[Zman]

So while flipping around pages I came across Transcend's nice little website....apparently lopes is off GT now....

http://www.transcendmagazine.com/archives/2007/09/brian_lopes_lea.html

 

[DylanDeanDesign]

Heard some rumblings about that at the show... though didn't speak to BL directly. i am surprised to see BL off GT, he's been the face of the company for some time now... From his quote, sounds like it ended pretty bitterly (at least towards corporate heads). too bad. Nonetheless, BL will have a great '08 season no matter where he lands.

Let the Huffy sponsorship rumors begin again!

 

[Kntr]

GT is dumb

 

[GPERKINS]

That is the last person I would suspect

 

[hellonasty]

**cough, cough** New Commencal / Oakley Team with Cedric **cough, cough**

 

[EVRAC]

GT is dumb

What with dropping their IT-1 project as well.

 

[gemini2k]

What with dropping their IT-1 project as well.

Ya i heard from one of their reps that they were gonna release something about a new LINE of it-1's at interbike.....no dice?

 

[dexter]

as usual lopes being a whiny little bitch

 

[Ozzer]

So...that's why he was busy "shopping" around at the show.
I e-speculate he will end up with Rocky Mountain and he will be forced to race DH again.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

First Kovarik, then Lopes....


.....who's next, Hill?!?!?!?!??!*




*Relax groms, don't sell your Sundays just yet.

 

[William42]

man, stupid move on GT's part, I was on the verge of leaping off my seat and buying a GT 4x bike, but i guess they don't have winning suspension designs anymore so nevermind!

 

[blue]

as usual lopes being a whiny little bitch

I'm waiting to see if Pacific says anything quite so inflammatory from their POV before making judgment, however, half the crap he gets quoted on (or posts on his site) sounds like it's coming straight from the mouth of some spoiled-ass NBA star. I don't care if you're a WC champion or not, have a little fvcking class.

 

[Spunger]

I'm not going to stick up for a guy who was pro in BMX & Mountain Bike racing for years and years. I'll give him credit for putting the work into cycling to become the best he can be.

But........he was/is very marketable for Troy Lee/Oakley and any company he rides for basically. For GT (who now is crap compared to the past) drops him so what? I'm sure he was getting above average pay for riding for GT so now he'll have to sign with a company who pays him what every other pro gets paid. So in reality that's a good thing, sorta levels the playing field because racing bikes should not be like NBA/NFL etc.....with athletes making such odd-ball amounts of money playing the same position.

Hell, I'd be bitter too to lose my sponsorship but all good things eventually come to an end depending on who you screw over.

 

[Eren]

First Kovarik, then Lopes....


.....who's next, Hill?!?!?!?!??!*




*Relax groms, don't sell your Sundays just yet.

i already sold my sunday last week! i guess my e-speculation was incorrect

 

[Cant Climb]

however, half the crap he gets quoted on (or posts on his site) sounds like it's coming straight from the mouth of some spoiled-ass NBA star. I don't care if you're a WC champion or not, have a little fvcking class.

 

[ire]

...I was on the verge of leaping off my seat and buying a GT 4x bike, but i guess they don't have winning suspension designs anymore so nevermind!

 

[sayndesyn]

My favorite quote is about Oakley from him... "At least they get it" referring to his gift of a diamond studded watch. Sounds like something Paris Hilton would say. At least they understand and appreciate just how awesome and world class I am. Maybe he should take a line from Hill and just let your actions speak for you. It is one thing to be confident, but he just comes across as a narcisist.

 

[Huck Banzai]

I've always had the impression he was arrogant, and probably not the most pal'ly type of guy.

However - He has been dominant in his discipline for a decade, the only comparable riders in this arena are Anne-Caro and Nico; I can think of no other MTB 'legend' that has anywhere near the winning resume.

He'll get picked up, and he'll be paid more than any of his contemporaries, because- like him or not - he earned it, and continues to.

 

[Transcend]

So in reality that's a good thing, sorta levels the playing field because racing bikes should not be like NBA/NFL etc.....with athletes making such odd-ball amounts of money playing the same position.

Hell, I'd be bitter too to lose my sponsorship but all good things eventually come to an end depending on who you screw over.

1 - Why not? What makes racing bicycles so different? Lance Armonstroing vs his domestiques. All riding bikes, very different pay scales.

2 - Athletes get paid what they are worth in terms of their marketing power. I'd want many millions (a small percentage of team revenue) as well if I was one of the main reasons my team was packing stadiums every night and getting 200+ million dollar tv contracts for my team owners.

