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Live blog: Full reaction to Sky pulling sponsorship including Brailsford and Froome, Thomas looks back on Tour de France success, Vaughters says news a "wake up call" to the sport + more

"I don’t think there’s anything negative at all" says Team Sky boss; in other news, Bahrain Merida and McLaren chiefs give more details of their collaboration...

Please allow a few seconds for our live blog to load, as sometimes it can be a tad slow. If it's still not showing up, try refreshing the page. 

 

 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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21 comments

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burtthebike | 5 years ago
0 likes

Given the dildo thing and that Sky are a media company, the next sponsor has to be Virgin.

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Izaak30 | 5 years ago
0 likes

What’s the story regarding dildos and Ann summers? Very confused am I 

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Miller | 5 years ago
0 likes

Yes, it's the Oracle in Reading. Haven't seen Sky deliveroo bloke in a while, my impression is that cycling enthusiasts aren't as enthusiastic about deliveroo as they were at the beginning. Your deliveroo contractor is moving to electric bikes is my impression.

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LastBoyScout | 5 years ago
0 likes

That's the Oracle shopping centre in Reading, outside Vue cinema - I've seen that guy around there a few times, as it seems to be the hang-out point for Deliveroo riders.

There's also a guy (might be the same one) on a neon pink Planet-X TT bike.

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gonedownhill | 5 years ago
1 like

Would love to know the sorts of clauses riders who've just signed new contracts have, if any.

 

Egan Bernal signed an unprecedented 5 year deal this summer and Thomas has just signed up for another 2-3.

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Kendalred | 5 years ago
4 likes

Skexit?

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peted76 | 5 years ago
5 likes

These relationships can't last forever.. a ten or eleven year agreement at that level has been frankly magical for British Cycling results. 

Also Sky from a 'sponsorship' perspective have surely gained as much as they can from the deal (however they measure it). I've personally really enjoyed seeing team sky on those sky vans up and down the country... 

 

I hope that Sky will be replaced, if anyone can approach the issue of cycling sponsorship in a different more global thinking manner, then it'll be that team surely. 

Cycling is a huge sport, but the likes of QuickStep appear to not have a clue when it comes to getting sponsorship.. it's incredulous to think that the best team in the world by far in 2018 struggled to get a decent sponsor for next season, I'm pretty sure they've secured Flemish Fish Flans of Flanders for next season...

 

 

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Yorkiescot | 5 years ago
2 likes

The dildo does suggest that BBC might be a good sponsor

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Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
6 likes

This is the only sponsorship choice now

//lovewimbledon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Ann-Summers-1.jpg)

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
0 likes

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

This is the only sponsorship choice now

//lovewimbledon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Ann-Summers-1.jpg)

We've seen these as cycle team sponsors, wouldn't be the worst cycle sponsor by any stretch ...

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RobD | 5 years ago
1 like

I hope they do manage to find a replacement sponsor, I do wonder how much of a budget drop they have worked out they can take without it becoming a different kind of team.

Surprising that the new Sky owners have decided to pull the plug though, at the end of the day the bad publicity seems to have mostly passed, and with it being such a tiny part of their marketing budget you'd think it'd be an easy option to keep going with it, after all they're the highest profile team out there.

I'm wondering which other companies with big enough marketing budgets could actually step in, particularly with the heavily European focus to most of the season, and an image that would fit somehow with cycling.

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RobD | 5 years ago
1 like

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

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STiG911 replied to RobD | 5 years ago
0 likes

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

Gets it right on the headline, gets it wrong THREE TIMES in the story. Yesus.

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Mark B replied to RobD | 5 years ago
1 like

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

No, the prams are Maclaren. McClaren is a football manager.

 

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kil0ran replied to Mark B | 5 years ago
6 likes

Mark B wrote:

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

No, the prams are Maclaren. McClaren is a football manager.

 

Also debatable

 

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Sniffer replied to kil0ran | 5 years ago
0 likes

kil0ran wrote:

Mark B wrote:

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

No, the prams are Maclaren. McClaren is a football manager.

 

Also debatable

 

Must be the Dutch spelling.

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bigblue replied to Sniffer | 5 years ago
0 likes

Sniffer wrote:

kil0ran wrote:

Mark B wrote:

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

No, the prams are Maclaren. McClaren is a football manager.

 

Also debatable

 

Must be the Dutch spelling.

Eh, not Mclaren, McClaren or  Maclaren, it's actually McLaren, but whatever.

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Sniffer replied to bigblue | 5 years ago
0 likes

bigblue wrote:

Sniffer wrote:

kil0ran wrote:

Mark B wrote:

RobD wrote:

As it says on the bike in the picture it's Mclaren, McClaren are the ones who make prams/buggies.

No, the prams are Maclaren. McClaren is a football manager.

 

Also debatable

 

Must be the Dutch spelling.

Eh, it's actually McLaren, but whatever.

It was a reference to Steve's famous interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhtq1ObGHy8

Sorry it passed you by.

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Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
0 likes

That's what happens when go for team ride with a dildo on your bike. Joke's on them now. 

Actual problem is more likely the STUPID amount of money Sky has sunk into F1 and the like and it actually has competition these days. 

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ConcordeCX replied to Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
2 likes

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

That's what happens when go for team ride with a dildo on your bike. Joke's on them now. 

they should go for sponsorship from KY jelly, then they won't have to change the branding very much, and they get some excellent lube for their bottom brackets.

 

 

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CygnusX1 replied to ConcordeCX | 5 years ago
0 likes

ConcordeCX wrote:

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

That's what happens when go for team ride with a dildo on your bike. Joke's on them now. 

they should go for sponsorship from KY jelly, then they won't have to change the branding very much, and they get some excellent lube for their bottom brackets.

Or for the full money-shot they could just get a porn company to sponsor them, after all there is a precedent:

https://road.cc/content/news/179795-only-italy-worlds-3rd-biggest-porn-s...

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