Lance Armstrong has been quite the traveling man lately.
On Tuesday, he made a trip to Colorado to continue talks with Governor Bill Ritter about reviving the Coors Classic bicycle race by 2011. The now-legendary American race last ran in 1998, and for some of us, exposed us to professional bicycle racing before you could even find the Tour de France on network television.
Armstrong told the Associated Press that there is no reason that the race shouldn’t come back and that America needs it. I can’t deny that it would be awesome to see a race of the caliber of the Coors Classic back on the scene; however, while the race was fundamental in the development of the American bicycle racing scene, but it existed at a time when the Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri were just glimmers of thought in the eyes of their future organizers. I have to wonder where it would fit on the race calendar in order to attract a strong international field.
Later the same day, Lance Armstrong jetted to St. Louis, where he announced his three-year deal to be a “spokesperson and ambassador” for Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra (no, I’m not going to put ultra in all caps).
Ooookay.
I’m having a hard time getting my head around this one. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for the post-ride beer (or three), but Michelob Ultra? When you’ve been touting the excellent Shiner Bock for years? Sure, A-B says that the beer is perfect for “adult beer drinkers who lead active lifestyles”, and the brand does sponsor cycling and running events, but I have two (admittedly minor) issues with this:
1. Wouldn’t Texas-based Radio Shack and Shiner have made for an awesome sponsorship combo? They actually drink beer like Shiner Bock in Europe.
2. If you are trying to revive the COORS Classic, I would think that signing on with MICHELOB might just scare off your potential naming sponsor. And no, the Michelob Ultra Classic just does not work.
Just to be clear, the announcement about the deal did not mention any connection between Michelob/Anheuser-Busch and the Team RadioShack Cycling Team.
(Source: bikeworldnews.com)
Lance Armstrong, The Traveling Man
I agree with the two points of contention about the Michelob Ultra sponsorship. I am guessing it is a separate issue from the Team Radioshack sponsorship. I also have mixed feelings from a puritan stance. Lance is so inspirational to the world of fitness and cycling, that hanging a shingle with a Belgium beer company is a little concerning. But, he got $1 salary last year, so I will not complain. Go Lance
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Thanks for the re-post from Bike World News!
I didn’t have an issue from the beer standpoint. To me, a switch from a local brand (Shiner) to a watered down national brand just smacked of “oh, here’s someone else to give me money”.
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Team Radio Shack is a business and, as with any business, the ability to generate capital is a primary concern. Anheuser-Busch has the resources to offer the financial backing a cycling team needs. Anheuser-Busch, Belgium also protrudes an international appeal where Shiner does not. I haven’t yet read that Shiner was even interested in sponsoring Team Radio Shack.
Making Team Radio Shack a “texas team” simply would not be a good business decision.
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