POLITICS JULY 14, 2009
-
Read Later
READ LATERAvailable only to subscribers. SUBSCRIBE TODAY
-
Listen
ARTICLE AUDIO
- Font Size
As inspiring as it is to see 37-year-old Lance Armstrong un-retired, healthy, and near the front of the pack at this year’s Tour de France, it’s hard not to be distracted by what he’s wearing. In place of the relatively wholesome U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel jerseys he wore during his previous wins, Armstrong is currently racing in the blue-and-yellow of the Astana Cycling Team. Which means that one of America’s last golden boys is a walking (or riding) advertisement for the Kazakh government.
The Astana Cycling Team's primary sponsor, in fact, is Kazakhstan's Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, a state-owned enterprise that Kazakh embassy attache Zhanbolat Ussenov less-than-pithily termed a "national sovereign wealth fund that provides business efficiency for public expenditures." Samruk-Kazyna's involvement means that among Astana's seven Kazakh sponsors are the national airline, rail, electric, mining, and gas companies. The team's website also serves a secondary, boosterish function as an advertisement for the economically troubled, Borat-afflicted autocracy, complete with fulsome quotes from team manager Johan Bruyneel ("It is a true honor for every rider and staff member to represent Kazakhstan") and a how-much-do-you-know-about-Kazakhstan quiz ("What is the name of the largest operational space facility/cosmodrome in Kazakhstan?"). It would all be more amusing if Kazakhstan wasn't such a bad place--Freedom House gave the nation a 6.32 rating in 2009, with seven being the worst possible score. Its fantastically illiberal freedom of assembly policies and approach to freedom of speech on the Internet, to name just two pockmarks, leaves Kazakhstan lumped among such human-rights also-rans as Egypt and Rwanda.
Armstrong joined the team to reunite with Bruyneel, his longtime manager, but he doesn't seem terribly excited about Astana, which he derisively referred to as "Team Borat" in a profile in the July issue of Men's Journal. In a recent column, Bicycling Magazine contributor Joe Lindsey writes that Armstrong is "clearly ill at ease racing for the glory of a consortium of natural resource companies from an obscure Central Asian country best known in the west from the Borat caricature [and has] spent as much time as possible hiding his Astana team kit under Livestrong gear and jerseys from his Austin bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s."
His embarrassment isn’t exactly misplaced. “Astana freakin’ takes the cake,” says one cycling insider. “It’s the weirdest, skankiest team in cycling history.” Astana's past is so dodgy, in fact, that the leader of the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation, Daniyal Akhmetov--recently sacked from his day job as Kazakhstan's Minister of Defense amid a wide-ranging corruption scandal--is far from the scariest skeleton in the team's closet. Most of Astana's transgressions came under a previous administration, but they are numerous.
Astana rose from the ashes of the risibly corrupt Liberty Seguros Cycling Team, which disbanded in 2006 when manager Manolo Saiz was caught in the anti-doping sting Operacion Puerto. Liberty Seguros' star racer, Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov and then-Prime Minister Akhmetov cobbled together some Kazakh sponsors and Astana was born. Vinokourov and Kazakh teammate Andrei Kashechkin promptly tested positive for blood doping, and Astana was kicked out of the 2007 Tour de France and banned in '08. Bruyneel was hired shortly thereafter in an attempt to re-brand the team and largely cleaned house, but Armstrong's current Astana teammate Andreas Kloeden has been dogged by doping rumors for years and Astana hasn't shaken its rep. "There's a high bar for hijinks in this sport," Lindsey says. "But Astana is a different creature than any cycling has seen in 50 years."
The last year hasn't been kind to Astana, either. In May's Giro d'Italia, one of the cyling world’s biggest events, all of Astana's active racers, with the exception of Kazakh-born Andrey Zeits, covered up the names of their Kazakh sponsors to protest months of unpaid salaries. Armstrong, who receives no salary from Astana but covered up the logos on his jersey in a show of solidarity, was rumored to be considering American sponsors in case Astana went belly-up. It didn't, and Astana was able to pay the bank guarantees necessary to get it into the Tour de France. Still, the whole experience begs the question of why Armstrong, who has been famously prickly over allegations of doping, would ride for such an extravagantly tainted organization.
"Plugging back in with Johan was a no-brainer when Lance decided to come out of retirement," says Mark McKinnon, Armstrong's P.R. maestro. According to Lindsey, Bruyneel's previous success with Armstrong and their close relationship meant "it was clear that Astana was the only team [Armstrong] could be with. You can't imagine Armstrong racing for any other manager." Also, Astana has developed one of the finest overall teams in the sport’s history around Armstrong--so even if he isn’t getting paid by the squad, he’s benefitting from its talent. Armstrong may soon wind up racing for another team, though--Vinokourov's two-year suspension ends later this month, and he has announced his intention to return to Astana, even if it means that Bruyneel leaves. Should that occur, the cycling scuttlebutt is that Bruyneel and Armstrong would form a Nike-sponsored team of their own.
