for a number of cycling teams and their sponsors, i assume that there exists a perception of a mutually beneficial agreement.  the teams are ostensibly happy to be offsetting some of their costs and the sponsors perceive some sort of return on investment.  the magnitude of the investment will flow from how much the sponor believes they will get in return.  the return need not be financial: it could be a warm fuzzy feeling that those huge checks your company is writing are keeping some very fast guys and/or gals in spandex, embrocation and sports drink while they pickle their bodies with lactic acid and do really amazing things on a bike.

one of the things I have noticed over the years is that cycling teams treat budgets the way junkies treat smack.  once they get a taste of the money and get over the initial issues, it's more, more, more.  it's a very hard love affair that virtually always ends in ruin.  you need to escalate things because costs and expectations are never static, but no sponsor (in their right mind) would go along with that.  it's rare that a team and sponsor can find a stable equilibrium; a balancing point that can be maintained for a long period of time.

i think the far more insidious thing is that clubs that spin off or start up look around at the cycling community and assume that sponsors and budget are the yardstick by which a club's success is measured.  i have actually heard people say that they would love to start a new team but they cannot find a sponsor so the process is impossible.  bullshit.  i'm still amazed when i hear this.  anybody with $150 U.S. can start a cycling team, just like anyone with $150 U.S. can get an international license and go race abroad.  it is not hard and if someone tells you it is, they are blowing smoke.

i think that to some extent, people's expectaitons have just become skewed over time.  bicycle racing, even at the amateur level, is often though of in business terms as opposed to being thought of as a hobby.  you want a cycling team, get a bunch of guys together and have them race bikes.  it's not about the clothes or the equipment or the look, it's about what they do once the race starts. 

the answers you seek are here:

http://www.racingunion.org/Document.aspx?manifesto

Full disclosure: I happen to like Rudy a lot (i think most peopel who know him do) and tried to recruit him for our team this year, so i hope that it's clear that i am not picking on him.  i think a number of attitudes are pervasive in our culture and our communities and i am generally interested in trying to see what the proximal and ultimate factors driving our behaviour are.

- - - posted by scott