I’ve never followed the Tour of the Gila in person, though I’ve written it up long-distance and edited other people’s on-site coverage. This year sounds like a good one to continue that tradition of maintaining a safe distance, since the UCI seems to have gotten all exercised about the idea of a trio of Astanas — Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner — toeing the start line at the start Wednesday in Silver City, New Mexico.
What transpired since the UCI nixed their appearance depends upon what you read, whom you believe and whether you trust the translations of what was said. But the long and the short of it seems to be that the promoter pitched a bitch, USA Cycling and the UCI spent a couple of days hunting an out, and hey presto! The ProTour Astana trio is cleared to race — not in Astana duds, but in kit from Mellow Johnny’s, Big Tex’s Austin bike shop.
The Continental Pro boys from BMC, meanwhile — who reportedly trucked the entire road show in, ready to race a full eight-man team — are likewise whittled down to a trio, one that can’t fly the BMC flag. Somehow I doubt they’ll be rocking the MJ kit in solidarity.
It all sounds like so much ice-cold horseshit to me. I’m with m’man Chris Horner, who told my colleagues at VeloNews: “It’s a pro race, you should be allowed to race your bike. If we are skipping ProTour races to do a non-ProTour event, then it makes sense. But you should never, never, never just not allow a rider to race his bike. … Every man should be afforded the right to work.”
Mad Blog Media 
I’d be down with Horner’s take if I didn’t think that something along the lines of the following happened to get LA on the start line:
Promoter: “We want the best, brighest and most talented riders in the race.”
Sponsor: “I WANT LANCE!!!! GODDAMN IT GET ME LANCE!!!!!”
Promoter: “ALright. Hello USA Cycling? What do I have to do to get Lance? Uh huh. Oh. I don’t kno… What? You can? Really? But what team do I cut?”
Sponsor: “I DON’T GIVE A RAT’S PATOOT!!!! I WANT LANCE!!!!! LANCE I SAY!!!! BRING ME LANCE!!!!! OR I’LL PULL MY $$$$$$ FROM YOUR STUPID BIKE RACE AND TAKE IT TO INDOOR HURLING!!!!!”
Promoter: “Okay, we have Lance but we have to cut a team to make the numbers match up. Who do we cut?”
Sponsor: “Any other team that doesn’t have LANCE!!!!”
And so, BMC got cut and Mellow Johnny’s Disocunt Bicycle Blowout Emporium gets in. I’d wonder if they are even listed on the USA Cycling website as an official team. But since I don’t care I’ll leave that up to a LA fan to point out. My guess: nope.
Numbers game my @$$….more likely politics. Oh well, at least there is hockey to watch.
James, I almost spilled my not-tasty Euro coffee I am laughing so hard. Even if the above account is nowhere near the truth (and it very well could be), it is funny as hell. Oh, political games are everywhere… annoying.
Good take, James.
The Gila was nearly cancelled due to lack of sponsorship, and I suspect that the folks who picked up the tab want to see Our Man Lance in that peloton, thinking it translates into dollars.
So while Lance, Levi, and Chris are toeing the start line, Curly, Larry, and Moe are managing the pro races. Go figure.
I seems to me that they are holding BMC to the same rule that they are Astana. That no more than three members of a pro team can race.
(From UCI rules Chapter VIII, Individual races2.8.003 shamelssly pulled from velonews website)
“2. riders of a UCI ProTeam can take part a maximum of 3 times a year in an individual race;
3. a maximum of 3 riders of the same team registered with the UCI can take part in an individual race; 8. team vehicles shall not be admitted to the race.”
So technically BMC being in the race with a full team and car was being overlooked, until Astana wanted to enter.
Sounds like Horner just nominated himself to be the union rep!
Khal,
Sadly the appearance of Astana brings in the dollars at the detrement of other racers. I only found out about the LA addition in the MSM…not the cycling press. I won’t begrudge the sponsors for trying to get a return on their investment but the appearance that rules were bent to appease some fat cat with dough to get LA & his noble henchmen to sport Mellow Johan’s Cycling Storeroom makes me sick. Hell this sport needs as much monetary support as it can get, but this – to me – is sending the wrong message.
Md,
I beleive (and I could be wrong) that BMC is a Continental team and therefore not in the same ‘class’ as Astana. So by denying them a chance to fly their colors and race as a full team, you are basically saying – at the USA Cycling/UCI level – that ONLY the big boys matter. And that the rest of us can nibble on the scraps.
SteveO,
Would you want Horner as your union rep? Maybe when his tenure in racing goes belly-up he could give Gov. Numbnuts here in Cali some advice. Or at least they could light up a stoogie and network on union issues. Make sure that ‘3 BMCs plus 3 Astans minus 5 BMCs equals a pro race’ math works out, and all.
//Would you want Horner as your union rep? //
Well, I would, but most workers probably wouldn’t, because he wouldn’t put up with their crap.
“You want me to ask them for WHAT?! Why don’t you put down that cigarette, stop downloading porn, and get your ass to work, and then I’ll listen to you bitching and moaning… NOT!
I used to live in Silver City and was pretty good friends with the race promoter. He is about the most unassuming mellow hippy guy that you will ever meet. If anyone was pitching a fit, it was probably the corporate guys at SRAM.
I dunno, micrguy … you pretty much have it from the horse’s mouth right here, courtesy of our competition:
I don’t fault this particular promoter. I do fault the UCI, USA Cycling, a number of other promoters and team management for either ignoring or not understanding the rules of their sport, then cobbling together a workaround that left BMC sucking the wet end of the mop. The UCI comes in for an extra dope-slap for treating Armstrong as anything other than another shaven-legged dude with a racing license. Had he, Levi and Chris opted for training in Aspen, I expect BMC would have an eight-man team racing in Silver City right now.
We in the media own some of the blame, too. In my own defense I will say only that the UCI rules read like the Hong Kong phone book as translated into Cretan Linear B by all three Stooges.
Gila is a pro race. Pro racers race in pro races. What is the fit about?
I’m a never-has-been 41 year old dirt racers who tosses my ars into a pro dirt race or two each year and I always get my chamois handed to me by some pro on his way through town. Its a pro race so what should I expect?
“Sorry you’re too fast, you can’t race”!