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I don't know much about sponsorship. How would a sponsor be banned? What sort of activities or relations would be off-limits during a ban?

floam 2y ago
I imagine they would be unable to sponsor participants in that organization for a time, and their name would be dishonored.
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
Maybe it's a bit circular but the organizers could disqualify the racers being sponsored which would mean either the banned sponsor doesn't sponsor anyone or it's done under wraps. The latter would defeat the advertising purpose the sponsor would have for the sponsorship.
labcomputer 2y ago
You wouldn’t ban a sponsor, but a team. People typically refer to a cycling team by a sponsor’s name, but teams can (and do) change sponsors from season to season (or sometimes even within a season like “Jumbo Visma” -> “Visma Lease a Bike” did this year between the Giro and the Tour). Jumbo Visma is the same team as Visma Lease a Bike. They have the same riders, managers, athletic director, staff, etc. Just a different name on the jersey. As for how a team is banned: you simply ban them. In most of cycling you need to be a member of a team (professional) or club (amateur) to even enter a race. Your racing license will name your team/club. If your team is banned you may not register for the race. Also, at the World Tour professional level, your team would have several cars driving within the race to support riders with food, bottles, and mechanical assistance. Since the race will be on a closed course, only official vehicles can drive with the riders. Even if started the race, you would be at a serious disadvantage to race with no team support.
- kelseyfrog 2y ago
  How does it work now? Are teams banned if caught cheating?
  - labcomputer 2y ago
    They can be. For example, Team Astana’s license was initially not renewed for 2007 following a doping scandal. Unfortunately, the UCI usually reissues the license if the team pinky promises not to dope again. Team Astana signed Lance Armstrong in 2009 and we all know how that went.
- roelschroeven 2y ago
  (Just an aside, doesn't invalidate any of your reasoning) The name change from Jumbo Visma to Visma | Lease a Bike didn't happen between the Giro and the Tour, it was a lot earlier. I would say, but I'm not 100% certain of this, that the name change happened between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. I think teams have to register their name with the UCI, and can't change it during the season. For example here is a photo of Jan Tratnik finishing first in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on 2024-02-24, long beclearly wearing a Visma | Lease a Bike shirt. The team did change the design of the shirts before the Tour, because their old shirts had a lot of yellow which conflicts with the yellow jersey of the GC leader. Maybe that's what you were thinking of?
- ben7799 2y ago
  UCI has barely ever had the willpower to do this. Tons of teams are still run by folks who were heavily involved in the 1990s and 2000s doping scandals. They all claim they're all clean and reformed but most of them were never really punished.

floam 2y ago

I imagine they would be unable to sponsor participants in that organization for a time, and their name would be dishonored.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago

Maybe it's a bit circular but the organizers could disqualify the racers being sponsored which would mean either the banned sponsor doesn't sponsor anyone or it's done under wraps. The latter would defeat the advertising purpose the sponsor would have for the sponsorship.

labcomputer 2y ago

You wouldn’t ban a sponsor, but a team. People typically refer to a cycling team by a sponsor’s name, but teams can (and do) change sponsors from season to season (or sometimes even within a season like “Jumbo Visma” -> “Visma Lease a Bike” did this year between the Giro and the Tour). Jumbo Visma is the same team as Visma Lease a Bike. They have the same riders, managers, athletic director, staff, etc. Just a different name on the jersey. As for how a team is banned: you simply ban them. In most of cycling you need to be a member of a team (professional) or club (amateur) to even enter a race. Your racing license will name your team/club. If your team is banned you may not register for the race. Also, at the World Tour professional level, your team would have several cars driving within the race to support riders with food, bottles, and mechanical assistance. Since the race will be on a closed course, only official vehicles can drive with the riders. Even if started the race, you would be at a serious disadvantage to race with no team support.

kelseyfrog 2y ago
How does it work now? Are teams banned if caught cheating?
- labcomputer 2y ago
  They can be. For example, Team Astana’s license was initially not renewed for 2007 following a doping scandal. Unfortunately, the UCI usually reissues the license if the team pinky promises not to dope again. Team Astana signed Lance Armstrong in 2009 and we all know how that went.
roelschroeven 2y ago
(Just an aside, doesn't invalidate any of your reasoning) The name change from Jumbo Visma to Visma | Lease a Bike didn't happen between the Giro and the Tour, it was a lot earlier. I would say, but I'm not 100% certain of this, that the name change happened between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. I think teams have to register their name with the UCI, and can't change it during the season. For example here is a photo of Jan Tratnik finishing first in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on 2024-02-24, long beclearly wearing a Visma | Lease a Bike shirt. The team did change the design of the shirts before the Tour, because their old shirts had a lot of yellow which conflicts with the yellow jersey of the GC leader. Maybe that's what you were thinking of?
ben7799 2y ago
UCI has barely ever had the willpower to do this. Tons of teams are still run by folks who were heavily involved in the 1990s and 2000s doping scandals. They all claim they're all clean and reformed but most of them were never really punished.