# Yahoo! Cycling Team to launch in 2010



## *Dude* (Feb 26, 2004)

How is this true: 

The team will be* operating at grass-roots level* and will be primarily based out of California for the 2010 race season.

"The whole idea behind the Yahoo! Cycling Team is the recruitment of high tech professionals in the Silicon Valley and to provide a platform for partners to achieve more involvement at the community level," Klein said. "If you do it right, everyone should win and grow their business."

*Klein has assembled an impressive 15-rider roster with a unique blend of experienced professionals, young natural talent, and seasoned leaders for 2010 - including two current professional road riders, members of the Under 23 National Team, and a two-time Olympian. But Klein did not want to reveal any names at this time - not until the launch of the website in January.

Klein himself will be riding with the team and is included on the racing roster. He has had some good 2009 results including a third place at the Davis Criterium race on July 4, won by Rahsaan Bahati. "There are veterans, young guys, and professionals on the team which make for a nice mix and spread out," he added.*

I don't understand how you can say grassroots then tell everyone you have professional riders riding and taking the spot of regular grassroots Blok....:crazy:


----------



## kretzel (Aug 1, 2007)

Could be pros who are ready to leave the full-time race/travel life, and attend mostly local/regional races where they can interact with everyday folks. If you look at the Master's categories across California, there are a lot of ex-pros racing on the local scenes. 

I agree it does sound a bit odd, but I can envision a scenario in which it would work. Cycling is unique in that the line between "pro" and "amateur" is more blurry than in many sports. Maybe because so many people with PRO stamped on their license are paid squat to race and have day jobs anyways.


----------



## *Dude* (Feb 26, 2004)

Well I could agree with you too some degree but here is more to the story:

K*lein's plan for the first year is to ride and manage the team on the local US racing scene before applying for UCI Continental Status in 2011*. Should they be successful, he would like to bring in Mariano Friedick, who is currently living in Argentina, as another key person on the management team. Friedick was a multi-national American champ on the track and raced for Toyota United and Saturn.

The Yahoo! Cycling Team, which will ride on Fuji bikes, includes qualified managers that also have a cycling pedigree. Haldane Morris, who was Rock Racing's General Manager for ‘07 and ‘08, is on board to help manage the squad. Morris has won 30 Gold State Champs and a silver medal at the USA Olympic Trials and was a member of the US National Cycling Team from 1989 to 1993. Allen Bean is another person who has worked with Rock Racing Management from 2006-2008. He has also been involved in cycling since 1974, and has over 25 years of project management experience.

The Yahoo! Cycling Team hopes to become a dominating force on the US racing circuit in 2010 and one that will have a large fan following. "We are confident in achieving a lot of wins in 2010 and believe that we have a lot more horse-power to muscle those all-important last few laps in the criteriums. It will be exciting for fans and racers alike," said Klein.

Social media will be used as a key marketing strategy behind the team - this includes the popular Twitter (Yahoocycling) and Facebook as well as their official website, www.yahoocycling.com, which is set to launch early next year. Local promotional contests will be held on-line throughout the year to keep cycling fans returning to the website.

Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for more exclusive coverage of the Yahoo! Cycling Team.


----------



## _ulysses_ (Nov 27, 2009)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/yahoo-cycling-team-to-launch-in-2010


----------



## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

From the article:



> An online survey targeted at Silicon Valley Professionals revealed that an astonishing 50 percent are cycling enthusiasts and follow the local scene.


:yikes:


----------



## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

> An online survey targeted at Silicon Valley Professionals revealed that an astonishing 50 percent are cycling enthusiasts and follow the local scene.


I imagine this is biased because the participants in the survey are self selected. How many non-cyclists are going to fill in a survey about cycling?



> The whole idea behind the Yahoo! Cycling Team is the recruitment of high tech professionals in the Silicon Valley


This doesn't make all that much sense to me either. No high tech professional needs to be reminded that Yahoo exists, and seeing a Yahoo kit in a race isn't going to make me switch careers. Now where's that RadioShack job application form?


----------



## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> I imagine this is biased because the participants in the survey are self selected. How many non-cyclists are going to fill in a survey about cycling?


No doubt. I posted it mostly tongue-in-cheek, but I didn't find a suitable smile to indicate so.


----------



## _ulysses_ (Nov 27, 2009)

ukbloke said:


> This doesn't make all that much sense to me either. No high tech professional needs to be reminded that Yahoo exists, and seeing a Yahoo kit in a race isn't going to make me switch careers. Now where's that RadioShack job application form?


You could read it another way. They're recruiting hi-tech professionals for the racing squad...


----------



## kretzel (Aug 1, 2007)

*Dude* said:


> Well I could agree with you too some degree but here is more to the story:
> 
> K*lein's plan for the first year is to ride and manage the team on the local US racing scene before applying for UCI Continental Status in 2011*.


Agree, that part makes it seem really weird. Sounds a bit schizophrenic. 

Oh well, anyone stumping up $ for cycling at the moment is a good thing.


----------



## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

kretzel said:


> Agree, that part makes it seem really weird. Sounds a bit schizophrenic.
> 
> Oh well, anyone stumping up $ for cycling at the moment is a good thing.


I guess it depends on perspective, but I don't see it as schizophrenic, or even definitively not "grass roots" (although I'm not sure that the phrase even makes sense in the context of an adult sports team, but if it does, I don't think this is any less "grass roots" than, for example, a presidential campaign by a six-term governor with strong ties to his party's national committee). I do recognize that "grass roots" sports usually means junior sports, but in the grand scheme of things, is it crazy for a budget UCI Continental team, especially one based in a particular community, to think of itself as a "grass roots" program in comparison to a Cervelo-caliber Pro Continental or a Pro Tour team? Hopefully it signals some intention to be connected to a junior development program, although I haven't heard anything about that.

In any event, poaching some guys from Strawberry and setting up an additional balance to some of the other big 1/2 teams here is fine by me.


----------



## velogirl (Oct 14, 2005)

here's the current roster -- http://www.usacycling.org/clubs/index.php?order=name&club=yahoo

Club Contacts:
Kevin Klein - President
Haldane Morris - Vice-President

Active Members:
Allen Bean 12/31/2010
Brian Bosch 12/31/2010
Dirk Copeland 12/31/2010
Filip Vanacht 12/31/2010


----------



## twain (May 18, 2004)

It's official:
http://www.yahoocycling.com/


----------



## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

I didn't race Cherry Pie, but based on the results, it looks like they crush it.


----------



## twain (May 18, 2004)

*Impressive indeed*

What's amazing to me is some of these guys have full time jobs.
Dirk works full time at yahoo. He also went to the olympics twice. And he won the pro race.
Filip is a director at Oracle, too!
Finally, Jane Despas also works full time as a director at Yahoo. And she finished 4th!

And this is some really impressive race coverage of the Cherry Pie crit. This guy pegs his hr at 177 for most of the race. He cranks out some serious watts, too. It would be *so cool* if the Grand Tours featured this kind of perspective.
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pjq10IcAaWU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pjq10IcAaWU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"><


----------

