apr 18, 2006)

*Starbucks....?*

I still think they would make a good sponsorship match -- they are a US company trying to make it big in Europe. They have stores in Paris that are doing well -- not much in the N. European countries... yet. 

And as far as the doping situation goes, they _are_ classic cycling dope: Caffeine.

Riders could do ads saying: "doping? Who needs it: I have all the Starbucks <insert favorite drink here> I need."

As long as their riders stay clean (DNA tests, whatever they need as a guarantee) Starbucks take the high road and still get good publicity out of the riders taking the low road.

for example, George, the US champ could say:
"....Vino? I knew something was up when he started skipping his doppio machiatto."
Then: <voice over> "Starbucks coffee...it's all a real champion needs."


----------



## Mosovich (Feb 3, 2004)

*Look at Predictor Lotto...*

Hey, they cater to women who think they are prego... So why not cater to older people... It's gonna be tough, but I'm sure Brunyel will pull it off. I just wonder how many riders he will keep as it progresses that he doesn't have a sponsor. Would LA pull a Slipstream and sponsor the team himself? He's got the cash... Seems like LA would have some good conections with some of the Cancer research and drug companies..


----------



## dikai_yang (May 13, 2007)

Hey, if Apple sponsors the present Disco team, calling it iTeam... the new Trek Madone replacement could become iBike... Then the lower-end iBikes will eventually come equipped with iPhone/iPod proprietary handlebar mounts... then Trek will probably then come up with yet another new proprietary technology called iCrank (well, more like "iBB")... we'll see lots of changes!


----------



## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

there is little upside to sponsoring this team. Personally, I'd like to see Bruyneel go away--he's sleazy and represent old school thinking. Tried to hire Ullrich as well as Basso after OP. 

Discovery fans should wake up and realize that the attention on Contador is not going to be good. He's named in OP--you can go to cycling4all and read the documents. Right now there's nothing better than to be a Spanish cyclist, as the Spanish federation is protecting them (and a deal with Contador and Valverde in exchange for info is going to come out). But, the Euro media will dig and dig and this stuff is going to come out. 

That is, unless you believe a 137lb pure climber can beat the TT world champion. 

Down the line, there's going to be a day when Evans and Pereiro are awarded the tour retrospectively.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

stevesbike said:


> . Right now there's nothing better than to be a Spanish cyclist, as the Spanish federation is protecting them (and a deal with Contador and Valverde in exchange for info is going to come out). But, the Euro media will dig and dig and this stuff is going to come out. .


IF, there is stuff to get sorted out, I hope they do dig and dig. I'm very weary of cheaters marring this sport.  


If I win the Mega Millions Lottery, I'LL sponsor the team, under the condition that their little bicycle-butts are tested for dope ten times daily. Hmmm, I shall call them......
Team Nope-A-Dope.


----------



## mandovoodoo (Aug 27, 2005)

NASCAR & BASS PRO need to sponsor. Pull in a whole new audience that will be amazed people get in who aren't related to the current stars.

Or John Deere could start making cycles and sponsor a team. "Born from Tractors."


----------



## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

*USed to be*



mandovoodoo said:


> NASCAR & BASS PRO need to sponsor. Pull in a whole new audience that will be amazed people get in who aren't related to the current stars.
> 
> Or John Deere could start making cycles and sponsor a team. "Born from Tractors."


John Deere did have a branded bike years ago.....it was green and heavy.


----------



## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

FWIW, paul and phil mentioned there were rumors that a new sponsor had been found, and rumors that the announcement might even come later today.


----------



## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

Doesn't this tell you something is rotten?

The team with:

1. Lance Armstrong as its spokesman
2. 8 Tours
3. 2 Vueltas
4. Countless victories
5. Countless more fanboys

Can't sign a sponsor? I mean, they're the most dominant team in history and they can't get someone to sign on the dotted line?

Why don't they just go for the oil or diamond business sponsors? Heck, they'd have no problem with unethical behavior. Matter of fact, it'd be a perfect fit.


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

FondriestFan said:


> Doesn't this tell you something is rotten?
> 
> The team with:
> 
> ...



2005 Giro'D'Italia with paulo salvodelli.


----------



## lnin0 (Apr 8, 2002)

I think Balco is ripe for some good PR.


----------



## mandovoodoo (Aug 27, 2005)

dagger said:


> John Deere did have a branded bike years ago.....it was green and heavy.