In fairness, none of this team-and sponsor-hopping is terribly strange in European sports. With the notable exception of NASCAR's "Wal-Mart threw up on this sedan" aesthetic, American sports actually lags behind the rest of the world in terms of flagrant and flagrantly strange sponsorship. There's even a precedent for authoritarian states getting into the sponsorship game--Libya's Qaddafi clan owns a stake in Italian soccer team Juventus. And oddball sponsors are particularly common in cycling: Other teams in the 2009 Tour de France are backed by a company that makes steel holding pens for cattle, a manufacturer of laminated flooring, and a joint effort between the Belgian National Lottery and an anti-snoring product that competes under the name Silence-Lotto. Lindsey, the Bicycling Magazine contributor, notes that, relative to mogul-magnet European sports such as soccer and Formula One teams, "cycling is a bargain. You can own your own pro team for the price of a tiny little decal on an F1 car. $10 million dollars gets it done."
But even if Armstrong's experience with Astana isn't particularly abnormal, it still doesn’t pass the smell test. Especially considering the nascent political ambitions Armstrong revealed in a Daily Beast interview (conducted by McKinnon, oddly), being associated with Astana at all seems like a lose-lose proposition. In the world of cycling, Armstrong is seen as riding for a team that has a terrible reputation; if he runs for office back in Texas, he'll face attacks for joining a squad bankrolled by an ultra-oppressive foreign nation's petrodollars. If the Tour de France is the ultimate test of Armstrong's strength as a cyclist, his association with Astana may wind up being the ultimate test of his carefully honed personal brand. McKinnon, unsurprisingly, thinks Armstrong will emerge from Astana unscathed. "The LIVESTRONG brand is one of the most recognizable in the world and in no danger of dilution," he says. "And after all, it's not like we're talking about North Korea here." We're not, but in the world of cycling, talking about Astana is bad enough.
David Roth is a writer in New York.
By David Roth
19 comments
Lance Armstrong is one of the greatest cyclists ever. Totally uncontroversial statement. However, he is also a starfucking, glory-addicted nosebleed. Why doesn't anyone ever mention how his wife stuck with him through testicular-cancer and then was dropped when fame brought Cheryl Crow to the door? And the Olsen-twin borking? He just seems like the annoying guy who would yell at you for not working out enough, or for smoking. I'm glad we're finally figuring out that he is also a traitor and supports a cruel police state. OK, that might have been over the top, but the dude is still a prick.
- boneill
July 14, 2009 at 2:53pm
Nobody mentions Kristin supporting Lance through his struggle with cancer because it because it never happened. Lance was diagnosed with cancer in fall of 1996. He met Kristin in the summer of 1997. Just so we're all clear, Boneill, what exactly have you done for people other than yourself (cancer survivors, say), that in any way compares to what Lance has done? Let's contrast Lance's exceptionalism in athletics, and donation of incredible amounts of time and money to worthy charitable causes... to his personal life. How many men in their mid to late 30's are divorced from, or were never married to, the mother of their children? How many single men in their mid to late 30's... who are not completely undesirable losers... have dated FEWER women than Lance Armstrong over the last 5 year span (I'm a single man in my mid to late 30's and I've definitely dated more women than he has). Hell, just a hypothetical, is there a straight, single, unattached single male anywhere on the planet would NOT date Cheryl Crow if he had the chance? Boneill, in my book, a prick is someone who uses distorted and or incorrect facts to cast aspersions on the reputation of another. A prick is someone who holds people (other than himself of course) to a ridiculously high standard, and then hurls obscene criticisms at them when they don't meet the impossible expectation. I think that you can I can almost certainly agree that between you and Lance, one of you is a prick. I just don't think that we would agree on who it is. You're just pissed off because you secretly suspect that Lance is a better man than you... and you are not man enough to admit it.
- Zack
July 14, 2009 at 6:00pm
That's a really good and interesting article. Thanks.
- burro
July 14, 2009 at 8:44pm
Kazakhstan is full of kind family-oriented people and wonderful, smart young adults who, I hope, someday, will turn the country around. You are correct about the corrupt Government. Money pours into the capital city of Astana from its abundance of natural resources and stays there to enrich the elite few. The poverty and harsh life that exists in some areas is terrible, but the people retain an amazing spirit. I know this comment is off your point, but I have such a great amount of respect for the Kazak people that I just felt it necessary to wite a few words.
-
July 14, 2009 at 9:01pm
That's a very disturbing article. The author describes Kz as the worst country in the world and compare it toan African country. have you been to Kz? or Zimbabwe? or anywhere else than your backyard? You made me cry for Lance, poor guy gets paid millions for cursing his own team.
- A guy from almaty
July 14, 2009 at 10:55pm
Um, he rides for Astana because US sponsors have stayed away from cycling...because cycling is not that popular a sport in the US and it has had HUGE problems with doping. So yes, companies and countries that are not so sensitive to cycling's PR problems get into the game. I'm surprised that the author hasn't figured this out and instead laces his article with rather sophomoric Borat references. I believe there is a hint of racism in this somewhere...why bother to look at this with anything other than scorn, he thinks in his arrogance.
