New Team Colours, Season Opening Race, Training Camp, "Volta ao Algarve".

"Palmeiras Resort/Prio/Tavira"

















Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira has new colours and a new sponsor for the 2009 season. The professional team is now called "Palmeiras Resort/Prio/Tavira". This is a very possitive development after the recent disappointment of Orlando Rodrigues and José Azevedo leaving the team after the sponsor they brought pulled out without warning.

"Prio" is a company that develops and markets bio fuels. I could think of no better partner for a cycling team. Cycling is "green" mode of transport and a healthy activity, complementing the "green" fuels industry.

Palmeiras Resort, is a new luxury development in Tavira. They steped in and helped the team to a "Volta a Portugal" victory when the previous sponsor unexpectedly cut short its promise.

And Tavira is an extremelly beautiful historic town on a Lagoon on the warm south eastern coast of the Algarve twenty kilometers from Andalucia. This town is home to the team.

http://jornalciclismo.com/?p=2122

http://ciclismodetavira.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=296&Itemid=1

Season Opening Race:

The season opening race, sponsored by the national broadcaster starts and ends in Faro, outside the offices of the "Radio Difusão Portuguesa"

Some of it will pass on television I am not sure when.

Details of this race can be found:

http://jornalciclismo.com/?p=2117

http://www.ciclismodigital.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1686&Itemid=26

Be sure to remember the under-23s race the day before, so if you're a cycling fan and wish to catch some action there will be a lot on!

Training Camp and Team Presentaion:

We have a training camp starting Wednesday. Photos to be taken and video to be shot on Thursday. And the team presentation on Friday. On Saturady the U-23s racem, starting in Vilamoura and finishing in Loulé. Followed by the professionals on Sunday. If further details are required I am sure they can be solicited from the team.

The Volta ao Algarve:

Will feature many big names including Alberto Contador and Damiano Cunego. It will pass on national RTP1 television as well as highlights on Eurosport. It will follow a format much the same as previous years. I think our main bet will be prior winner in the event Candido Barbosa. Who won in 1997 and 2002; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volta_ao_Algarve

A detailed route description, results and standings can be found here:

http://www.edosof.com/2009/algarve/

Cycling and the Credit Cruch

These might not be bad times for cycling. People are hard up, companies are tightening their budgets.

Cycling does not charge an entry fee. On television too it's generally available on free to view chanels. This is the sport of the people. Football involves paying lots to view it either on satelite chanels or costs money to go and see it live. Footballers and other athletes have incredibly over-inflated salaries running into several millions, incomes that dwarf all but the greatest champions in cycling.

The "Volta a Portugal" regularly gets between 40% and 50% share in television viewing. As well as this there is the extra coverage in the national paper some times running to an extra supplement. And the massive crowds which inundate the finishes of races here run into the hundreds of thousands. To buy into this and another 90 races you need a mere €350 000 -the price of a house- to finance a Continental professional team for a year. It also keeps about 20 people employed. Here are just the Volta's viewing figures:

http://jornalciclismo.com/?p=989

Cycling mirrors the state of society through the hardships the athlete's endure, often for no glory and little money.

The cyclists may not become known in the same way as other athlete's, but this is due more to a media discrimination as pointed out by Fernando Alonso before a training ride with Carlos Sastre.

Cycling is a sport any kid with a bike can take up. It doesn't require a pitch, or a gym hall or a pool. Merelly a road and any bike will do to allow a 12 year old access to the sport. You don't even need other people to do it with, as proven by the time trialists.

It's cheap, it's accesible, it's exiting. As a marketing tool in these times, it is ideal.

Computer is Broken

Unfortunatly both my computers are broken. Typically things like to go wrong all at the same time! Also have piles of stress due to miss filed insurance claims and misread bills and even an invalid will. When it rains it pours and this has been the wetest January in the past 30 years here in the Algarve. So wet infact I have done about 4 hours on the turbo trainer! Shocker.

Anyway, I will only be updating this on Thursday with something hopefully quite interesting.