Into the Lion's Den - recap vid

[tv_vt]

Well, this adds an unwelcome wrinkle to that race. Nobody paid their prizes yet.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/oli...den-criterium/

[peanutgallery]

Hmmm...this always seems to happen when there's an upstart. Wonder if they were talking about Kohl's Cash vs. actual $$$$. They wrote the check on a big piece of foam board

For an event that made such an issue about diversity, equality and what not... this is pretty sad

The men's winner probably didn't get a check either as he was probably contractually obligated

Originally Posted by tv_vt

Well, this adds an unwelcome wrinkle to that race. Nobody paid their prizes yet.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/oli...den-criterium/

[Forza20]

very cool video !

thanks for sharing

love what legion is doing

[roguedog]

That's a total bummer this time of year when the racers could probably do with some extra $. It's not like any of them make big bucks that the money is not needed.

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Hmmm...this always seems to happen when there's an upstart. Wonder if they were talking about Kohl's Cash vs. actual $$$$. They wrote the check on a big piece of foam board

For an event that made such an issue about diversity, equality and what not... this is pretty sad

The men's winner probably didn't get a check either as he was probably contractually obligated

[peanutgallery]

They've got some used bikes and a few pairs of socks to sell

Hopefully, everyone gets paid before the whole plasma or organ donation option becomes a thing. Pro racers today have to totally commit in a way that I cannot fathom, it's gotten pricey. I have heard rumors that Lloyd Tabing would fix the whole deal for like $500 and retrieve a check for all winners

In all seriousness,If you wanna ride the moral high ground....you should cut a check ASAP. If a promoter backs out of the pro prize list of an advertised US pro race...they should have to run the gauntlet thru a crowd of angry former racers and the consequences are what they are, no charges. There were some interesting dudes from the late 80's thru the mid 90's that would extract $ from flesh and not tolerate this situation

Hopefully, they get paid

Originally Posted by roguedog

That's a total bummer this time of year when the racers could probably do with some extra $. It's not like any of them make big bucks that the money is not needed.

[prototoast]

Olivia Ray released a hostage statement on Instagram apologizing for her previous comments: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXOZjkRO..._web_copy_link

According to CylingTips https://cyclingtips.com/2021/12/into...o-pr-disaster/

Accusations flew. First at Legion for not paying up, particularly after touting the huge purse so widely. Legion riders responded, posting photos of race winnings they themselves had received after extensive delay. Ty Magner, another Legion rider, weighed in. “If you don’t like waiting a month for prize money, I suggest you don’t win any prize money in Europe,” he wrote. “The ‘Uci prize money management’ loves to sit on a years [sic] worth of winnings.”

In a quickly deleted Instagram story, Legion’s Tyler Williams wrote “Let them race for gift cards from now on.”

...

The core of the problem was a simple cashflow issue, brought on by the somewhat rushed nature of the event itself and sponsor payments that didn’t arrive until around Thanksgiving, with some money still yet to arrive.

“I’m not going to throw our partners under the bus,” said Williams. “This year was kind of a trial run, we got funding for it late. Well, not late, but we only had like three months to get the event together. All of the money was coming in, we got the green light for a big chunk of the money, but we still had to go to other people to make it happen.

“Everyone’s going to get paid, everyone knows the process,” he added. “I just got a check from Joe Martin [another US race – ed.], that was like 100 days ago. There’s a process in this sport. I never asked them for my money.”

It seems like a lot of this could have been avoided if they had just done a better job communicating, particularly since this race was promoted heavily on the basis of the prize money.

But it seems to be in incredibly poor taste to attack Ms Ray and just keep trying to say that making late payments is the norm in the sport. The confrontational attitude is fine when they're in their roles as competitors, but is completely inappropriate in their capacity as race promoters.

But then again, I still think pro cycling should abandon prize money entirely in favor of appearance fees.

