Great news for Cycling

12 sprocket

Great news for cycling

Todays Cyclingnews reports that

“TheInternational Olympic Committee today confirmed cycling as a "highcategory sport" for the 2016 Olympic Games.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ioc-confirms-cyclings-status-in-olympics-for-2016

death1234567

Link

Pat McQuaid re-elected for second term on Olympic international federations council

Embattled International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid has been re-elected to serve on the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Council.

McQuaid is seeking re-election for a third term as UCI president this year...

Not really a suprise cycling got the high category...

12 sprocket

Death
Your spot on that its no surprise, Cycling is a great sport growing and getting better by the day.

Beasty

Yep, full credit to Sir Chris, Sir Brad, Sir Dave and Lord Cav of Man for raising cycling's profile over recent years ....

Inquitus

I like the way Pat's lifetime ban from competing in the Olympics has no impact on his suitability to serve on the IOC. The UCI, FIFA and the IOC are simply comical in their corruption and lack of morals.

12 sprocket

lads
I posted a note about good news for cycling and its been used by some of you as a vehicle to attack someone.

I posted this in good faith as a lover of cycling, so presumably the people who replied can't just celebrate the fact that cycling is doing well..

Maybe their egos are more important than cycling to them.. I read people like wav1 here and some others who clearly love cycling for cycling, can't say I get any sense of this from beasty and some others.

TinyExplosions

12 sprocket wrote: »

lads
I posted a note about good news for cycling and its been used by some of you as a vehicle to attack someone.

I posted this in good faith as a lover of cycling, so presumably the people who replied can't just celebrate the fact that cycling is doing well..

Maybe their egos are more important than cycling to them.. I read people like wav1 here and some others who clearly love cycling for cycling, can't say I get any sense of this from beasty and some others.

I don't know how you got a bad impression from what Beasty wrote -it is down to the exploits of people like Wiggins, Cav, Hoy, Pendleton etc who have raised cycling's profile (it says in the article that TV Viewing numbers were 40% of the criteria, so having winning british riders is bound to help). Also, it states that 20% is internet page views, so places like boards could also be part of it!

Actually, if it's only page views, maybe all the McQuaid bashing has helped raise cycling's profile... they're still views of cycling related pages...

Beasty

As already mentioned by Tiny I am certainly not looking to attack anyone with my comments, but looking at the criteria they used (TV audience being the biggest, but general popularity and ticket demand also in teh mix) it seems pretty clear to me that the exploits of Team GB (and forgive me as I forgot to mention the 2 "ladies" of the track, Vicky and Sarah) over recent years culminating in last year's London Olympics where cycling was probably the second most popula sport primarily as a result of the individuals I mentioned (and yes, I will admit I am biased, but I really don't think their contribution can be disputed)

detones

Ok lunchtime rant coming up

While I do agree this is a good story for cycling and it is great to hear something positive regarding the sport (which I’m fairly new to if I’m honest). From the article I assume this upgrade to a "high category sport" applies to all cycling disciplines. In terms of the Olympics I see a justified place for Track cycling as the Olympics would be seen as the pinnacle of the sport I do however question why Road cycling and other mainstream professional sports like it (tennis/golf/basketball etc) get to partake. Road cycling has a whole array of events from the grand tours to the classics which most pro's would prefer to win over an Olympic gold. The same as Tennis or Golf, I don’t for one minute believe any Pro golfer would rate an Olympic gold over winning the Masters for example. If sports like Road Cycling and Golf which have such a strong professional background do participate in the Olympics I feel it really should be limited to amateur athletes like the way boxing does or even a compromise like the soccer were the maximum age is 23.

TinyExplosions

detones wrote: »

I do however question why Road cycling and other mainstream professional sports like it (tennis/golf/basketball etc) get to partake. Road cycling has a whole array of events from the grand tours to the classics which most pro's would prefer to win over an Olympic gold.

Nope, for a lot of cyclists, an Olympic Medal would be a highlight of their career. Don't forget it's a prestigious, one day event, so is nothing like a grand tour, it's more like one of the Classics, so open it up to a different sort of rider. Also, it's rarity of being every four years means that you can milk an Olympic victory longer than you could an Amstel Gold, or L-B-L etc.

Think the Road Race definitely has a place, and any increase in exposure is good for the sport as a whole

Lumen

12 sprocket wrote: »

I posted a note about good news for cycling and its been used by some of you as a vehicle to attack someone.

Whilst your post didn't mention McQuaid the article does. You have posted here a number of times recently in support of him as an individual.

So whilst you claim your post is purely a celebration of cycling, a cynical person might interpret it as PR from a McQuaid supporter ahead of an important vote.

I am not that person.

The reality is that anything related to Pat is political right now. This is what happens when the leader of an organisation becomes the story.

FWIW I've no idea what Beasty is going on about with naming British cyclists. Maybe he has sunstroke.

detones

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Nope, for a lot of cyclists, an Olympic Medal would be a highlight of their career. Don't forget it's a prestigious, one day event, so is nothing like a grand tour, it's more like one of the Classics, so open it up to a different sort of rider. Also, it's rarity of being every four years means that you can milk an Olympic victory longer than you could an Amstel Gold, or L-B-L etc.

Think the Road Race definitely has a place, and any increase in exposure is good for the sport as a whole

Ok I take your point on the Grand Tours and it not comparing like with like as the Olympics as a one day event. However (and i ask this as genuine question) do you believe that most pro's would prefer an Olympic Gold to winning one of the Monuments? As i have said I’m new to cycling, however from what I have read up through books/magazines on cycling history I see the Big Monument type races referred to far more than the Olympics. I also think the distinction of "most pros" is important as I am sure an Olympic gold would be highlight some pros but that could be because they never would have a realistic chance of winning a Monument.

