Does anyone know if Lance is going to be in Sunday's NYC Championship Race Downtown on Sunday? I'm assuming No, since they would have plastered his name all over the website if he was in.
Will Lance Be In NYC for Sunday's Race?
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 8:41am
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 9:44am
#1
Not necessarily
Last year, my recollection is that they only announced his participation a couple of days ahead of time. He did a race in Europe on the Saturday then took the Concorde on Sunday morning, pocketed his $50K appearance fee and flew back across the pond on the Monday. There are probably several bidders for his services in the post-Tour crits. Perhaps he himself doesn't even know yet.
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 9:52am
#2
Lance Better Decide Soon
No more Concorde!
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 10:05am
#3
Last year's LA appearance
"His participation last year was expected well in advance. Here is a press release from April 2002. They later said that Cipollini would also take part, but unfortunately he had announced his retirement by the date of the race.
"
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 10:31am
#4
"I should have said ""confirmed"""
You are correct. However, his participation was only confirmed a couple of days ahead of time. 365 days ago, you had no more idea than you do today as to whether he's really going to show.
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 9:58am
#5
Good Chance
Word is, Lance will be ringing the bell at the NYSE on Friday. If that's the case, there's a decent chance he'll stick around for the race on Sunday. Word also has it that Chipolini will be in Sunday's race.
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 10:23am
#6
The Place To See Lance
If he's in town Friday ringing the NYSE bell, doing the morning shows etc... he can usually be counted on to do a few laps in the park. If you have the patience to wait around and some luck you might get to follow his wheel
Tue, 07/29/2003 - 3:10pm
#7
Bell Ringing?
Does anyone happen to know if he is ringing the opening or closing bell? I would guess opening, but I want to double check in case anyone knows....
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 7:15am
#8
NYSE Bell Ringing
According to the NYSE website, on Friday, August 1 the opening bell will be rung by Kevin Donovan Assistant Director in Charge New York Field Office Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). I have a friend who works for the stock exchange, and he sometimes rings the bell as part of his regulr duties. I have a call into him about the possiblity of Lance Armstrong visiting the NYSE.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 7:26am
#9
bell ringers
Why doesn't the NYSE invite John Poindexter? He apparently has some creative ideas for the markets, and soon may be needing something new to occupy his time.
Seriously, if Lance will be at the exchange, do post. Perhaps those of us who toil downtown can rendezvous for some star-gazing and lunch al fresco at Bowling Green.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 11:58am
#10
NYSE Bell Ringing
A friend at the NYSE just told me that their communications department has confirmed that Lance isn't scheduled to ring the bell this week. Obviously, Lance's schedule may still be in the works.
John -- is this consistent with what you heard from your NYSE contact?
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 6:56am
#11
Why Just Lance?
Why go only to see Lance, who won't be competing for a win? The BMC NYC Championship is a fledgling race that has the opportunity to become a major event on the world's cycling calendar, but only if we in New York support it. On a secondary note, it does not appear that Mario Cipollini will be participating. I would much rather see Mario than Lance in this type of race, as not only would Mario really be competing, but he would be a strong favorite to win. However, Mario is racing in the Nacht von Hannover on Friday; I don't see him spending all day Saturday on a plane then racing here on Sunday. Too bad.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 7:39am
#12
Why only Lance?
"The reason why it is important to have Lance Armstrong at this individual race has more to do with bicycle racing in the United States than the actual winner. Most people I know do not care about bike racing, but a celebrity like Lance Armstrong can raise its awareness in the US. I am not a sports fanatic by any means, but I watched the TDF beacuse of Lance Armstrong's attempt to win 5 in a row. I enjoyed it and can see myself watching other races. If a person was to see that ""an American hero"" was going to appear in NYC then they may go, especially if they have children and want to show them positive sports role models. I can only see this as a good thing."
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 9:40am
#13
Misread My Posting
You misread my posting. Yes, I understand for publicity purposes why its important for LA to show; however, American cycling fans should find other reasons to support the event. Personally, I'd rather see Jan Ullrich than Lance Armstrong...
