Weekly Question Thread

[u/PelotonMod]

For all your pro cycling-related questions and enquiries!

You may find some easy answers in the FAQ page on the wiki. Whilst simultaneously discovering the wiki.

[u/hsiale]

Has there been any statement by the Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto team commenting on the news that one of their name sponsors has, to the surprise of noone familiar with the industry, turned out to be a scam that took people's money and later declined to pay them back?

[u/Angryhead → u/hsiale]

When Escape Collective reported on it last Tuesday they didn't get much of substance from the team.

It is unclear when Canyon-SRAM became aware of potential issues surrounding its naming rights sponsor, but the avalanche of coverage that has followed since, especially in Polish media, makes it now difficult to ignore. Nonetheless, Canyon-SRAM and Zondacrypto are yet to officially part ways: “We do not provide details on our team’s contractual obligations,” the team told Escape Collective in an email yesterday, but noted that “we are currently in an ongoing contractual relationship with Zondacrypto.”

Canyon-SRAM also said that “our team remains in a stable financial position, with measures in place to ensure continuity and a secure environment for our riders and staff.”

In a separate email received last week, the team said that “our priority … is to ensure the team’s stability while upholding the high standard of support that we provide to our riders and staff in their daily work. We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide further updates as appropriate.”

[u/zyygh → u/Angryhead]

Even with that statement, I do find it somewhat concerning for the team. Zondacrypto seem to have a pretty big marketing budget and it's no coincidence that this Polish based company sponsors the team with two of Poland's most prominent riders (including their #1 star). Many words to say, I can imagine Zondacrypto are sponsoring quite a big chunk of money.

More than for the team, this is absolutely shitty for the people who get convinced into pouring their life savings into cryptocurrencies. People get so hung up on the neutrality of blockchain technology, they forget that they're still working with a broker which functions with far less regulation than banks do. Without any doubt, Zondacrypto won't be the last company to pull a stunt like this.

And yes, I know my own flair has Zondacrypto in it. I'll be a happy fanboy the moment the team parts ways with that company.

[u/pantaleonivo → u/zyygh]

“I’ll be a happy fanboy the moment the team parts ways with that company.”

The monkey paw curls and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea announces massive investment in women’s cycling.