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Monday's Mailbag: Tour of where, exactly?; grand tours and NASCAR; who pays for 'cross world's trip; and the twins
The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Details on Tour of California, please
Editor:
What’s up with the poor marketing for the Amgen Tour of California? For such a large event I’m surprised there is so little information about this race especially since it’s only a month away.
I am more than willing to drive to California, spend money on hotels, food, shopping and to stand on a roadside to cheer the cyclists but I can’t even find a detailed route listing of each stage. Where’s the finish line for each stage? Where do I go to watch the cyclists battle it up the climbs? What’s the route for the time trials? I don’t know and I can’t seem to find out. All the official web site has is an overview map of the race. I’m at the point where I won’t be able to go as I need to give my employer advance notice to get time off.
I hope this event isn’t doomed for failure like the SFGP. At least for that race they published a street map and I knew where to go to watch it.
J. Wong
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Yeah, what he said
Editor:
While it's interesting to know that the city of Sausalito is a "waterfront community with Mediterranean flair," the Amgen Tour of California website offers little to no information on the actual course. I haven't even been able to find out the distance of each stage, let alone details like climb categories, sprint primes, and what color the leader's jersey will be. Will there be a King of the Mountains, or points race?
With only about a month left until the prologue I was curious if anyone else was wondering about this. I was hoping to plan a vacation around the race, but with no details on where the course will be (other than start and finish cities) it's hard to plan lodging and camping accordingly. I was really hoping for things like organized rides on one or more of the stages. It's been impossible to contact anyone at AEG that knows anything.
Hopefully other readers will be looking for the same information, and VeloNews will help us out. In any case, I'm looking forward to the race. See you there.
Todd Christopher
Huntington Beach, California
Good news: Tour officials say the route and team roster will be announced on Tuesday. We'll pass the word along as soon as we get it, — Editor
Grand tours could learn something from NASCAR
Editor:
I've seen a lot of dumb moves in my time but this one, by the grand-tour organizers, wins the prize as the all-time dumbest. And here's why.
NASCAR wasn't always a popular sport. It, like cycling, was only really popular in certain regions (and mostly only watched by white males). So why is NASCAR’s popularity growing so rapidly in the U.S.? It's the leadership of the organization. It's the drive to make it better for the fans. NASCAR listens to the fans, which helps them see how they can make the racing better and appealing to more people. In the last few years there has even been a huge drive to get women and minorities involved in racing. And they are selling out stands everywhere they go and raking in the money through ticket sales, sales of merchandise, sponsorship, etc. More importantly they do it in the name of good racing and fan involvement.
I was truly excited for cycling when the UCI introduced the ProTour format. I saw a future in which cycling could become more popular because fans could keep track of the championship points and who's in the lead — much like the NASCAR model. I thought the grand tours would see this as a positive step as well. I guess not.
I'm sorry for cycling now. I hope someone knocks some sense into the heads of the grand-tour organizers. For the future of the sport it needs to happen.
Brian Jones
Fort Worth, Texas
Funny, we always thought that NASCAR’s popularity had more to do with being able to watch it in a stadium, sitting down, within reach of a cooler. — Editor
Is OBRA kicking in for Oregon ‘crossers?
Editor:
Seems to me the members of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association need to step up to the plate and contribute some money towards the team USA Cycling is sending to the cyclo-cross world’s. With five riders coming from their district and race fees from OBRA not going to USAC, I don’t think it is fair that the members of USAC are paying their way to ‘cross worlds. OBRA, correct me if I am wrong, or step up to the plate and kick down some money to pay the expenses of the Oregon riders going to ‘cross worlds.
Matt Mansur
Reno, Nevada
We must disagree, Matt. For starters, USA Cycling provides minimal support for its world’s team, since cyclo-cross is not an Olympic sport. Fund-raising is a must for everyone on the squad, and we suspect that Oregonians, like Coloradans (four of our state's racers made the team), are busy soliciting support from sources other than USAC, OBRA or the American Cycling Association to help send their homies to Zeddam. And finally, it seems to us that if racers from Rebellion turf also hold Empire licenses and meet USA Cycling's criteria for making the world’s team — as nearly half the team does — they’re entitled to whatever support the feds provide. — Editor
Separated at birth?
Editor:
Jan Ullrich's new ’do makes him look like David Hasselhoff. No wonder the Germans love him.
Stefan Wawersik
Boston, Massachusetts
Frightening, isn’t it? We wonder how well David can climb. . . . — Editor
The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
