At a time when other organizations have been tempted to flee from cycling sponsorship as if the pro cycling world is infected with the plague, T-Mobile announced today that they would continue sponsoring the professional cycling team that they’ve backed over the last 16 years. Starting in 1991, the squad now known as T-Mobile was originally sponsored by Deutsche Telekom, and in one incarnation or the other, has been supported by the German telecommunications firm ever since.
“We remain committed to cycling until 2010,” declared [Christian] Frommert [, the Deutsche Telekom spokesman,] at a press conference in Saarbrücken ahead of Friday’s start of the Tour of Germany.”Since the end of the Tour de France, we had a series of in-house discussions and met with the team, the German cycling federation and television networks,” Frommert explained. “After a lot of consideration, we concluded that to leave cycling at a time this sport is in crisis would send the wrong message. We are in an uncompromising fight against doping.”
This is indeed good news for the pro cycling community. The board chairman of T-Mobile added:
“We want to prove a point through consistency and stability which this sport is in great need of,” said T-Mobile’s board chairman Hamid Akhavan. “We want to continue our involvement in cycling and support it in its effort to become a cleaner sport.””We reserve the right to immediately terminate the commitment in the event of further doping cases,” Akhavan added.
So, while T-Mobile is staying in the game for now, the sponsor has also delivered a very clear message to the riders and team management. Mess up again, and we may pull the rug out from under you. Any rider on T-Mobile who is considering doping should be warned: Not only will you find yourself out of a job, all of your teammates will, too. So as the old US anti-drug campaign would have put it, just say no to doping.
The easy thing to do would have been to drop their sponsorship entirely, which in light of Patrik Sinkewitz’s positive test in June, despite the team’s anti-doping policies and program, could easily have happened. Instead, the sponsor has taken the wise view that to cut and run would not be in the long-term interests of the sport. By sticking around, they’re showing responsible stewardship and leadership, and they stand to gain quite a bit of favorable publicity for the move.
With all the hysteria over doping these days, it’s good to see level heads prevail.
Contador’s Mysterious Announcement
By this time tomorrow, 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador will have made whatever announcement or statement he’s planning on making in front of the offices of Spain’s Superior Council for Sport. Standing beside him will be Johann Bruyneel, manager of the Discovery Channel cycling team. According to news reports, Contador will make his announcement or statement, but not take any questions.
What could it possibly be about? Here’s several guesses:
First, Contador could announce that he’s given a DNA sample in order to refute the allegations that he was involved in Operacion Puerto. Apparently, for the World Anti-Doping Agency and various of their informants, the fact that Spanish authorities cleared Contador in December of any involvement in the case is of no consequence. And apparently, when Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes says he never worked with Contador, that doesn’t matter, either.
So one way to shut WADA and people like Werner Franke up would be for Contador to offer his DNA. If there’s no match to any of the evidence, that would be a pretty strong indication that he’s not involved. That probably won’t be enough to satisfy WADA, but it would be a pretty swift PR move.
Another reason to make a statement would be for Contador to announce that he’s taking legal action against WADA and Franke. That would be a gutsy thing to do, and probably quite expensive. But at some point someone is going to hold the zealots who are currently running the anti-doping machine to account. Contador may just be the person to do it.
Of course, he just might be planning on making another statement that he’s not involved, that he happened to be on the wrong team at the wrong time and leave it at that. I think he’ll need to do more than that, however, to counter the damage that a WADA investigation could bring. Whatever the case, whatever Contador says is going to be hitting the newswires tomorrow morning.
Gee Rant – do you really thinks so?
–
I mean – T-Mobile is being ever so good to cycling – we have heard much about just how much monies they are investing in “insuring” a “clean” sport…
–
Maybe we should just ignore the fact that the reason number one of any sponsor is to get hours of cheap advertising on international TV and other medias….hmnnn.
