When Lance Armstrong won his fifth Tour de France in July, it was not the only cycling victory for an American. As he rolled across the finish line in Paris, he rode a bicycle made in the US by Trek.
A few years ago, to suggest that an American-made bicycle would be used in, let alone win, Europe's biggest bicycle races would be a little like saying that the president of France would drive to state functions in a Hummer.
But American companies like Trek, the Cannondale Bicycle Corp, Scott USA and Specialized, are trying to extend their domestic dominance of the road bike market, not just to France, but to all of Europe. If they succeed, they will become the first bicycle brands to dominate not only in France but in all of the fractured European market
"You could equate it to Germans coming into the NFL or Toyota coming into NASCAR," said Dan Alloway, vice president for sales and European operations at Cannondale, which is based in Bethel, Connecticut.
Faced with rapidly declining sales and shrinking margins on mountain bikes, American bicycle makers are looking to generate growth in Europe, where road cycling remains a popular spectator sport.
Trade figures do not distinguish between sales of road bikes, which have thinner tires and light frames and are meant for use on pavement, and mountain bikes, which are heavier and equipped for off-road use. However, Lou Mazzante, the managing editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, a trade publication, said he thinks that three American companies -- Trek, Cannondale and Specialized -- sell about 50,000 complete, high-end road bicycles a year in Europe at the moment, up from virtually none a decade ago.
Because those three bicycle makers deal at the higher end of the bicycle market in Europe (bicycles priced from US$1,865 to US$6,200 or more), their only retail channels are independent shops like Velocite, a sprawling store in the suburbs of Pau, a city near the French Pyrenees, owned by Frederic Pedegaye, a former amateur racer who has sold bicycles for 18 years. He grinned when asked if he would have carried American road bikes a decade ago.
"No, no, of course not," he said. "American road bikes were completely unknown here."
But now dotted among the famous, and not so famous, European bicycles in the road racing section of Pedegaye's shop are several models from Cannondale and Trek, including a replica of Armstrong's Tour de France bicycle.
"Now there's enormous recognition of American brands," Pedegaye said. "There have been very good marketing campaigns. The Americans now have the reputation for advanced technology and innovation. That was something French bikes used to have, but no more."
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
RSS