Tour de France 2018

[Fat Boab]

If you wear jean pant boots, they cover up to just above the knee, and with a kilt on, the whole leg will be kept warm.  No more cold knees on winter days.....

 

Perfect solution!

[Thor Buttox]

If you wear jean pant boots, they cover up to just above the knee, and with a kilt on, the whole leg will be kept warm. No more cold knees on winter days.....

If those jeans had jelly beans on they would be magic!

[Jewbacca]

If those jeans had jelly beans on they would be magic!

Only if they were made by Versus.... Otherwise they would incite angry social media posts from someones wife.....

[Patchelicious]

Only if they were made by Versus.... Otherwise they would incite angry social media posts from someones wife.....

I wonder if she ever thanked William Schrafft for using his invention to sell socks?

[DieselnDust]

What does your average SA pro cyclists earn? vs Your run of the mill accountant?

 

We are talking about TDF riders like they are Spur Managers.

 

 

I don't know exact numbers for a SA Pro cyclist but I would believe that the earnings is proportional to the size of the market and the scarcity of that skill in the market.

Since the local cycle trade is potentially only a ZAR500million industry vs accounting that is around a ZAR 500 Billion industry (arb numbers to illustrate the point), a pro cyclist earning R25,000 per month is doing relatively better than an Accountant earning R 150,000 pm.

Supply and demand scarcity of skill and value of that skill all need to be considered.

 

In real terms obviously the lifestyle is going to be vastly different. But relatively speaking, the cyclist is punching above its weight considering the size of the industry

[Patchelicious]

I don't know exact numbers for a SA Pro cyclist but I would believe that the earnings is proportional to the size of the market and the scarcity of that skill in the market.

Since the local cycle trade is potentially only a ZAR500million industry vs accounting that is around a ZAR 500 Billion industry (arb numbers to illustrate the point), a pro cyclist earning R25,000 per month is doing relatively better than an Accountant earning R 150,000 pm.

Supply and demand scarcity of skill and value of that skill all need to be considered.

 

In real terms obviously the lifestyle is going to be vastly different. But relatively speaking, the cyclist is punching above its weight considering the size of the industry

It was actually a rhetorical question, I know what they earn and most of them would earn more waitering at the Spur than managing one.

 

I appreciate the economics behind it though, that you pointed out so eloquently, but the point that I was trying to make is that most people can easily earn what pro cyclists earn, but very few can do what they do. Its just an observation, a sad one for the sports future.

[Paddaman]

If those jeans had jelly beans on they would be magic!

Puss in boots.....

[DieselnDust]

It was actually a rhetorical question, I know what they earn and most of them would earn more waitering at the Spur than managing one.

 

I appreciate the economics behind it though, that you pointed out so eloquently, but the point that I was trying to make is that most people can easily earn what pro cyclists earn, but very few can do what they do. Its just an observation, a sad one for the sports future.

 

 

Hmmm, not so sure on the 'very few can do what they do". Certainly very few  can reach the  top echelon of the sport and hence they enjoy the lion share of the spoils. I don't think there's any special skill set that a pro cyclist possesses that any normally functioning average human can't acquire through repetitive work. A function of talent is after all, repeating an activity or function till the body has adapted to make that function autonomous. No one is born a better tennis player, some are blessed with better co-ordination but a normal human can close that gap through training.

There's nothing a cyclist does that is out of the ordinary unfortunately. That's how I see it anyway

[Plentipotential]

Hmmm, not so sure on the 'very few can do what they do". Certainly very few  can reach the  top echelon of the sport and hence they enjoy the lion share of the spoils. I don't think there's any special skill set that a pro cyclist possesses that any normally functioning average human can't acquire through repetitive work. A function of talent is after all, repeating an activity or function till the body has adapted to make that function autonomous. No one is born a better tennis player, some are blessed with better co-ordination but a normal human can close that gap through training.

There's nothing a cyclist does that is out of the ordinary unfortunately. That's how I see it anyway

 

Watch this Tedtalk and you may change your view. 

 

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_epstein_are_athletes_really_getting_faster_better_stronger

[Jewbacca]

Hmmm, not so sure on the 'very few can do what they do". Certainly very few  can reach the  top echelon of the sport and hence they enjoy the lion share of the spoils. I don't think there's any special skill set that a pro cyclist possesses that any normally functioning average human can't acquire through repetitive work. A function of talent is after all, repeating an activity or function till the body has adapted to make that function autonomous. No one is born a better tennis player, some are blessed with better co-ordination but a normal human can close that gap through training.

There's nothing a cyclist does that is out of the ordinary unfortunately. That's how I see it anyway

No way dude...