3 - Lopes is a marketing force for his sponsors. He makes what he deserves. A very small group of cycling athletes can claim the same marketing power as Lopes can.

 

[pedalmunky]

Lopes always rep's his sponsors when he wins, and he happens to win all the time, at the biggest races, where there's the most press coverage. He doesn't do anything stupid - no dogfighting, no felony shootings, no drunken driving, not even steroids - unlike most pro athletes. Lopes just races his bike faster than anyone else down the mountain and ends up on the podium covered in his sponsor's logos and products, and he's been doing so for, what, the past fifteen years or so?

I'm gonna give him some credit. He deserved better than getting flat dropped after the year he had. If Sam Hill got pink-slipped by Iron Horse after winning the World Cup AND the rainbow stripes in the same year (which of course Lopes did), there'd be an uproar.

 

[Kntr]

Lopes always rep's his sponsors when he wins, and he happens to win all the time, at the biggest races, where there's the most press coverage. He doesn't do anything stupid - no dogfighting, no felony shootings, no drunken driving, not even steroids - unlike most pro athletes. Lopes just races his bike faster than anyone else down the mountain and ends up on the podium covered in his sponsor's logos and products, and he's been doing so for, what, the past fifteen years or so?

I'm gonna give him some credit. He deserved better than getting flat dropped after the year he had. If Sam Hill got pink-slipped by Iron Horse after winning the World Cup AND the rainbow stripes in the same year (which of course Lopes did), there'd be an uproar.

I agree completly.

He is a little whiney though. But so would most of us if we got "let go" after so many years at the top of our game.

edit: What he said about the Oakley diamond watch was a little much.

 

[skate]

as usual lopes being a whiny little bitch

Yep I agree. There are so many people that really don't like him. Everyone from several pro's to the average joe just trying to say HI or something.

 

[blue]

I agree completly.

He is a little whiney though.

Or maybe GT just got tired of Lopes being an all-around dick?

WC champ blah blah...if fans are turned off because your main man acts like he's the Jesus of the MTB world, I'd drop him right quick. Behavior over results, IMHO.

And to be quite honest...very few people really care about 4x.

Just my observations.

 

[ChrisKring]

Honestly, I though Lopes was a bit full of himself until I actually met him a few years ago. Before that I had only seen him at races and had only ever had 10 words with him. He seemed a bit standoffish.

Anyway, when I met him at a Jeep race a few years ago, it was clear that he was a good guy. It sucks when things go bad with a sponsor. Just like if your real job canned you. You would be pissed. I would just consider his remarks as a first reaction from someone that gave their sponsors a ton of effort and then were dropped.

 

[Transcend]

I've worked with Brian on and off for a few years now on various projects. I can assure you, he is a standup guy. He just prefers to keep to himself instead of get involved in the MTB cool guy nonsense.

 

[klunky]

I dont understand all the negative stuff. I think Lopes rocks and is my favourite rider to watch on DVDs.
I wonder who he will ride for now..... Syndacite?

 

[Panza]

I've worked with Brian on and off for a few years now on various projects. I can assure you, he is a standup guy. He just prefers to keep to himself instead of get involved in the MTB cool guy nonsense.

Agreed.

 

[stinky|Dan]

I always thought his comment about the Oakley watch meant that at least Oakley 'gets' how to treat their premium athletes. What is wrong with wanting some recognition for your hard work in a dangerous profession?

 

[dexter]

meh hes still a douche bag in my book, always has been always will be. tried to patch stuff up with him at crankworks and was a pole smoker as usual. not so much fun having to share a tent with someone who hates everyone/thing/puppy

 

[preppie]

He's one of the best American racers and almost everyone is bashing on him ?
He's leaving GT...a company almost everyone seems to dislike ?

What ?

No patriotic feelings for a guy that actually deserves it ?

Wow, ....once more : What ??

 

[top_dog]

I think an Oakley Commencal team is highly likely. Both CG and Lopes ride in Oakley gear rather than their bike sponsor's kit and Oakley has the money to pay for it.

Either that or Syndicate but I don't think they could pay for it. Peat, Lopes and to a lesser extent Rennie would be a big bill.

 

[Cant Climb]

3 - Lopes is a marketing force for his sponsors. He makes what he deserves. A very small group of cycling athletes can claim the same marketing power as Lopes can.

