I fully expect to be told that I just don’t get it again or understand triathlon and triathletes… but:
I know that there are triathlon teams/ clubs and that many people are involved with them. People that I have spoken with joined them to get discounts on “sponsor” goods. Are there triathlon teams that provide salary to racers? Are just some racers (Tri household names) salaried directly by their sponsor companies? Why are the teams not to blame for the lack of funding that the Pro Triathletes receive?
Is it because triathlon is an individual sport? Is this because no one has pursued it?
It would seem to me that a well trained team/ organization could pull a sponsor/ sponsors to support the team similar to pro-cycling, no? Would a sponsor not benefit more from supporting a team that has multiple athletes very competitive to podium in all the key areas that they are marketed? The athletes then could race WTC, Challenge, Roth, ITU, whatever other event grows. The team could have a elite portion (salaried) that races in a specific series or locale. A junior/ development portion (non-salaried) that races local races to build the brand and prove they can compete to the elite portion.
Maybe this already exists and I am just havent seen it.
Check out Maverick Multisport. They have an Elite/ Junior Elite team and I’m assuming AG’ers. I don’t know if the AG’ers race in the Maverick kit, but the Maverick team has some pretty good deals. I think wheels and bikes are part of the team (not sure of the cost of either), and lots of other things. Based out of L’ville Kentucky, but I think they have their elites from all over the US.
I think if all distances of triathlon go to draft legal I think it should, you’ll see the team triathlon scene explode more. For now, yeah, it’s just an individual sport. So who cares about teams?
After looking at their site it is hard to tell if they are a professional team that pays their members or whether the athletes just receive discounts and products from the sponsors.
Why are people not getting upset with these teams for not paying professional triathletes enough money? Why are these not in the limelight regarding how many pro triathletes they sponsor or how much they pay them? Is it just that it is not a known amount so it is easier to target something like prize money from WTC?
Specialized, Trek, BMC (to name a few) have professional triathlon teams. Why is there not a minimum amount paid to professional triathletes as in cycling (UCI).
Why has USAT or another NGB not mandate a minimum wage for professional triathletes? Is it because sponsors/teams would just get rid of the team? Is it because there is no “teams” in non drafting triathlon?
UCI mandates a minimum wage for ProTour and ProContinental teams (as has been discussed before on this board). It seems reasonable that there could/should be something like this for triathlon. It may not actually change anything in the long run.
New Balance japan had a pro triathlon team with salaried triathletes back in the late 80’s early 90’s.
TBB was paying a salary to athletes at one point.
Specialized, Trek, BMC (to name a few) have professional triathlon teams. Why is there not a minimum amount paid to professional triathletes as in cycling (UCI).
Why has USAT or another NGB not mandate a minimum wage for professional triathletes? Is it because sponsors/teams would just get rid of the team? Is it because there is no “teams” in non drafting triathlon?
UCI mandates a minimum wage for ProTour and ProContinental teams (as has been discussed before on this board). It seems reasonable that there could/should be something like this for triathlon. It may not actually change anything in the long run.
Because they don’t really race with the team. The team is just an affiliated party not someone organizing everything across the board.
Let me see, someone already said team JDavid and Foxcatcher. There was Nike, Mizuno, Phoenix Vitamin, Kahlua, and at least 3 or 4 more i can’t remember off the top of my head. We had a lot of teams in the day, and Trek, Abu Dhabi, i think Cannondale and a few others are more recent…
It’s my understanding that this year Maverick Multi is just elite/pro and they’re opening an AG team next season. As for teams/sponsors paying pro’s, why should they exactly? Using Maverick as an example, I doubt any pro paid for their bike (or any gear for that matter). Depending on the athlete, travel expenses paid (I understand that most probably wouldn’t get that). I assumed most pro’s got comped gear, worth quite a bit. AG teams get discounts