Brand loyalty and MvdP's deal with Canyon

[trener1]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

I don't think Canyon at all expect MVdP to ride for another 10 years; I think they're just locking him in until the end of his career. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a sunset clause (i.e. the deal ends if MDVP retires before that point, as seems all but certain).

I would tend to disagree with this.
First off it isn't out of the question that he races until 39 if he really wants to.
Valverde raced until 41 (or something like that), and while the last year or 2 he wasn't winning much he was still very much at the pointy end of every race and getting podiums or top 10's.

Second, even if he does retire from the world tour road scene say in 5 years, he will still likely ride gravel and other fun events and would stay on board for the duration of the contract in some sort of ambassador role.

There are a number of examples, some have already been mentioned, like Jens with Trek and Sagen with Specialized, another example is Ted king who retired 9 years ago from the WT but is still riding Cannondales and has been for the last 15 years or so.

[benb]

Yep.. imagine even if he retired and started doing something like Phil Gaimon.

If he is successful at that, why wouldn't you want him being out there being a giant social media influence constantly showing off Canyon products in videos?

Europe is different, but if you listen to what is being said about the US market there is plenty of talk that the social media presence has become more important than that person actually getting on podiums. Especially in gravel.

[spoonrobot]

Canyon has other interesting sponsorship choices.

They have sponsored Vegan Cyclist for a while - a rider who doesn't race world tour, isn't even a pro cyclist, and generally doesn't win the races he does do. He is a Youtube based content creator and as much videographer and personality as he is a racing cyclist.

Which would vibe with getting 10 years of MvdP. If his performance diminishes it's not difficult to transition to other types of marketing. How many riders become a brand after they retire? Greg LeMond sold a lot of bikes after he retired.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by dustyrider

Has dude ever talked about bikes like most of the folks here do? Like do you think he’s on a bike forum posting about mm differences in wheel ID and trail? Is he scrutinizing over the cut of his jersey, height of his socks, or whether to wax his chains or not?

I know people that are really good at things like racing a bike that could care less about what they’re riding and know even less about the details of how it works. In fact some of least knowledgeable people I’ve ever met in bike shops were the racers. I’m guessing it boils down to the almighty dollar and that’s it, but I don’t really know the man and will most likely never buy a canyon just because he’s good at destroying cyclo-cross races while riding one!

This. The pro guys I've met repeat the same line when you ask them about the bike/any gear they ride, "Yeah, I've ridden a lot of gear but this "******" is the best one that I've ever ridden". I have a buddy that got his UCI pro license and got on with a continental team and the pedals they were contracted to ride were Crank Brother's first foray into road pedals, and they sucked bad. It was hilarious to watch my buddy repeat (rather unenthusiastically) that they were the "best pedals he'd ever used" to anyone who came up to him at a race and asked him about them.

****ty pedals aside, most pros are just happy to have functioning gear for free and they don't care unless it significantly compromises their race.

Originally Posted by osbk67

I would be surprised if there wasn’t.

Yep. Hence the blacked out frames and kits of riders that are just signed to other teams--they don't want a CANYON RIDER to be seen on a SPECIALIZED!