In the United States, being suspected of defrauding a Federal agency or of using its finances for illicit purposes is, not surprisingly, the kind of activity that can bring a world of pain your way.
The US Postal Service has Federal status and under a Freedom of Information Act request, broadcaster ESPN has obtained records which show that the organisation spent $31.9 million sponsoring Lance Armstrong and his USPS team between 2001 and 2004, when the rider was, perhaps, at the height of his powers.
Armstrong's spokesman, Mark Fabiani, said in a statement: “Over the years, many different sponsors have seen — and continue to see — the benefits of associating with Lance and his cycling teams.”
And that is, indeed, true, or at least it has been. Studies by a pair of marketing firms covering 2001-2004 which have been obtained by the Associated Press, claim that USPS received $103.6 million in domestic value from sponsoring the Armstrong-led teams during his historic run of Tour de France wins. That return was referenced by the Texan himself in a recent tweet spotted by BikeBiz, when he said: "[US Postal Service] got 103 million in return. 300%! We should all be so lucky to be victimized like that. Sign me up!"
However, last week, sportbusiness.com revealed a new study by Ace Metrix on celebrity endorsements ranked Armstrong’s Radio Shack advertisement as the second worst of 2010 in terms of effectiveness, behind a Tiger Woods ad for Nike.
I agree - I feel much more stable and comfortable standing on one leg than I do with both feet on the pedals and holding on to a bar - but maybe...
Poop, poop!
Nice set of links there. Worth reading, although sadly time prohibits for now. Unfortunately I can only like once.
Yes, i use a bolt v1 too....
Yet another bargain at £165.00!
459! why? and 9.99 a month for a subscription. That'll be a no from me. I'll stick with the cycliq and continue to upload videos for the police to...
The one thing that has always intrigued me:...
Yeah, they even reference a shorter cut in the blurb. Why, it was fine as it was?!
Yes, I gave a reasoned reply before I had seen their other comment!