 

These guys are born with talent AND they train.

 

No way in todays pro sport environment can a guy 'train' across the talent gap.

 

Lets rate the guys base talent out of 10. AB is a 9, I am a 1.

 

No matter how hard I train, AB is training just as hard and will always be 7 to 8 rhetorical points better than me.

 

In the olden days (love that term) when guys smoked cigarettes in the neutral zone to 'open their lungs' or the amateur era of Rugby or cricket etc it may have been possible, but no longer.

 

Pretty much everyone we see on TV sportsing is the best of the best AND they train harder than most of us imagine to stay there...

 

(on that note I would like to point out that I am going to compete in World Champs Adventure Racing in a few months time so obviously I am one of these people....    )

[NotSoBigBen]

If that were true I should have been a pro long ago .... Ain't gonna happen period!

Hmmm, not so sure on the 'very few can do what they do". Certainly very few can reach the top echelon of the sport and hence they enjoy the lion share of the spoils. I don't think there's any special skill set that a pro cyclist possesses that any normally functioning average human can't acquire through repetitive work. A function of talent is after all, repeating an activity or function till the body has adapted to make that function autonomous. No one is born a better tennis player, some are blessed with better co-ordination but a normal human can close that gap through training.

There's nothing a cyclist does that is out of the ordinary unfortunately. That's how I see it anyway

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[DieselnDust]

Watch this Tedtalk and you may change your view. 

 

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_epstein_are_athletes_really_getting_faster_better_stronger

 

Not sure what the point is. This is about athletes pushing the limits of their endurance and also some info on technology. All these points have been raised in this discussion.

You just wanted to tell me you also subscribe to TEDtalks right?

['Dale]

@DieselnDust

 

Very few can do what the WorldTour professional cyclists do and physiological ability has a bit to do with it:

 

There's lifestyle choice. Some are home for 1/4 of the year. Some can't have stabile intimate relationships due to travel and fatigue.

 

There's managing and overcoming illness, infection and injury. What goes on behind the scenes is hectic.

 

There's confidence battles and performance anxiety which needs addressing. Behind those sunnies and smooth cadence are human beings with their inner demons and personal ordeals.

 

And then there's ongoing team politics and upholding the values of the brands that puts food on the table. It's like holding a pose or being an ambassador while being under physiological stress, and so on.

 

These athletes are quite extraordinary.

 

As per the thread, there's a few that are 'doppers' ???? and scares away sponsors, funders and benefactors that are nervous for damaging their brand.

['Dale]

Insightful ????

 

[dev null]

Absolutely, nobody is forcing them to do it. But like I said, if the revenue models don't change, the sport as we know it will whither away over time. 

 

If the athletes could choose which races they did, they could make a better living. But they are forced to do certain races where the organisers get the lions share.

 

Sooner or later, somebody is going to capitalise on this and create a model like the IPL, and the riders will turn their backs on TDF etc for greener pastures. Much like we see things like the Ashes becoming less and less relevant.

 

Then you will see ASO/UCI crying and probably try and force some for regulation like most backward organisations do when their business models become obsolete.

 

The Surf-ski paddlers did so for a while, and had a World Series where they controlled their own destiny, and where the management was done by the surfski racers involved in the sport in a daily basis. Then it became bigger and the ICF noticed this. Eventually they took control of the sport and forced all surf-ski paddlers to become members of clubs under control of regional and national Canoe clubs and federations, all falling under the rules and regulations of the ICF.

 

Needless to say, people got upset about being forced to be part of clubs and having to pay fees and all sundries, and the participation numbers decreased, and with it, sponsorships.

 

These days it is almost impossible to make a professional career out of being a surfski paddler, not that it was ever better as K1/K2 paddler.

 

Club participation in road cycling is already thin, and I am afraid, MTBing seems to be following suite. As soon as too much control and regulation is brought into a fun sport, the fun goes away, and with it, the numbers of people participating in the sport in official races etc.

[dev null]

Hmmm, not so sure on the 'very few can do what they do". Certainly very few  can reach the  top echelon of the sport and hence they enjoy the lion share of the spoils. I don't think there's any special skill set that a pro cyclist possesses that any normally functioning average human can't acquire through repetitive work. A function of talent is after all, repeating an activity or function till the body has adapted to make that function autonomous. No one is born a better tennis player, some are blessed with better co-ordination but a normal human can close that gap through training.

There's nothing a cyclist does that is out of the ordinary unfortunately. That's how I see it anyway

 

There is also the question of genetics, and whether your body has the potential for the training. I highly doubt a very good rugby prop can train to become a pro tour rider.