Sucks for Premier bike, who are as a small company are wholly focused on amateurs and not handing out free equipment to pros.

(and probably another few dozen small brands I could name).

This seems like a backwards way to support pro triathlon. I think it'd be better to help pro triathletes prove their value to companies so they're supported by a clear-headed business decision, not fear of being boycotted for not providing something like charity to pros.

So no one should buy Flo wheels?

Honestly though, who cares? If a brand can make it without pro visibility, then good for them. No one forces pros to be pros, it's their choice. If their choice of occupation isn't financially viable, then that's their thing. It's like an accountant telling people they're jerks because they do their taxes themselves.

nah. no one's ever said that here ;-)

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Will you boycott 'Ironman' events too? I'm pretty sure they don't fall over themselves to support the careers of pro athletes.

Personally, my number one priority when spending a considerable amount of (my own) money on a bike is whether it's the best one for me. Also, the vast majority of participants in triathlon don't go on Forums like Slowtitch and don't have any interest in what pros are up to - they just want the medal, tattoo and bragging rights for social media.

That said, I thinks your is an admirable stance.

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29 years and counting

I am trying to navigate this as a first year pro myself but I think there is a misconception with what the term "support" means. (this isn't directed totally to you at all, just in general)

There are a lot of companies who have dropped pros since it seems they cannot afford it. I don't think that always means they are not "supporting" pros. Did they give the pros an option for stuff at cost? Or did they say "hey we are done with you"? I think that is a big difference. Companies cannot just give out free stuff unless they feel they are getting a return on their investment. If they aren't then that company will end up losing money and in turn going under. Now that is good for no one, not pros, not amateurs, not the company.

Smaller companies are the ones I have targeted to work with because I am a start up as well. So my goal was to show them that I want to help them grow while they can attempt to help me grow. Some of my partners/sponsors are giving me free stuff but some are discounts that I am gladly to pay since I would be using their stuff either way. And my objective is to prove my worth to those companies so that in the future the discount either gets bigger or they see the return on the partnership and they give me product.

I don't want to get into too much detail about my search for sponsors but I feel awful for some pros who rely on money from triathlon because it has been eye opening to see the struggle of finding sponsors in triathlon. I am lucky enough to have a good friend who works as a sports agent who has been helping me out and even with his help it has been extremely difficult to find companies to work with,

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Your approach is admirable, as I enjoy watching the pros compete as well, and you are of course welcome to vote with your dollars however you so please - but your stance ignores basic business sense.

In order for companies to "support the Pro field" they (1) must have excess cash to invest in marketing (i.e. "sponsorships") and (2) must determine that those sponsorships have a positive ROI.

For smaller companies that have limited volumes and specialty products (1) is a huge issue. For bigger companies (2) is a very simple business decision. If they spend $50k sponsoring a pro they have to make it up with $50k more MARGIN to break even, NOT sales, which means that if they had a choice of losing a few hundred or thousand dollars from you and a few other like-minded individuals, or saving that sponsorship money, they go with the latter.

If you care deeply enough about this I would try to convince those larger companies that you have a large group that feels this way and enough dollars are shifting to their competitors for them to care.

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Strava

i don't want to sound like an old fuddy duddy, but i remember when the sport was brand new. i was racing it back then, beginning in the late 70s. there were no pros, making money as pros. i don't think ironman even had a prize purse until 1987 or thereabouts. 86. something like that.

fast forward to now. the harshest criticisms i hear of pro athletes are voiced by... pro athletes. chris mcdonald wondered openly at our recent TBI conference why more of his fellows didn't come to this conference (he was the only one) if they consider themselves in the industry.

so, what some of us did, emilio de soto, monty, mark allen, bill leach, others, is we took our engineering degrees, and our families' money, and we started businesses.

oops! nope! we didn't have engineering degrees. our families didn't have any money. i got a night job waiting tables to support my day job making wetsuits.

this is very simple. whomever you are, pro athlete, manufacturer, RD, if you want people to pay you money, give them a compelling reason. if you don't think you're in industry, then you aren't. i don't want to speak for chris mcdonald, but i think this was his message.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Nail. Head. I can only imagine how much time (and goodwill) any Pro who'd been present would have gotten from conversations with people in the Industry. Even more so if they'd stood on the 'stage' and spoken about their experiences, which have to be relevant.

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29 years and counting

I support pro athletes simply by participating in the sport. The bottomline is that without age groupers, there would be no pro triathletes. As to equipment manufacturers, I don't give a rat's ass whether they support pros or not. Nor do I give a rat's ass about pro triathlete equipment endorsements.

Agreed! Frankly I put much more stock in what the really good amateurs use. If I had a company I would sponsor amateurs, and even masters athletes, as they have MUCH more interaction with the general populous, and they aren't always fishing for who will give them the most. Having been in the sport for many years, the constant jump from the "best brand I've ever used" by pro after pro, their songs ring hollow to me. I'd much rather see brands sponsoring and/or working for those of us who actually appreciate and want to use their goods instead of the highest payday.

Amen Dan! We all took risks, and put our neck on the line. I loved your article with Chris and thought he really nailed it. For a number of years we've been talking about the pros and how the vast majority don't get it and do little to help themselves. Wake up calls are truly needed.

Nobody is entitled to anything, the wealth you create is directly related to the value you generate. Be it through working, winning races, or some other combination.

