Saturday, February 06, 2010

US domestic Pro cycling - where Pro's don't get Paid

Italian Luca Damiani's debut season with the Kenda team is at risk after he was denied a traveler's visa to enter the United States of America by the US Consulate in Milan, Italy on Tuesday. Damiani was expected to arrive in Stateside this month to begin his road racing season with team Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Gear Grinder.

"Our attorney asked Luca to apply for a B1-B2, since we are not paying him a salary, instead of a P1 Visa that is a corporate...Since he wasn't getting paid he opted to apply for a B1-B2 Visa and now that he's not getting that one he is getting a P1 Visa." - Kenda Pro Cycling Team owner Chad Thompson.


[Question: Shouldn't a team have to pay its riders before being allowed to call itself "Pro?"]

Anyway, read more at CyclingNews.com about the world of US pro cycling, where "Pro" riders don't get "Paid."

3 comments:

  1. I know of a certain new pro team in which only one of the riders listed on the roster is getting paid. And what he is getting paid isn't even enough to pay rent in southern CA where the team is based. Seems like we're moving backward to the days of the mid 90s when any Cat 1 could buy a "pro" license. Now, as long as a team will give you a couple kits and pay the registration fee, you too can be a "pro!"

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  2. Anon:

    Just an FYI - we dont do any IP tracking here at Pappillon, so please do all of us a favor an enlighten us as to the team in question. You don't need to name the salaried rider, but please share the identity of this "pro" squad that pays all of 1 of its riders a non-living SoCal wage... My guess would be any team in which Roberto Gaggioli is involved, but that's probably not the case. Yup, back to the bad ol' days of the early-to-mid-90's.

    Anyway, eagerly awaiting your reply...

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  3. That's nothing. I know of one US pro team that actually CHARGES nearly 1/2 of its roster to race! That's right - instead of earning a paycheck, these hapless idiots have to generate sponsorship reveAnue to pay for the cost of their racing - forget about getting paid! They're paying to play! Losers!

    ReplyDelete

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