Somebody help.... the Peloton is shrinking

[PPWTF]

 

.... Quiet news day anybody!!?

 

Buried deep in a press release from the Cyclistes Professionnel Asoci?s released on Thursday was a rather troubling statistic.

 

According to the CPA, there are a total of 866 riders registered with the UCI for the 2009 season.

 

That total marks a drop of 21 percent in respect to 2008 and a 29 percent drop from 2007.

 

The group said that a total of 476 riders were registered with 18 ProTour teams and another 390 riders with continental teams.

 

http://www.velonews.com/article/90606/a-shrinking-peloton

 

PPWTF2009-04-16 23:16:05

[DownhillGuru]

Maybe they're all realising that they should be Bombing down singletrac in baggys instead.

 

Or maybe they aren't.

 

[Tumbleweed]

how many protour teams were there in the previous years? sorry if i'm being dof, but was it always 18?

[mudda]

Perhaps the new doping testing has eliminated some of the dopers ?

[ASTANA]

Think its Doping guys dropping out , Economy (harder for sponsors to have big teams / lots of riders), most guys are just trying something different, like track guys who used to do road races during their "training season" are staying on track and not doing the dual thing. Guys are becoming more specialized in one discipline.

 

Not entirely sure but that's my guesses

 

[Truganini]

The dopers scare the sponsors away from the sport.  Now the pot from where the salaries for the riders come from is smaller.  <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[porky]

The dopers scare the sponsors away from the sport.  Now the pot from where the salaries for the riders come from is smaller.  <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Yah, and now Astana is also experiencing issues with finance.

 

I also think its no longer interesting for young riders to become professional, theres other sports with better payment terms and a more secure future.

[Guest colonel]

Like a normal 9-5 job has better payment terms.

[porky]

Like a normal 9-5 job has better payment terms.

 

Get real, not only dos a 9-5 have better payment terms for most, (Hmmm 900 odd in the pro peleton - theres more CAs in Sandton alone than that) but it also has better future terms, better promotion terms, better long term career terms and you will probably still be able to work at your career when you are 60. 

porky2009-04-18 11:22:24

[intern]

Hate to say it but when sponsors pull out cause of doping, it makes me happy. Hit those scaly cheats where it hurts most I say.