Let's review what we've learned here:
Not knowing what the heck he's talking about will never stop Chris Harnish from babbling on
like an idiot.
Ben Sharp has a right to [censored] about not getting what he was promised, but the main problem is that
he didn't get what he was promised. By his own admission, he got to do some really cool races and
ultimately was no worse off than he was when he rode for amateur teams.
In my opinion, the D3 thing does not lower the standard of the pro peleton...[censored], I don't even know
if that's possible. What it does do is allow riders access to bigger races and, typically, greater
support of some kind of another.
Most of those riders will find that their abilities are not up to snuff and that their future
does not include a position ( and salary) on a big time US or euro team. But what have those guys
lost ? If anything they've gained some neat experience, some travel, and some perspective on how
good they are.
But these same teams will continue to see revelations such as Mike Jones, Adam Bergman, and one of
those Jacque-Maynes.
I've spent almost a full season at this and can attest to the fact that teams such as Sierra Nevada,
Jittery Joes and Ofoto do make differences in the races. Their riders race hard, contrubute to the
outcome of the race and their support staffs are professional. Those teams are in their second or
third years and that makes all the difference in the world. You'll see some of the teams that were
new this year fall by the wayside, but you'll also see others use this year's experience to get more
out of their budgets and out of their riders. Director's, mechanics, soigniers will all improve as
will the riders that stick around and continue to develop. Many people forget that the Navigators
and 7-UP ( formerly Nutra Fig) were driving around in rentals jam packed with [censored] and sleeping 4 in
a room not too long ago.
Additionally, the new teams aren't complete patsies. Webcor especially has put in some pretty good
rides and if you go back through the results you'll see that any given break might have a Webcor,
Cola-Vita, LeMond or Sportsbook.com rider who snuck into the move on a good day.
As for the money. Harnish and some others don't really know of what they speak. I can attest to
the fact that without being able to get into Philly, NYC and San Fran, our budget would be $0. So
I and Sportsbook.com and our other sponsors are willing to eat the UCI fees in exchange for the
exposure that being pro brings. Our budget minus the $10,000 is still a heck of a lot more than $0
and provides access to our riders to races in which they are competitive and some races in which
they are not. But it all has provided the guys with travel and racing opportunities in Mexico,
Ireland, California, and beautiful Johnstown Pennsylvania. Ultimately, it's not your money, so
don't worry about it.
How anyone can look upon all of this in a bad light is beyond me. More than anything it smells of
jealousy and sour grapes.
Bill