Aussie ProTour team?

peterlip said:

With Team Discovery disbanding (cyclingnews.comnews.phpOpen ↗), there is a spare ProTour licence up for grabs. Is there enough Aussie money out there to put a team together?

no

miniumum budget for running a team will be $7-8M per year in USD. way to expensive for a sponsor in a sport that is a seriously poor cousin in australia.

--brett

The only concept I think would get up would be a 'team anzac' cross tasman concept. Funded by both Federal Govts via their Veteran Affairs portfolios (written off as 'cultural expenses'😉. Probably get Qantas and Air NZ to drop some money into it as well.

You need a concept that attacks an aspect at the heart of popular Aus culture. Nothing is more Aus or Kiwi than the Anzac tradition. I think the parallels are unique (young aus/kiwis with a bit of guts head off to europe to conquer all) and it could be a nice way to raise money for the various charities as well as allow for our young elite athletes to go to europe to represent.

In time a pro cycling team tied to the Anzac tradition would be like a trojan horse into the heart of popular Aus culture and give it 10 years and you would see a significant growth in the appreciation for and understanding of the sport of cycling.

The AFL blatantly hijack the Anzac tradition - so too should cycling IMO.

existence said:

The only concept I think would get up would be a 'team anzac' cross tasman concept.

Good idea. Everyone loves biscuits.

It seems pretty unlikely that enough money could be found for a pro tour team. Australia already has a contental team or 2 though. Drapac Porshe, SA.com plus one other i think.

Theese teams serve as a good intro for aspiring racers. Gov should support tham more if they need it before a pro-tour team. Once the riders are good enough for the pro-tour they hardly need any aussie help anymore.

Article on foxsports not too long ago:

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22243218-23218,00.html

And another here:

theage.com.au1186857495060.htmlOpen ↗

I was actually joking when I started this thread. I figured no Australian company would put in $20m+ for 3 weeks late night coverage in Aus per year. Unless it has international exposer, Qantas, Fosters, etc...