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 8:08am
#14
Acording to his site Lance is scheduled to do a 2-man time trial on Saturday.
http://www.lancearmstrong.com/
http://www.karlsruher-versicherungs-grand-prix.de/
Hi did the time trial last year, and then came over. But, as someone already said, there is no Concorde this time...
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 9:13am
#15
Concorde still flies until the end of October (British Airways) - its just Air France that stopped flying. But apparently theres no Lance, no Cipo - but Tyler Hamilton will be there on the sidelines.
Doubt even the most imaginitive of crowd estimators will be able to claim 250,000 or whatever fanciful figure was put out about last year.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 12:46pm
#16
No Lance, Yes Tyler
"FWIW, I just heard the same rumor - Lance will NOT be there but Tyler will.
(No idea how reliable this source is).
However, I'd say ""you never know""."
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 9:31pm
#17
NoLance
Sorry, Lance will NOT be riding this Sunday. This was confirmed to me today by one of the coordinators of this event, Threshold Sports.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 1:38pm
#18
Philosophical question
"Lance won't show without an appearance fee or a big donation to a cancer charity. Last year he got $50K, plus the designation of Memorial Sloan-Kettering as the official charity.
So my question is, If you're the promoter of this event, does it make sense to pay that money if you cannot/do not announce well in advance that he's going to be there? Presumably, the main point of paying him the appearance fee is to put more fannies in the seats (so to speak). But if you don't tell people ahead of time that he's coming, they won't have the opportunity to change their status from ""not attending"" to ""will attend.""
Put another way, the shorter the amount of time before the event that you announce his presence, the less the value to the promoter. I suppose there's still time for a local PR blitz if he is coming, but the promoters will get less bang for their buck than if they'd announced it before now.
Certainly, putting fannies in the seats is not the only consideration when getting Lance. Another is building the brand equity of the New York race, as well as keeping the sponsors happy. Plus, it's always possible that OLN will pay a higher TV fee if Lance is there.
I guess this is my way of saying that, if I were the promoter, his value to me declines with every day that passes without a firm commitment from him."
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 1:47pm
#19
According to John Eustice:no Armstrong, Cipo, or Hamilton.
Go and chear our local racers.
Wed, 07/30/2003 - 3:26pm
#20
No Lance, a little Hamilton...
From Lancearmstrong.com:
Couple of things regarding the upcoming New York City Cycling Championships Aug 3 to pass on: first, Lance is regrettably not planning on racing there - that's the bad news. The good news is that TdF Ironman Tyler Hamilton will be there - but due to his injuries not racing. So come on out and cheer for Ty as he does the Grand Marshall thing - it's all good...
Thu, 07/31/2003 - 9:04am
#21
here's the roster of riders:
http://www.nycbikerace.com/word_docs/Rider_Roster_2003_NYCm.xls
Thu, 07/31/2003 - 8:50am
#22
volunteers needed!
"as long as you're coming out to watch the race....
why not wear your nycc jersey and hand out brochures/flyers for the nycc ""escape from new york"" club ride in october. you'll not only have a good time but you'll also be helping your club."
Fri, 08/01/2003 - 7:40am
#23
Hamilton
>Tyler Hamilton, who finished fourth in the Tour de France despite
>suffering a broken collarbone in the first stage, will make his first
>public appearance in the U.S. at the New York City Cycling Championship
>presented by BMC Software this Sunday, August 3. Hamilton will serve as
>the official race starter in the second running of the event, a 100 km
>criterium around the streets of Manhattan's financial district.
>
>The race will feature 19 national and international teams including US
>Postal Service-Berry Floor, Navigators, ONCE Giant, 7UP Maxxis, Saturn and
>Formaggi Pinzolo Piave, with tens of thousands of fans expected to turn
>out. The racing will begin at 7:30 am with the Junior PCT Grand Prix for
>riders 18 and under. The BMC Software Corporate Challenge will follow at
>8:25 am and the amateur team cycling event, the Mengoni Grand Prix, is
>scheduled for 9:20 am.
>
>The BMC Software Bike Messenger Challenge, pitting Manhattan's best
>delivery cyclists against one another in a uniquely New York event, takes
>place at 10:40 am The featured men's championship will start at 12:15 pm
>and end at approximately 3 pm.
