Fans of American cyclist Levi Leipheimer are boycotting the Swiss company
Assos. Company officials announced to investors today that their first
quarter 2008 earnings would fall well below analysts' expectations as a
result. "Stockpiles of XL, XLG and TIR sized goods are building and if they
continue at this pace will bring tremendous pressure to our balance sheet,"
an unnamed Assos official said. "This is serious."
"Leipheimer's fans are an enthusiastic, if uninformed, lot," said industry
analyst Handel Barr. "They are upset Levi won't be allowed to start this
year's Tour de France, but they seem to have confused Assos with the Amaury
Sports Organisation (ASO) who promote Le Tour. I can only speculate this is
because Assos and ASO both use the letters A, S, O exclusively in their
names, are connected to cycling in some fashion and are European."
News of the crisis has prompted the Swiss government to try and intercede on
Assos' behalf.
"We're having trouble even starting talks. We tried to contact the boycott
leaders through the 'Let Levi Ride' website, but the people there were
unfamiliar with the boycott. They did offer us a 'pro deal' on some
Bontrager components. Unfortunately, the savings doesn't amount to more
than a pair of Fl.13 S5 bid shorts," said government spokesman Willelmus de
Fruentia. "As it stands", he continued,"the war between the ASO and the UCI
will be the only European war that hasn't made Switzerland money. That
would be embarrassing to have happen on our watch, no pun intended".