EF boss proposes to take a look at the NFL to create more equality in cycling: "There are no guardrails"
Cycling
In cycling today, there is a big difference between the strongest teams and the rest. UAE Team Emirates, Visma | Lease a Bike and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe have stratospheric budgets, far above the vast majority of the rest. One of those down there fighting to try to move up is EF Education-EasyPost. Its sports director, Jonathan Vaughters, has commented on a proposal to close the gap as much as possible.
The American is the CEO of a team that competes at the bottom of the WorldTour in terms of budget. To really compete with the top guys is therefore almost impossible. That's why Vaughters advocates a new approach.
"In sports where financial equity and recruitment is regulated, like in the NFL, we see huge growth in spectators and fans," he told Cyclingnews. "Why? Because the games are unpredictable and anyone can win. If you create a level playing field, you increase interest in the sport."
Why don't we win every day?
"In terms of recruiting athletes, things are done very differently in the United States than they are in Europe. The worst team goes first and the best team goes last. So there is more of a level playing field. What is wrong with cycling is not that it is a bad system, but that there is no system. The problem is that there is nothing, there are no guardrails. In cycling today, you can buy success."
Vaughters wants cycling to be more "American": "A level playing field creates interest in the sport. In its early years, UAE Team Emirates was far from the top team it is today. The oil sheiks didn't understand the sport: "Why don't we win every day? When Lampre-ISD was taken over by a Middle Eastern sheikh, ambitions immediately went through the roof."
"But in the beginning, there was little of the super team we know today. That led to misunderstandings with the lender. When UAE Team Emirates first competed in the Tour de France, I think in 2017, the sheikh who gives all the money came to visit," the 51-year-old American recounts. "He said something like, 'Why don't we win, why don't we win every day?' The managers told him, 'It's enormously expensive to get it.' He said again, 'Yeah, so what? Hurry up.'"
Now UAE Team Emirates is the team to beat. Vaughters, with that team's dominance, would like to see a system to regulate the supremacy a bit: "I'm not saying we should adopt the same system as the NFL, because maybe it will work, maybe it won't. But what I'm trying to say is that there has to be something. There needs to be an attempt to regulate how riders are bought, but also how teams are created and what's fair and what's not."
"Otherwise, things could go downhill in cycling. What you end up getting is that sponsors are discouraged from coming into the sport. You get to a point where it's harder and harder to find your place in the sport, to find a sponsor. Because you can't sell the dream of winning the Tour."
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- That’s the most stupid thing I’ve read for a long time, did you not go to school and learn even the most basic physics? Aero depends on one thing only, drag, drag depends speed and the relationship is squared and apart from maybe at zero or the speed of sound or due to side winds that relationship is valid at all speeds, it dies not “suddenly” start at a magic number. Very simply, the faster you go the more the effect becomes important. If you think 25km/h is needed to have noticeable effects you’re delusional, athletic WR are cancelled as soon as winds top 2m/s that’s 7.2km/h, why because the assistance is already too important at that speed and the times prove it. You don’t even consider wind which can significantly increase the effective speed for aerodynamics and you underestimate speed of climbs, 6% is ridden more at 30 than 25km/h, a speed at which early generation high rims were considered to have more advantages than disadvantages. And finally, as in normal races you can’t just switch bikes according to terrain, it’s pretty pointless to discuss climbs as a separate situation, the aero will have justified itself plenty during the rest of the ride.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- If you look at how much TP progressed in that 1 1/2 years you can no longer say that’s nothing. If Remco improves as much he’s a challenger!Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Froome wishing to ride the Vuelta...he won't even be selected for the team!frieders320-12-2024
- Keep telling yourself that Remco but you not only have Tadeg to beat but Jonas!frieders320-12-2024
- Seems farfetched - I agree. Mas has beaten him once. Giro d'Emillia I think - 2022mobk20-12-2024
- Barring injuries, by the time Pogacar's dominance fads there will be lots of new young talent. Pogacar is about 1 1/2 years older than Remco. That's nothing.Sweep20-12-2024
- I actually don’t find that too impressive. In my later forties I did similar figures for a 3.5% gradient as a total nobody with no wind assistance. Am sure there’s margin for improvement there, especially looking at all the names on that list.Mistermaumau20-12-2024
- Jonas', was 6 years agospock12320-12-2024
- The race where he overnight suddenly turned nuclear after being packfodder at best for several years. His Sky days after that Vuelta and Pogačar’s last season shall remain the darkest post Lance stuff cycling has witnessed. Good riddance Froome.
UltimateOpportunist20-12-2024 - Finishing the Vuelta seems to be a reasonably attainable goal. Getting on the team to do that will be the more difficult challenge.
santiagobenites20-12-2024