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2x Deca-Ironman World Cup (10 Ironmans in 10 days), 2x Quintuple Ironman World Cup (5 Ironmans in 5 days), Ultraman, Ultra Marathoner, and I once did an Ironman.

Oh I totally agree with the "if I want someone to pay me (for anything), I need to give them a reason" part. Which is why my goal is to partner with some companies at my cost then prove to them I am worth it. If they don't find that I am worth it then it is on me, not them to figure it out. I haven't talked with any pros but I don't think that just because I am a "pro" I am entitled to anything for free from anyone. Now if a company want to work with me because they think I am a good fit, regardless of results, then great. But if not then that is their right as a company.

Maybe next year I will be able to attend the conference but travel costs aside, not sure I could go anywhere and leave my wife and month old baby behind! But this year will be a huge learning experience for me and I look forward to all the highs and lows that come with it!

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This nails it. As an amateur, I am in a position where I both have sponsors but also do some work to run a sponsorship program for a local business... The first red flag for me when pouring through applications is entitlement... if you feel you are owed something, you're coming at it from the wrong direction. What a good business is looking for is not what you can do with their money, but what you can do for them in exchange for their money... That's what generates ROI... Sure there may be some value in people merely seeing you using the product and social media posts, but there may be more value in supporting someone who is involved with grassroots groups or with a direct line to the specific customers that the company is targeting. Or maybe the bigger value is someone who can do appearances or sessions or clinics with clients or staff of the business. In order for a sponsorship to work, there needs to be a good alignment of the needs of the athlete and the needs of the business. You can usually tell pretty early on which ones will be one and dones (one season, but nothing beyond it) because one or both sides are not getting any value out of the partnership.

When we select athletes we look at supporting people who will appreciate it and will refer business, rather than those who will win lots of races, and hope that the mere mortals will assume that the wins are because of that great bike or superfast shoe... I mean obviously the gold standard are those that do both, but those are few and far between...

In terms of pro gear choices, that might expose me to a new product, but that isn't going to make me support a brand. I'm more likely to support a brand that sponsors events than a particular pro athlete...

I don't buy or use products based on what a pro uses, doesn't use... is getting paid to use, etc. I find it somewhat amusing this time of year as tri friends roll out their new "Ambassador" products... hashtagging their new favorite nutrition brand... Pros as well.

I ride a Trek SC, Giant road bike and Canondale mountain bike, use Cranksports products, Garmin watch/bike computer, run in Saucony/Newton/Altra shoes, ride Flo wheels, wear Kiwami, etc. Those are my choices based on good products that I've vetted to work for me.

Take it from Chris himself! http://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Own_Words_6732.html

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Nice article, by the way.....

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

Thanks. I really tried to do my best to stay out of Chris' way. I really wanted his words to be the focus here - it's his story to tell.

He's also got a very unique perspective because he fits in so many different stakeholder buckets - which means he's uniquely positioned to be of service to help create better value for all of those buckets.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

This parallels my thought on the matter. Bikes are getting absurdly expensive, and handing out a bike to a bunch of pros every year takes a lot of sales to make up.

What if the Triathlon community could take up a model used by a similar niche sports market... Wakeboarding / watersports? The boat manufacturers do not hand out free boats, they partner with the local dealers, provide them a boat that the dealer holds on inventory at a reduced cost (no profit for the manuf, but covers cost) that the pro athlete uses all season. At the end of the season, the boat is sold and a new one provided. The Athlete is also pushed to help get this sold so that they can get a new one.

This could easily expand the sponsorship opportunities of the bike brands by letting their dealers "loan" a top tier bike to preferred athletes and hold it at a reduced cost, with the opportunity to sell it at season's end. The only loss to the manufacturer is the profit on that one bike, and the dealer gets to still make their piece after holding the inventory. This could effectively increase the # of sponsored athletes to include local top tier talent, not just national / international level.

The only challenge is the trust factor. With boats, there is a title involved so the user never owns the boat and cannot keep / register it without working with the dealer. Bikes not being titled means a local sponsored athlete could just take off and leave with his bike with no recourse.

I agree. I was very impressed by both his wearing of many hats, plus his candor. Tough being a pro nowadays but those that "get it" will prosper.

Interesting topic.

What about startups that are pushing the boundaries of innovation and simply can't afford to sponsor a pro?

Seems like only supporting companies that are already huge and can afford a pro would lead to stagnation in the sport..

Interesting idea. I would think a "contract" of a loan of the bike would be pretty simple. Now, who wants to loan me one????? ;-)

I have heard that some bike shops do the "loan" the bike thing to people or they "give" them the bike then have them sell it at the end of the season then that money, maybe minus a bit, goes back to the bike shop. To me that is a win win for everyone. The bike shop gets some exposure from the athlete and the athlete gets to ride a bike. Then at the end of the year the athlete sells the bike and the shop gets their money back and I cannot imagine they lost anything since the used bike probably covers the upfront cost.

I would LOVE a shop to give me that chance. I think it is a great deal for both!

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I completely agree. A number of years ago I bought an old bike from a Trek sponsored pro who did very well at Kona. He and I got shit from Trek after they found out. Maybe some have that agreement, but I know of others who have supplemented their income by selling their old bike. Maybe if manufacturers and/or shops had a program for "loaning " it could benefit all.