Of course. This was actually a joke. Sorry, should have indicated that.


----------



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

mandovoodoo said:


> Of course. This was actually a joke. Sorry, should have indicated that.


It's for real.


----------



## mandovoodoo (Aug 27, 2005)

Yes. As I indicated, should have indicated clearly my attempt to inject humor into this dry and dusty subject. Won't happen again.


----------



## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

bas said:


> 2005 Giro'D'Italia with paulo salvodelli.


Right you are. I forgot about that one.


----------



## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

FondriestFan said:


> Doesn't this tell you something is rotten?
> 
> The team with:
> 
> ...


What makes you so sure there are companies lining up for the chance.

The Discovery Channel sponsorship has not officially ended yet. Even if the team had someone signed up I'm not sure it would be announced yet.

How long after the tour was it before the deal with Disco was announced. I would expect the same time frame for a new deal.


----------



## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

Lifelover said:


> The Discovery Channel sponsorship has not officially ended yet. Even if the team had someone signed up I'm not sure it would be announced yet.


That's right there's a big difference between not announcing a new sponsor and not being able to find a new sponsor (though that distinction might not fit well into someone's preconceived argument). On the other had, Discovery Channel's replacing USPS was announce before the Tour de France at the Tour of Georgia.


----------



## Dank (Nov 26, 2006)

I bet its Oakley or Nike as the team sponsor. We will have to wait and see..


----------



## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Dank said:


> I bet its Oakley or Nike as the team sponsor. We will have to wait and see..


I don't thinks so... Nike is getting out of cycling and Oakley has too much to lose by just sponsoring one team..


----------



## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

LOL.... 2 years gone by, and the haters stiil have the hate going on.


----------



## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

My vote is for Purina.

It somehow fits.

Len


----------



## Guest (Jul 29, 2007)

stevesbike said:


> Discovery fans should wake up and realize that the attention on Contador is not going to be good. He's named in OP--you can go to cycling4all and read the documents. Right now there's nothing better than to be a Spanish cyclist, as the Spanish federation is protecting them (and a deal with Contador and Valverde in exchange for info is going to come out). But, the Euro media will dig and dig and this stuff is going to come out.
> 
> That is, unless you believe a 137lb pure climber can beat the TT world champion.
> 
> Down the line, there's going to be a day when Evans and Pereiro are awarded the tour retrospectively.


You can bet your life that if dirt is to be found then some euro journo will find it now.....and quite rightly IMHO.

We will watch this space over the coming months....years......


----------



## Mega Cycle (Jul 29, 2007)

Contador is the kind of hero we can all admire. I just hope we don't find he also has someone else's blood or EPO in his veins in a few days time!

Viva Espana!!


----------



## beantownbiker (May 30, 2002)

Nike is doubtful, they have their hands full and there are too many possible conflicts. 
Oakley...more of a possibility than many think. Oakley was recently bought by luxottica, who have several other luxury brands under their name (Prada, Versace, Brooks Brothers, Bvlgari) and since, a least in the US, cycling is largely an upper class activity/sport, it may fit in nicely with the rest of their product lines. Plus luxottica has a lot moe money to toss around than Oakley (even for huge companies, $15m is not an amount that goes largely unnoticed)


----------



## ashpelham (Jan 19, 2006)

Here's my take on some of the possible sponsors that might take over Disco:

Home Depot=Crazy. No chance. No product associations.
Starbucks= Possible, but lack of interest in the US as a whole.
John Deere= 
Balco= No, but don't rule out a drug company: Amgen, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb...

How about Lance Armstrong himself? He could be the lead sponsor of the team, and have some pretty deep-pocketed others still tote most of the note. But just let Armstrong be the title sponsor. Maybe Discovery stays on in some form? Maybe AT&T gets in on the act.

I'm thinking some drug company that makes a penis drug....


----------



## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

Maybe Tinkoff will step in and propose a merging of the teams with his present Tinkoff team a development squad. I can see Tinkoff and Bruyneel hangin out at the discos in Moscow or Berlin (looks like that's where Bruyneel found his wife).


----------



## cheetos316 (Jun 21, 2003)

What about Intel? That would surely spoil AMD's sponsorship and given the huge CPU wars, I can see Intel pulling that move.

Or what about Victoria's Secret. Imagine the shorts made with lace or thong shorts!


----------

