Updated: Locally sponsored team flying high in Tour de France
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on July 8th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
[Update 7/9 **SPOILER ALERT -- SEE BELOW***]
flying the new blue Team Columbia kit.
(Photo: Team Columbia)
A team flying the logo of Portland-based Columbia Sportswear is having one heck of a Tour de France.
Team Columbia has been near the front of several stages and, after four stages, the team ranks in second place, less than two minutes behind first. In the general classification, Team Columbia has three riders in the top ten, including Kim Kirchen, who is just 12 seconds out of first place.
But the Tour is far from over. 15 stages remain and there is still a lot of racing ahead. But even so, it seems Columbia’s last-minute decision to jump into the big leagues of bike racing is already paying off.
To follow the Tour de France, check out daily photos and results at VeloNews.com.
———–
UPDATE, 7/9 — Team Columbia’s Mark Cavendish won today’s stage! Read all about it on CyclingNews.com.]
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July 8th, 2008 15:39
Grandma Boyle must be pleased.
July 8th, 2008 15:41
The nerdiest of the PDX Big Three wound up grabbing one of the sweetest bike teams. Good going. Wondering if Adidas is regretting their decision... and whats up with Nike totally pulling out of cycling, yet being the jersey sponsor for the tour?
July 8th, 2008 15:45
Gert would be kicking their butts if they weren't doing better! :)
July 8th, 2008 15:49
HOt.
July 8th, 2008 16:32
Bugaboo...who ever told you Nike pulled out of cycling?
http://www.nike.com/nikecycling/
July 8th, 2008 16:38
bahueh:
http://bikeportland.org/2007/04/02/nike-drops-cycling-line/
July 8th, 2008 16:48
If you go to nike.com and filter all cycling products there are only three (women's jerseys) - maybe Bugaboo knows something?
July 8th, 2008 16:52
That team (formerly High Road) has been dominant all season, so it's no real surprise to see the success continue in the Tour. Good to see, just the same. Now I need to get one of those jerseys. The new Garmin-Chipotle kits are sweet too.
July 8th, 2008 17:05
bahueh,
Nike Cycling was a partnership between Trek and Nike. The majority of the clothing and shoes were available only from Trek dealers, some of the Lance 10/2 product was available from Nike.
That partnership ended in 2007.
Nike is no longer making cycling apparel or shoes.
If you go to the Nike Cycling website above and click on shop online you will find a grand total of 3 items all of which are on clearance.
So Nike is out of cycling.
July 8th, 2008 22:24
"So Nike is out of cycling"
Unless you want to wear stuff with "LiveStrong" emblazoned all over it, which Nike is still producing for the LAF.
July 8th, 2008 22:38
FYI, I have two Nike cycling products from a year or so ago, a merino classic style jersey, and a pair of spd shoes.
Both were expensive, and both are very disappointing. The shoes turned out to be very uncomfortable (and have been replaced with Sidi's), and the jersey would stretch beyond imagination during a ride (6-8 inches), and is being replaced with an Earth, Wind and Rider jersey.
So I think Nike made a good decision to get out of cycling products :-)
July 9th, 2008 06:21
Yeah, but the focus of the post was Columbia and cycling. Does anyone know if they will produce a quality line of cycling clothing? I understand most of their products come from China, but wouldn't it be great to see a firm like Columbia throwing down some locally produced kits and maybe sponsoring some local clubs?
July 9th, 2008 06:55
The number of items that were available under the Nike name when Trek involved was in the hundreds
Go look at livestrong.org and you'll see 13 items.
Nike does continue to produce high end high tech skin suits for teams but they have pretty much given up the retail market.
You can read about it here.
http://bikeportland.org/2007/04/02/nike-trek-end-relationship-future-consumer-offerings-uncertain/
July 9th, 2008 08:13
Cavendish FTW!!!
July 9th, 2008 09:05
jeez! Cavendish (team Columbia's top sprinter) started his sprint from just about the next town - and still crossed the line a bike length up on everyone else! He's the man! I think we just saw the changing of the guard. Freire, Zabel, Hushovd all looked like they were going backwards. McEwen, Steegmans and Dean weren't even in the mix - couldn't hold the pace in the last 500 meters.
I would say that Columbia Sportswear has to be pretty pleased with their decision to sponsor team HighRoad right now.
July 9th, 2008 09:16
huh..learn something every day...shows how much Nike cycling stuff I own and/or shop for..
July 9th, 2008 09:24
I have to say that I'm really enjoying the Columbia kits... but Columbia doesn't make bikey stuff!
July 9th, 2008 10:12
Ok, this post was about Columbia Sportswear and the Tour de France, so I want to ask ya'll - where are you watching the Tour this year?