Wonder how many GT's and Easton bar were sold because of Brian Lopes...?.........very very few ........

 

[sayndesyn]

That's what I took it to say as well, which is why I said my comment. Something about the tone wore me the wrong way. Kind of like if you took a girl out to a good restaurant and she said, "At least you get how fawkin hot I am and that I deserve the best, everyone else thinks I am just another hot bimbo." My take on it. Personally I don't blame GT, I don't see anyone huddled around the UCI website checking 4X results and I can't think of any GT hardtails I have ever seen on the tracks... So star power or not, it probably isn't worth the money. It is a business after all. Look at how all of the bmx teams drop and add people.

I always thought his comment about the Oakley watch meant that at least Oakley 'gets' how to treat their premium athletes. What is wrong with wanting some recognition for your hard work in a dangerous profession?

 

[loco-gringo]

He's one of the best American racers and almost everyone is bashing on him ?
He's leaving GT...a company almost everyone seems to dislike ?

What ?

No patriotic feelings for a guy that actually deserves it ?

Wow, ....once more : What ??

Awesome. First the president makes us look dumb to the Europeans and now we do it. lthumbsdown:

 

[ire]

3 - Lopes is a marketing force for his sponsors. He makes what he deserves. A very small group of cycling athletes can claim the same marketing power as Lopes can.

Lopes has built himself into a brand through many years of kicking a**. He is one of the most recongizable names, and regardless if he is on top in a given year he is still worth more money in terms of marketability. He'll never be making the lower salary a lot of DH racers are, even if his bike sponsor contract sucks, becuase he has too many outside sponsors with deep pockets that will keep him on.

 

[rosenamedpoop]

as usual lopes being a whiny little bitch

Got that right! At the '04 National Champs, Lopes was chilling at the side of the 4x course getting ready for his qually. My good friend Drunk Koocher stumbled up to Lopes, shoved him, and started turning the adjuster knobs on his fork while offering friendly words of encouragement like "OOOOOhhhh big man B-Lo, sup tough guy? Think you're hot sh!t huh?"

Lopes, in an all too typical display premaddona-ism, just walked away looking disgusted. What a d!ck.

 

[bdamschen]

Wonder how many GT's and Easton bar were sold because of Brian Lopes...?.........very very few ........

I'd say that's more because GT's are not that great of a bike than Lopes not making them look good. Because they're not anything that special most people look at it that Lopes is just a good rider on any bike.

That said, I think it's logical for GT to drop Lopes. They don't sell a ton of bikes compared to many other brands on the WC circuit, yet they probably have one of the most expensive riders to pay for. If they can't move bikes, how is GT going to be able to afford Lopes? It makes financial sense to drop him and I don't fault GT for that. I'm not sure how it was handled, but what should have been said was basically "We're sorry to see you go, but we can't afford to keep you."

 

[bizutch]

... I'm sure he was getting above average pay for riding for GT so now he'll have to sign with a company who pays him what every other pro gets paid. So in reality that's a good thing, sorta levels the playing field because racing bikes should not be like NBA/NFL etc.....with athletes making such odd-ball amounts of money playing the same position.
....

How do you figure that the #1 rider in a sport getting a paycut after dominating the entire season will be a good thing for other riders?

You telling me that in economies of scale, Peyton Manning being forced to take a paycut after winning the SuperBowl is going to somehow benefit the rest of the league's players?

NO! It's going to decrease the value of every single quarterback in the league, from 1st to 4th string, to the owners. Anybody below the biggest dog right down to the pups, are all gonna get a smaller bone.

If Lopes winds up having to take a paycut, it's bad news for the pee-ons brother.

 

[skinny mike]

My favorite quote is about Oakley from him... "At least they get it" referring to his gift of a diamond studded watch. Sounds like something Paris Hilton would say. At least they understand and appreciate just how awesome and world class I am.

the way i understood it was him appreciating the fact that oakley congratulated him for winning the world cup and the world champs and gave him a gift, instead of giving him a big **** you by dropping him outright. i don't necessarily think that lopes isn't a bit full of himself, but i do think that he came off that way a bit too much since he's pissed off about being dropped.

 

[bizutch]

Wonder how many GT's and Easton bar were sold because of Brian Lopes...?.........very very few ........

you're kidding right?

The average joe shmo don't..now crap about Lopes personality. They know he stands on the top step of the podium, so they'll bu y what he rides.

You think Funn would be selling bars out the wazoo right now if Sam Hill was sporting Azonics?