Originally Posted by Campag4life

I don't agree. Bascially you are predicting the demise of pro cycling. No. The business model doesn't have to evolve. It can remain at its current level of disfunction. If teams don't survive over time it may not be a solid money making proposition. Rather, cycling will be sustained by passionate rich guys that want to win. Like sailing.
Teams will come and go as noted. A guy with deep pockets who knows a lot about the sport will come along and put together a team and try to win for the glory. The money he or she invested may have been given to charity but rather it is dedicated to pro cycling for passion of the sport. Not everybody that throws money at something has to grow their return. Their return maybe other than monetary.

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Auto racing has the same problems, the same issues, the same lack of RoI ... and is still going strong.

Any sponsor would reach more people paying directly for TV advertising than sponsoring a sports team, but people like to own or sponsor sports teams for all kinds of reasons, not all logical or financially sound.

The joke in many forms of racing has long been, "How does one make a small fortune in racing? Start with a big fortune."

Think about it ... just a little ... here in a thread which is about a NEW Sponsor coming into the sport and starting a new team... people are saying "All the sponsors are leaving, all the teams are folding ... cycling is Doomed."

I guess the fact that one sponsor is leaving and closing down its team while another is entering and starting up a team proves ... what?