I have yet to tune in and am not sure of spots beyond St. Honore and Costello's
I still yearn for the golden days of Chris King sponsored showings at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne
July 9th, 2008 10:33
Purely a marketing vehicle. Columbia is using the team sponsorship to drum up more sales in Europe. I understand that they have no plans at this time to get into cycling apparel.
July 9th, 2008 10:41
Columbia is using the sponsorship to pimp its Omni-Shade line of clothing. It blocks the sun's rays... which is why there's a little sunburst on the sleeves and legs of the kit.
July 9th, 2008 10:51
Do you think perhaps you can specify *SPOILER ALERT* when you post the results on the main page? Some of us haven't watched today's race yet. I guess I don't have to watch it now, thanks.
July 9th, 2008 10:54
"but Columbia doesn't make bikey stuff!"
neither does any of the team sponsors in this year's tour... natural gas, irrigation tubes, the french lottery, snoring medicine, flooring, computers, phone cards, mineral water, coated steel... you could argue that Saunier Duval-Scott has Scott, so that's bikey, but Saunier Duval makes boilers... so that almost cancels out Scott's coolness. Garmin's getting closer, they make a cycling computer...
so yeah, Columbia has more ties to cycling than most other teams.
July 9th, 2008 10:59
"do you think perhaps you can specify *SPOILER ALERT*"
sorry Big Kahuna,
my mistake.. i have edited the post.
July 9th, 2008 11:03
Its great to see a local team doing so well.
I hate that I cant watch the coverage live from the internet. I get to work in the morning, and the little tracker bar on the TDF website does nothing for me. I new Cavedish won it but didnt know what team he was on until now. Hopefully them doing well will help ingrain athletic cycling in Portland even more. Maybe a little competition will spark Nike into sponsoring a team before long, im kind of disappointed with them dropping cycling after Lance retired.
July 9th, 2008 13:53
It's a good day in the Oregonian for local cycling fans on Wed. 4 bike racing articles (two of them headling the front of the Sports section) re Columbia/Nike sponsorship of racing, an expanded 2009 Oregon Pro bike race, the Cascade Classic in Bend and yesterday's Tour de France time trial. It's like being in Belgium reading the paper the day after the Tour of Flanders.
July 9th, 2008 15:55
Grimm..its not a "local team" per se..its a locally sponsored team. the riders live all over the world. the only "local teams" are amateur squads in these here parts...rains here too much for most of these guys to train adequately..
July 9th, 2008 16:07
"...shows how much Nike cycling stuff I own and/or shop for..."
Or that you just waste time talking sh*t on bikeportland without any idea what you're talking about.
July 9th, 2008 16:15
I tried looking around for some Columbia kit like a hat or a jersey and came up with nothing. I was hoping for a hat, so I could represent, like baseball fans can with their favorite team's hat.
Team Columbia has been up front a few times and almost podiumed on first day. Just to see them at the front almost every day is pretty damn cool.
July 9th, 2008 16:24
I believe the kits are made by MOA.
July 9th, 2008 19:59
I could have sworn Columbia moved their HQ out of Portland because the city didn't give them enough of a handout.
Their website says their HQ is in Portland...still...I could have sworn.
A few years ago I was in Little Rock, AR. I was excited to see Columbia Sportswear product in a store; alas, it was made in China.
July 9th, 2008 20:16
This quote pretty much sums up Cavendish's public persona for me.
"In a news conference after the race, Cavendish, who is 23 and rarely at a loss for praise for himself, said he was frustrated that many fans in Britain seemed not to appreciate just how good he is."
From the nytimes
July 10th, 2008 08:54
Columbia takes Yellow!!!
July 10th, 2008 09:03
007:
you're sorta right. Columbia moved out by Sunset High School, which is outside of Multnomah County but still technically in Portland. My company is just down the street from them, and I can tell you that you could not tell this area from Beaverton.
I heard some rumors that they wanted to move back to inner Portland, but the handouts were not forthcoming.
July 10th, 2008 11:13
That Columbia logo is looking pretty good on a yellow background. Gert actually cracked a smile...
July 10th, 2008 17:26
I thought their HQ was down by Port of Portland.
July 12th, 2008 11:22
Columbia long, long ago stopped producing clothing in the Portland and the US, moving to China and getting rid of its clothing workers. They did put lots of money into advertising. They are as much of a US company as Nike (maybe even less as Nike does make a few things in the US) - corporate HQ here, rely on contractor labor to produce goods overseas (China, El Salvador, etc.). Not much info to be found on transparency on contractor/corporate labor & environmental practices. Also, Columbia is not in teh City of Portland - it has a Portland address due to the zip code. It is actually in an unincorporated area of Washington County and pays no property taxes at all to the City of Portland for this location.