–
Also forget that this doping business is all the riders doing and no sponsors seem to be involved…
–
That “out of the blue” – a certain winner of the 96 Tour decided to dope to win, all on his very own – no Team involvement at all…
–
Man – these riders – you just can’t trust them. They’ll sink to any low just to win…hmnnn…and no money people behind the Teams and riders have been involved…
–
I believe T-Mobile must be indeed a great humanistic corporate entity – not to withdraw their sponsorship…
–
Good guesses as to what the Contador press conference will be about – as long as we are in the business of guessing I suppose, no?
I am guessing that if Bruyneel is with Contador, we may be able to assume Contador is clean and not resigning from Discovery? I am trying to remember now if Basso stood alone when making his annoucement to resign. I don’t think the Tour can stand to have two winners up in the air, two years in a row. And as much as I’d love for Cadel to win, I know he wouldn’t want to win like this.
Gee, Morgan – do you really think so?
–
Maybe every corporate sponsor should pick up and leave the sport, since most if not all, are “bad” as are all corporations, right?????……
–
Because no corporate sponsor has the right much less the obligation to try to lean up their mess once they make their profit pillaging the countryside and we should not support any such reformation nonsense, should we, HMMMMMM……
_
The sport has been ever so much better since Mapai, for example, left, yes……..?
–
As long as some people are in the business of guessing what others may do of interest to them, I suppose, maybe those guesses inspire someone to post a reaction to them, no……?
–
And maybe when people take the time to think about issues and post their views and host a place for all of us to read and react, perhaps such reaction might be tempered with some tolerance and lack of condescention at minimum, wouldn’t you agree……?
Morgan,
Let’s put it this way. Cycling needs bad publicity like it needs a hole in the head. I’m sure that if the truth were known, that all of the doping that’s occurred in cycling or any sport over the last 50 years or more occurred with some measure of management and sponsor involvement. Riders and athletes don’t just dope on their own — do they?
—
It would be quite hypocritical, I think, for T-Mobile to pick up their marbles and go home at this point. Especially if they’ve been involved in some of the seedier sides of things up to now. Better for them to stick it out, from a PR/rolling billboard point of view. At the end of this wretched exercise cycling is going through right now, the sport will come out stronger. And that will be even more of a PR bonanza for them, don’t you think?
—
The sponsor who saved cycling? That’s what they’ll be if this all works out. And for the investment, they’re going to get their faces and company known in markets they’ve not infiltrated as well.
—
As cost/benefit calculations go, I think they’ve figured out which is the right fork in the road to take. Which is a level-headed approach to business. True?
– Rant
Rant my satire was not aimed at you personally – As one who provides this forum for us – I have respect for you.
–
My rant was about the sponsor issue – NO I do not wish to see or think that all sponsors should leave – but I am sick of bikers being made into scape-goats, because media loves to throw public trials to sell papers.
–
Mr Hue – an excellent job of mimicking – but my statements were intended as absurd, not a criticism of Rant our host. None the less if you relax a minute you would notice that I am for cycling, not for doping and have nothing against corporate sponsorship. But I suppose expecting to get a fair shake for bikes is being a bit naive – black sheep that they are.
–
My view is that all the doping going on couldn’t have been merely a bunch of cyclist doing it all on their own, no matter how this idea is repeated over and over again.
–
Rant – I was NOT making fun of you or your article. As to Telekom staying in the sponsor role – logically, your assessment is correct – I just personally still resent the hell out of them for using the riders as scapegoats.
–
And that is why I wrote my response.
Morgan,
You know, the thing I’ve been thinking about T-Mobile staying on as a sponsor is this:
—
If they’d abandoned ship, the collective media hounds of hell would take that as yet another validation of how truly bad the world of cycling is, and they would have beat us over the heads with that story from now until forever.
—
I’m frustrated with the MSM for always beating up on the riders, when there are many more aspects to the story that need to be explored. And first among them is whether or not doping is as big a problem as the Pounds of the world would have us believe. Because, if it is, then why don’t more athletes test positive? A bit under four percent of all anti-doping tests given to cyclists come up positive on the A sample. Exactly how many Bs confirm the As is unclear.
