UCI NATIONAL JERSEY RUle Petition UPDATE

February 12th, 2010 @ 12:42 PM | Author: billy

Just a quick heads up about the UCI National Jersey situation. (Story here)

Many of you might have joined the FaceBook group, but now there is an actual petition.

Check out the new petition here.

petition protest 0 UCI NATIONAL JERSEY RUle Petition UPDATE

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21 Responses to “UCI NATIONAL JERSEY RUle Petition UPDATE”

  1. I’m still missing many of the big names that are mainly affected by this rule… : P

  2. I’m in 2 minds whether to sign this or not… I think that the status of a national jersey would be a much better gain for a sponsor than wearing a normal jersey.

    The thought process could be ‘I can’t see the sponsors of that rider, so I don’t know what to buy’
    But equally if could be ‘I can’t see the sponsors of that rider, what kit does he use and how do I get my hands on it?’ = google search and information found. When people put more info into finding the info they need, they are more likely to act on it…

  3. Jason, yes. But will a sponsor think that way?

    Imagine you’re Gee Atherton. You go to a sponsor asking for money. He says ‘What are you gonna give me in terms of exposure’. He says ‘Well, your logo wont be on the jersey when I do my timed runs, or when I’m on the podium, which is when I get most exposure’.

    A sponsor isn’t going to bother giving someone money when their logo isn’t going to be seen.

    Plus, the point of there being absolutely no advantage to scrapping the stripes from the arms.

  4. Surely being national champ brings you all the exposure that you want. Furthermore are there actually pro bike riders out there that enter races not to win?

    From what I can gather this an exercise in money making. I realise that some people need the money but this is insane. I would love to national champ and further more I would love to be national champ years in sucession.

    PRO riders Make the jersey your own!!!!!!!!

  5. I think it is a shame that the UCI have brought this in at the last minute. Riders who raced the 2009 Nat Champs thought that they would only be wearing the armbands and not the full National Champs jersey. I know for certain that some riders would not have raced the ‘09 Nat Champs is they had known this.

    Dirt HQ.

  6. Farmer – good point, but if I was Gee then I’d probably be putting it to a sponsor exactly the way I said it – ‘I’m going to get people to buy your products because they will have to find out what I use, as opposed to just seeing a logo and going “oh, right”. A logo tells you nothing about the product itself, Mr. Sponsor, whereas if they google me and find you on my site, they will then click straight through to your site where you will tell them how great it is and why I use it. The research they’ve put in will increase the iwantit factor and you’ll have more chance of selling to that person’

    I admit it’s just one way of looking at it, but at the end of the day the rule is there and the riders now have to make the most of it. I’m going to smile like a cheshire cat the first time I see a rider unroll a long list of their sponsors from a compartment on their helmet, completely covering their face for the photos, on the podium…

  7. Either way, it’s already had a knock on effect on the British National Champs next year…
    Kathy Sessler has signed the Petition. And from what I can tell from this, we won’t be seeing Peaty at this years champs…

    48. Kathy Sessler If riders must wear the National Jersey I will instruct my riders not to win, or not to even show up. Then you have a National Chump instead of Champ….demeans the National Championship title when top riders don’t race or race halfheartedly. Sponsors pay the teams to pay the riders, they need to get the jersey exposure. Arm Bands!

  8. I personally want to see a petition to remove the ban on skin suits! I reckon that’s a load bigger deal than this…although i do also think this decision should be reversed.

  9. never understood the arguments for/against skinsuits. is it because some people will get an advantage from it? maybe we should ban suspension too, cos people will be just too dang fast. and as for pneumatic tyres…

  10. Do they have this kind of shit over the yellow jersey in the Tour? Surely the jersey is a damn good advert in itself?

  11. jason and farmer:
    don’t the nat champ jerseys still have a place for sponsors? it’s not like the jerseys are going to be plain, they just have a LIMIT on sponsor space

  12. I’ve signed it, this is mental… is it that important that your national champ wears his jersey all year round. Personaly I would rather see my national champ competing with full sponorship than sitting at home becasuse this stupid rule limited the his/ her sponsorship potenial. Arm bands are fine.

  13. Would wearing the Jersey still be an issue if there was not a limited on sponsor space?
    Can someone explain why the UCI limits sponsor space on the national champ jersey?

    I take it they limit the World champ jersey as well?
    Don’t think that will stop Peaty wearing his this year!

    Do the Sales of replica kit come into this?

    Don’t really understand Kathy Sessler signing the petition. Last year the Santa Cruz guys all had different jerseys and didn’t have half as many sponsor logo’s as some teams.

  14. The poThe point is real cash sponsors for DH racers come few and far between. When they sign a contract, they expect some form of return – ie. Exposure. The space allocated on the National Champs jersey for sponsorship does NOT give cash paying sponsors the exposure they currently pay for. Perhaps, if riders gained the cash from one or two big sources this would be ok, but unfortunately, it’s not the case in DH.

    To me, not signing the petition makes no sense. I can’t see any way a rider or sponsor will benefit from this ruling. To ban skinsuits, and then to introduce this rules seems completely contradictory to me.

  15. Well Gravesy agrees too! He’s just signed up. Be like him and sign it too!

  16. The difference here – when comparisons are being made between road racing – is that roadies are massively well funded compared to DH. Globally, XC is massively well funded comapared to DH. These other racers get money from outside sponsors and national federations. DH, on the whole, does not.

    Companies within DH are the main sponsors in our sport – Santa Cruz Syndicate as opposed to Team Sky.

    Riders are proud to be national champ, no doubt, and an armband would let them show this. But devoting a great swathe of valuable advertising space to a national body that doesn’t pay you?

  17. Without the UCI would the downhill world cup circus continue?

    I think it would maybee in a different form, but i think it would.

    Without money and time from sponsors would the downhill world cup circus continue?

    In my opinion no it wouldn’t or if it did it’d be much smaller and we’d not hear about it.

    Granted it is kind of sad that this is ultimatley a financial decision but to say that finance isn’t involved at ever stage of world cup racing at some stage or other would simply be naive.

    Needless to say, i signed the petition.

    Can anyone tell me why we as a sport don’t just give up on the UCI and just start a series with our own rules and interests at heart?
    I’m not saying that in general they do a bad job, i really don’t know it just seems strange that mountain biking is governed by a body that is not made up of exclusivley mountain bikers.

  18. Maybe I’m dream boating it here but as we live in a democratic society why don’t they just poll all the pro riders that are competing and see what they want, then act on that!

    Surely it’s got to be a garment that the pro riders are happy with after all without them the UCI is dead!

  19. I think it would be wrong to detach DH from the UCI, after all, XC/4X/BMX are all linked to it. But more than that, the UCI provide a framework for interational competition to work, facilities for regulation, dope testing, series sponsorship negotiation (Nissan, Tissot etc) and I’m sure so much more.

    But at the same time it does need to be acknowledged that DH sits (just) outside the mainstream of cycle sport and needs different things from its governing body than the Pro Tour or track World Cup does. The issue of team or rider sponsoship is just one of them.

    The last thing we want to see is a situation like we have in UK MX or boxing does globally, with governing bodies in competition with one another. That will only harm the sport.

  20. If the argument is about sposorship exposure then we need to look to the Tour de France this is an event dominated by sponsorship money. They award jerseys for each day that riders have to wear. These are produced to include rider sponsors, thus having the best solution, that is a sponsors name displayed alongside proof of their success. Surely this is the way forward. Peaty did it with Santa cruz and orange on his GB striped jersey.

  21. Been working on an article for Dirt, getting rider’s view and opinions. Should be interesting.

    Mike DIRT HQ.

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