- mike
July 15, 2009 at 3:05am
response to boneill: get your facts straight, armstrong meet his ex-wife AFTER he had completed treatment for testicular cancer.
- shadowblue
July 15, 2009 at 6:44am
The only thing that is "skanky" is this article. Kazakhstan is an ancient, cultured country; they were trading in horses, silik and metalwork when Europe was in the Dark Ages. There is corruption there (though the government is making genuine efforts to punish it) and the freedom of speech is nothing like ours. Kazakhstan was hurt by the success of the ridiculous Borat film; the cycling team is one way of creating a better image for them. Lance Armstrong's comments do him no credit; the only saving grace is that he has taken no money for his services. However, he is their "guest" and he shames himself and the state of Texas by his ignorant comments.
- Vikktoria Senior
July 15, 2009 at 7:03am
Amen!
- aruam
July 15, 2009 at 8:43am
This article is being too hard on him. When he decided to come back to racing, riding with what was essentially his old team really was the only thing that made sense. On top of top of his history with Bruyneel there is also his long history with Trek. The other Americans on that team don't take heat for supporting the Kazakh government's repressive ways. Lance is there to race. Let him do it. Astana won't be around much longer anyway. My guess is that Armstrong and Bruyneel will start their own team and Contador (who wasn't even mentioned!) will go to a spanish team.
- Dan
July 15, 2009 at 9:52am
Thanks for reading, and for the comments. Obviously everyone's free to disagree on Lance's merits or mine, but I wanted to clarify something about Kazakhstan and my approach to it here. Everyone I dealt with at the Kazakh embassy was very helpful and very nice, and my general sense of the place from the reading I've done is (and stop me if you've heard this one before) that it's a country of good people that has been badly served by a worse government -- the Akhmetovs and Nazarbayevs are the issue and the ones with which one wouldn't want to be associated, not the regular folks subjected to all that mockery in Borat. And on the Borat issue: I obviously did my best to stay away from mentioning the film, if only because it's so played-out at this point. "Borat" is mentioned three times in this article, and only once in the context of a pejorative directed at Kazakhstan -- and that's by Lance Armstrong.
- David Roth
July 15, 2009 at 1:58pm
You are excused.
- A guy from Almaty
July 15, 2009 at 11:19pm
So what is the point of this racist article? That the clean sport exists only in the US?
- Chris
July 19, 2009 at 4:05pm
Thanks for the article, David. It's tough to write an original, interesting sports feature and you did. Lance supporters: Chill.
- Anne
July 23, 2009 at 12:13am
Mr.Roth, if you really belive in what you said in the comment, then what was the point of writing this racist article? If you are so concerned about doping, the US athletics team has a very proud track record, doesnt it? And seems you dont know much about the state of sponsorship involved in sport outside the US either. You mention Jutentus FC. Italian automobile major Fiat is the major shareholder of Jutentus. Now if some soccer player from the US were to play for, I assume you would write something along the lines of 'Why is he playing for a team that wears shirts advertising an Italian company? He should get himself transferred to a team sponsored by Ford or GM.' Grow up, mate!
- Somewhere in India
July 23, 2009 at 5:44am
Lance wanted to race and Bruyneel was apparently stuck managing Astana. Lance never retires, this never happens. But he came back. Tour's over, Lance got a podium finish because he's a seriously badass athlete and a freak of nature. I say that in a positive way. The man has a resting heart rate of 32 - 34. If any of you haters had that low rhr, you'd be taken to an emergency room. Lance is now on Team RadioShack. An American company. Look out Contador, you disrespectful jerk. That's Lance you're seeing pass your ass on the way to 1st place in 2010.
- TieFighter
July 28, 2009 at 10:41pm
Please. Somehwere in India, you're a moron. There's no racist overtones in Mr. Roth's article. There aren't even any racist undertones! Since when are citizens of a country a "race?" There are many different races in Kz. It's a shite country when it comes to quality of life, human rights and economics. Lance wouldn't have been associated with Astana at all if Bruyneel wasn't stuck there. I doubt Mr. Roth cares about any of your criticism. He's merely pointing out that ties to Kz may cause some minor irritations or troubles for Lance down the road.
- TieFighter
July 28, 2009 at 10:44pm
It seems to me that the only thing that the author neglected to throw into his piece is the Running of the Jew festivals, Kazakhstan's well-documented national pastime... But that's the New Republic for you... Might as well have placed it on the axis of evil, too, would not have made the quality of the article much worse... Lance is most likely a spent force as a serious competitor in the Tour.. By his own admission, Contador would have beaten him even at his peak.. The point is it's no longer about Lance anymore, and has been this way for some time, why should what he wears be so important? TieFighter, are you Mr.Roth in disguise?
- Rudi
July 29, 2009 at 1:34pm
Nope. I'm not Mr. Roth. Are you Sasha Baron Cohen? Why keep the Borat references going? You need a new angle on your critique. Seen it, heard it, squashed it already.
- TieFighter
July 29, 2009 at 2:27pm