—
So if doping is as rampant as the nattering nabobs of negativism tell us it is, are the dopers really so smart that they’re able to beat the system so well? Because if that’s the case, perhaps we should fire the whole lot of those who are supposed to be the anti-doping police. They’re obviously not doing a very good job.
—
Or perhaps the problem isn’t as bad as we’re being led to believe. But bureaucracies love to perpetuate themselves, and the ADAs and the UCI are no exception. So feeding the media frenzy with the occasional leaked tested result merely helps them ensure their own existence.
—
And whatever the case, we ought to see more stories delving into those mysterious others, the ones who help, or encourage or enable those who dope. Whoever they are. The riders can’t dope all by themselves. Someone’s helping them. And yet, the MSM only occasionally looks at that aspect, while scorching their latest victim (Kashechkin today, Contador tomorrow, who’s next?) with 72-point screaming headlines about who’s been caught.
—
I could go on … and on … and on … but that’s what the main posts are for. 😉
– Rant
Hi Rant,
I am glad that T-mobile is taking a stand and staying in the sport. They may have been part of the problem in the past with their support of riders that doped with or without the teams knowledge but they can lead in the future with a new and clean cycling program. We as fans and the cyclists are better off not having the sponsors that have scurried away at the slightest sniff of the supposed doping problems. Anyway, sun is shining 16C (rarely in NE England) and gonna go for a ride (with rain jacket, extra jersey etc in tow). Maybe this is the day for the FL announcement.
Rapidly…
Doping is widespread in cycling (as in other sports) following its acceptation by all parties who have all a lot to gain at one time
– riders
– teams
– sponsors
– organizers
– UCI, national federation
– pharma and doctors
– and media :reporters, journos, TV,…
We have seen that with track and field during the Johnson-Lewis, it has been the same with EPO era.
Without PED, the show was less dynamic, until EPO, the 2 or 3 first hours of a stage were boring… riders were conserving their strength for the final.
With PED more excitement along the whole stage so more TV coverage, -> more income for organizer and more income for riders, teams, sponsors … and more work so more income and more importance for reporters…
Why to stop this wonderful world? When gouvernement have seen that doping became widespread inside young people, it was time to wake up.
As ever Rant you don’t disappoint – may I use “nattering nabobs of negativism”? Your point about the actual numbers of “doped riders” is very clear – the problem is – no one else seems to see this! – 4% – that is like saying, out of 100 – 4 riders may be doped. That is not the “impression” that the “nattering nabobs of negativism” give when deluging the public about a situation, is it….n-n-of-n…I love it!
–
Jean C – If I may point out to you – Rant said above that OF ALL THE TESTED RIDERS – leave other sports out for the moment…ONLY 4% OF RIDERS COME UP WITH A POSITIVE “A” sample…this is quiet a different picture then what you are painting Jean.
I believe you are sincere in your beliefs – but I have found Rant to be a rather intelligent person who would not simply throw out such a low percent – if it was not based in some truth….so what is wrong with the picture?
–
Lest you all have by now convinced yourself that I am completely ANTI sponsors and anti-T-Mobile – let me assure you I am not – I am simply not going to act like T-Mobile is doing it all for “us bikers” – T-Mobile is doing it for themselves…I am not much for believing in the generous humanitarian heart of the corporate entity – My belief is simply that all of the big sponsors may have had a lot to do with this present situation.
Here I am trying real hard to be PC, so I’ll end it at that
Rant,
Just when you think that there is a resurgence in confidence in cycling with T-mobile taking a solid stand and expressing their support for the sport, Discovery channel step down and the team announces they can’t find a sponsor. Unprecedented i would think for a team to have won the yellow jersey and not able to find a sponsor! Do you think it is as simple as that or is there perhaps a little bit of Mr LA wanting to step away from a situation that has dogged him all these years and he says “enough”.