[pasadena]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features...rt-wide-issue/

Ray has no reason to apologize and that she was criticised for asking a valid question is unsettling. Her experience shines a light on the aspects of the sport that allow for things like coercion, intimidation and other forms of financial abuse, particularly toward those not in a position of power.

In recent years, cycling has progressed in providing better protections for athletes' rights regarding contracts and compensations, ethics, and professionalism, especially for women. All have led to a safer space that encourages athletes to speak up when something seems not right.

When a rider is not permitted to ask questions or voice concerns, it sends the sport a step backwards in its overall effort to create a professional environment and a progressive culture. It shows that the sport has more work to do in this space.

[tomato coupe]

L39ION is Legion??

[cal_len1]

Yep

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Olivia Ray released a hostage statement on Instagram apologizing for her previous comments: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXOZjkRO..._web_copy_link

According to CylingTips https://cyclingtips.com/2021/12/into...o-pr-disaster/




It seems like a lot of this could have been avoided if they had just done a better job communicating, particularly since this race was promoted heavily on the basis of the prize money.

But it seems to be in incredibly poor taste to attack Ms Ray and just keep trying to say that making late payments is the norm in the sport. The confrontational attitude is fine when they're in their roles as competitors, but is completely inappropriate in their capacity as race promoters.

But then again, I still think pro cycling should abandon prize money entirely in favor of appearance fees.

So in one breath they say "we want to change cycling, break molds, be a change for the better".
And the next breath is "this is how it has always been, were just following the standard process, don't question the establishment"

My worthless opinion is that if you're going to hype the **** out of the prize money, you need to have it ready for the podium, in a clear glass case with gold hardware containing stacks of hard cash. Make the payout a spectacle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by BRad704

My worthless opinion is that if you're going to hype the **** out of the prize money, you need to have it ready for the podium, in a clear glass case with gold hardware containing stacks of hard cash. Make the payout a spectacle.

This is probably more than is feasible. Because of tax rules, and riders coming from different states and countries, it is not unreasonable to expect the paperwork associated with making the payments to take some time. Plus, organizers will generally want to make sure that all the riders have cleared their doping control before distributing the money.

But there's no good reason that all prize money shouldn't be deposited into an escrow account before the event. If I were a sanctioning body, such as USA cycling or the UCI, I would probably make rules that any advertised prize money above some de minimis amount would have to be in escrow before the promoter could advertise it. I guess into the lions den was unsanctioned, so there is nobody to enforce rules, outside of the court system, which is probably not cost-effective.

[Nomadmax]

I once had to "convince" a race promoter that $1500.00 dollars of gift certificates to Elias Brothers Big Boy wasn't same as $1500.00 CASH as the flyers indicated. I got two workouts that day.

Deadbeats

[peanutgallery]

Biggest purse I ever won turned out to be travel vouchers, they don't cash those at liquor stores

Back in the analog days, most promoters had the payout dialed...if you don't it means that the promoter is playing a shell game with cash flow. Those are the guys not to be trusted. The guy that did superweek was the best, most others were not far behind

Pretty basic concept, not sure where writing a check got so hard post analog banking

I would never wait 100 days so some buffoon from Arkansas could finally write a $100 check

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

I once had to "convince" a race promoter that $1500.00 dollars of gift certificates to Elias Brothers Big Boy wasn't same as $1500.00 CASH as the flyers indicated. I got two workouts that day.

Deadbeats

[lesserevil]

By far the best things I've read on the internet! Thank you for this LOL

Originally Posted by BRad704

So in one breath they say "we want to change cycling, break molds, be a change for the better".
And the next breath is "this is how it has always been, were just following the standard process, don't question the establishment"

My worthless opinion is that if you're going to hype the **** out of the prize money, you need to have it ready for the podium, in a clear glass case with gold hardware containing stacks of hard cash. Make the payout a spectacle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[windsurfer]

When the women riders heard equal prize money, I doubt this is what they were thinking