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Rapha sells the EF kits, same designs as the team wears & they usually offer a “training” version too which usually doesn’t have all the sponsorships all over it
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I’ve seen that, much like offering training and their alt calendar they’re heading out on their own. Just one of the things I reckon other teams could learn from.
Might be even better for Pro Conti teams as they usually have tighter budgets so getting more cash and eyes on them wouldn’t hurt.
Where I live a domestic pro team puts on a sportive yearly. Small groups of public get to spend some km with a couple pros. I know it’s not world tour but it sounds great to see what actual fast riders are like.
It is not weird, it is creepy…FB is evil and they are constantly mining your data.
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That’s why no App Tracking for me, even after getting rid of FB/IG/etc
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Nah, it’s coincidence, or the other poster saw the same ad, which gave them that idea. There wasn’t enough overlap between the content of their post, and what I saw on insta for it to be targeted.
Agree that facebook are mining data, but its not all connected like that.
Just because I’m paranoid don’t mean they’re not after me.
In all seriousness, I’ve had it more then often that I SPOKE about something and without googling it or anything I had popups …
Sorry this is moving off topic …
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I find it way more likely that me and another poster on here were served the same ad, based on our interests, which likely heavily feature cycling for us both, than that the insta app hacked into the chrome folder on my phone and picked one random post I had read, and conjured up an ad with a vaguely similar idea, but none of the same words.
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Oh, it really is…the sophistication of their algorithms is unbelievable. They are pulling data on you from everywhere.
“The FB AI engine can determine intent from textual and visual material you provide," notes tech industry veteran Phil Lieberman. "With intent, they can find product and services that you might be interested in. This is all about ‘recommender systems’ similar to what [Amazon ] offers, but FB has more information on an ongoing basis to determine what you might be interested in buying.”
The social network admits that it collects the “content, communications and other information,” including photographs and videos, accounts, hashtags and groups we are connected to. It notes what posts, videos and other content we view and even collects our payment information, including credit or debit card number, billing and shipping info.
“There are many other ways for Facebook to target you with ads based on data they’ve collected and put through algorithms,” affirms privacy advocate Paul Bischoff of Comparitech.com. "Remember that Facebook can track what you do on other websites and apps that use Facebook plugins, login and widgets.”
Agreed, BUT, I rode alongside a woman who had to be in her late 60’s on a 2021 Madone SLR7 tooting along at 10-12 mph. There are plenty of folks with A LOT of slush money.
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Oh sure…and if people wanna burn that money on EF coaching to get “the feels”, more power to 'em. Sincerely. I worked in the industry for a number of years and I make no judgements on what some consumers want to spend their money on.
And even more power to EF for doing it…as well noted above, this sports financial model sucks and teams need to find new ways to generate some $$$.
But I ain’t paying it! 
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Same. Plus how doable / applicable is it for the average cyclist, not a pro (or wannabe)
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And even more importantly, how do you go about improving DTP? And how is this quantified?
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It really is a function of wealth. What you may think is expensive…they just think cost really doesnt come into the decision. They just buy what they want.
Or put another way, value is in the eye of the beholder. My coach is awesome, I’m learning a lot, and it costs far less than the EF coaching service. My coach is cheaper than a season of skiing at Lake Tahoe, and for all that I’ve learned I’m going to call that a bargain.
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That’s cheaper what good coaches where I live take. IMHO EF’s idea is worth a try, it is not as if pro cycling will attract the kind of money that men’s soccer does.
I’ve also noticed that a lot of pros and aspiring pros have started their own youtube channel (Froomey, Chris Dowsett, Ronald Kuba, etc.)
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I think it’s a brilliant move by EF. If they can pay a good chunk of their coaching staff salary via this, then that is a huge, and sustainable win for them as a team.
Most of these teams are funded by a single rich guy, who can decide to pull their money out at any time.
The price is way outside my league, but not as unreasonable as I would have thought.
As for the FTP thing, it’s not the first time I’ve heard someone with World Tour experience pretty much say what Vaughters said.
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But but but. Zwift racing. FTP IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Tactics be dammed.
Good on EF though, I think a lot of wealthy men will no doubt throw money at this opportunity and if that gets the team more funding—that’s awesome. Better than latching onto a company like INEOS.
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I know parents who spend more on traveling hockey for their 12yo’s. Even if you’re a kid with parents willing to spend some money, it’s huge and maybe gets you on their radar.
I think it could be a win all around.
Even tactics aside, just simply using a % of your FTP, which is just a guess anyway, to define these training zones, which scales terribly (higher FTP, bigger the % difference is) is a really simplistic approach. Sure it works for most of us because we’re all weak, but not at that level.
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On the price: Vaughters said on Twitter they are looking at offering a lower price level, but went out with the more full offerings to get experience.
So this really feels like a stay tuned for us mere mortals
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