Beasty

Lumen wrote: »

Maybe he has sunstroke.

I bleedin' wish ...

Darkglasses

Wiggo hasn't shut up about his Olympic gold. Definitely means more to him than winning any other one dayer.

TinyExplosions

detones wrote: »

Ok I take your point on the Grand Tours and it not comparing like with like as the Olympics as a one day event. However (and i ask this as genuine question) do you believe that most pro's would prefer an Olympic Gold to winning one of the Monuments? As i have said I’m new to cycling, however from what I have read up through books/magazines on cycling history I see the Big Monument type races referred to far more than the Olympics. I also think the distinction of "most pros" is important as I am sure an Olympic gold would be highlight some pros but that could be because they never would have a realistic chance of winning a Monument.

Yep. If you take the position that most Pro Cyclists ride to win and to make money, you need to look at exposure and sponsorship opportunities for race wins. If you win Amstel Gold, or LBL, you will get exposure in the Cycling Press, and maybe deals from companies that 'know' cycling, but with an Olympic gold medal, you are far more marketable, as well as it being long lived (you're champion for 4 years, not just for a single year).

One of the reasons I think that olympic races aren't in the history books so much is that the monuments are big for the people that are 'into' cycling, but I still reckon most pros, if given the choice between winning a single monument or an Olympic gold, would take a gold medal

detones

Darkglasses wrote: »

Wiggo hasn't shut up about his Olympic gold. Definitely means more to him than winning any other one dayer.

Could be wrong but has Mutton Chops won any major one dayers outside of TT events?

TinyExplosions

detones wrote: »

Could be wrong but has Mutton Chops won any major one dayers outside of TT events?

He doesn't really race one dayers

Darkglasses

detones wrote: »

Could be wrong but has Mutton Chops won any major one dayers outside of TT events?

Don't think so either

Beasty

TinyExplosions wrote: »

One of the reasons I think that olympic races aren't in the history books so much is that the monuments are big for the people that are 'into' cycling, but I still reckon most pros, if given the choice between winning a single monument or an Olympic gold, would take a gold medal

I think the main reason is they have only allowed professionals to compete since 1996 - that means there have only been 5 Olympic Champions from the pro ranks - not really much chance to build up a tradition to date

Lumen

Beasty wrote: »

I think the main reason is they have only allowed professionals to compete since 1996 - that means there have only been 5 Olympic Champions from the pro ranks - not really much chance to build up a tradition to date

The olympic road race has certainly come a long way since 1996, the year it was won by Pascal Richard.

To quote Matt DeCanio:

"Let’s put it this way, the reason Pascal Richard had to stop the Giro wasn’t from a stomach virus, it was because he had something in his system that would test positive. Our team was getting mad at him all the time for leaving his EPO in our truck. But Pascal was old school and believed he had the right because the sport was too hard. He would sometimes keep me up at night with his blood spinners. He had shots for everything including his penis which he injected for 4 hour erections."

And last year the event was won by.....Vino.

dave2pvd

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I don't know how you got a bad impression from what Beasty wrote -it is down to the exploits of people like Wiggins, Cav, Hoy, Pendleton etc who have raised cycling's profile (it says in the article that TV Viewing numbers were 40% of the criteria, so having winning british riders is bound to help). Also, it states that 20% is internet page views, so places like boards could also be part of it!

Actually, if it's only page views, maybe all the McQuaid bashing has helped raise cycling's profile... they're still views of cycling related pages...

Go beyond the UK/IRL bubble a bit - the Olympics are very much a worldwide sport. Credit goes to athletes from all over for raising cycling's status. Ha! Even Lance Armstrong gets some credit

TinyExplosions

dave2pvd wrote: »

Go beyond the UK/IRL bubble a bit - the Olympics are very much a worldwide sport. Credit goes to athletes from all over for raising cycling's status. Ha! Even Lance Armstrong gets some credit

I'm very aware of that, but I suppose what I was saying is that outside the UK cycling is fairly static (in that it's huge in some places, not so in others). The success of Sky/GB Cycling has drastically raised it's profile in a large tv market, which will help with the criteria above

dave2pvd

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I'm very aware of that, but I suppose what I was saying is that outside the UK cycling is fairly static (in that it's huge in some places, not so in others). The success of Sky/GB Cycling has drastically raised it's profile in a large tv market, which will help with the criteria above

I'm with you, the Brailsford/UKCycling/Sky engine has had a huge effect in the UK.

So of the 'big' countries, you see significant growth in the UK, US, Australia and Canada. China? (I'm referring to recreation/racing. Commuting is a different kettle of fish).

It's not just road and track. The non-Olympic disciplines' increase in popularity also contribute to this rising tide. Despite national federations doing little to promote it, cyclocross is seeing huge growth in many countries.

Let's not forget about BMX. It seems to get more TV coverage in the US than any cycling discipline. You'd almost think that it's the only type of bike competition that exists.

I don't know enough to comment on MTB, although I hear of many new trails being built in my corner of the world (SE USA). Back home, I hear even Coilte have built new trails? Surely not?

Bottom line: big growth in big countries. Many factors why cycling's profile has been raised. I dare say that in the grand scheme of things, Wiggins, Cav, Hoy, Pendleton, Brailsford, et al are but a small component of the move to 'higher prestige' status. For each of them you could throw out other names like Armstrong, Stybar, Willoughby, Absalon, Vinokourov, Voigt, Vos, Compton, etc.

For the 20% weighting given to internet page views we can probably thank Lance Armstrong, Pat McQuaid, Hein Verbruggen, Michele Ferrari, David Walsh, Paul Kimmage, Jeff Novitsky, Travis Tygart and, well, Lance Armstrong again.