Confirmed: NO GITANE PRO TEAM FOR 2011

Post by **sandranian** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:18 am

Really bad news: Gitane/Definitive will NOT be sponsoring a pro team for 2011. This has been confirmed. I am personally really bummed about it. No reasons given at this time, but it usually boils down to $$$.

nicolas · Post by **nicolas** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:33 am

That's a bummer...

I'm having a hard time imagining that such an investment would not transform into sales ?

Maybe it's due to the uncertainty surrounding french teams for the 2011 Tour de France ?

Wisey · Post by **Wisey** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:35 pm

Perhaps it is positioning. If they see Bi#@%&i as their flagship brand, then they may choose to put all their eggs (budget for pro teams) in that one basket, rather than have two competing brands from the one parent company. Perhaps they are targeting a different market with Gitane that is less influenced by what the Pro's ride.

Nicolas, where do the Definitive bikes sit relative to other brands with price?

nicolas · Post by **nicolas** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 11:50 pm

From what I've seen,they're pretty competitive, affordable bikes.

Maybe that's part of the problem. In most magazines they tend to test the "dream bikes", i/e more than 6 000?...

I think that, for the pro Saur Sojasun bikes, wheels were more expensive than the actual frames...

Wisey · Post by **Wisey** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 12:32 am

That would make sense. They seem to be aiming the Definitive brand at a segment of the market who are price sensitive. i.e. the most important factor in their purchase is the price. Another segment of the market may be more concerned with perceived quality. So they aim another brand (Bianchi) at that segment. i.e. A Pro team rides this bike therefore it must be high quality. In all likelihood the frames come out of the same factory and are exactly the same quality with some aesthetic differences. It's just about their marketing spread and who they are aiming for. If this was the case, it would be pointless spending large sums of money to sponsor a Pro team, as much as that annoys fanatics like us.

nicolas · Post by **nicolas** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 3:10 am

Aaaaahhh, but I'll be bringing the Gitane colors back to the Tour de France roads !

Well, sort of...

... And one less for Wisey !

Wisey · Post by **Wisey** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 1:34 pm

Nicolas, I would love to be sitting up at 2am in the morning watching the L'Alpe d'Huez stage live and see "gitane" and "Fignon" painted all over the road. Perhaps a "merci Fignon"