March 28/01 10:00 am - Fraser in Europe, B.C. Ad Controversy, U.S. Rankings, Birthday

Posted by Editor on 03/28/01
 

Fraser Leaves for Europe

After a question was posted on the Forums regarding Gord Fraser's apparent non-inclusion in Mercury-Viatel's upcoming European campaign, we contacted him and got the following immediate response:

" I'm leaving in one hour for Europe! First up for me is Criterium International, then 3 Days of De Panne, Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem, Paris-Roubaix (although my wrist might not be 100% yet and I might have to skip this). Next up is Veenendaal-Veenendaal, GP l'Escault,GP Frankfurt and finally 4 Days of Dunkirk!

I should be home mid-May to rest up for the Philadelphia week. "

Good luck Gord.


Controversial B.C. Radio Ad

This story also came out of a Forum posting - Craftsman Collision Ad. If you have not read the thread, what it involves is a radio ad which thanks all the red light running, stop sign running cyclists who have sent business Craftsman's way.

We decided to follow up on this story, and contacted both Craftsman and the creative agency, Colbert Creative Communication. We struck out at Craftsman - the marketing department are all out of town at a conference - but spoke with Jim Colbert at Colbert Creative Communication. He sent a response:

Thanks for alerting me to the reaction of the Craftsman Collision ad, 'Suicyclist,' that is part of our most recent addition to our long-running radio campaign.

We are frankly flabbergasted by the reaction, and believe the individual who started it has completely missed the point. I want to emphasize that the ad is NOT targeted at cyclists, it is targeted at cyclists who recklessly ignore the rules of the road and put themselves and everyone around them in danger.

The ad is one of part of our tongue-in-cheek 'Bad Driver Awards' ads that have been airing since 1992, and which lampoon road users who choose to ignore common courtesy and the legal rules of the road. Other commercials in the campaign include 'Hotfoot' (Stephan de Gaz), who runs yellow lights; 'Look Ma, No Hands' (Bert Blatherwell), who talks on his cellphone while driving; 'If Looks Could Kill' (Narcissa Vain), who puts her makeup on while she is driving, 'Marathon Man' (Bill Dozer) who drives while tired, etc.

There are 17 commercials in all, 16 of which target car drivers who ignore the rules of the road and common courtesy. This one happens to target irresponsible and reckless cyclists.

As one who bikes daily to work, and who has been in two accidents with cars, I am all too aware of the vulnerability of cyclists! I am also aware that as a group, our vulnerability increases every time one cyclist chooses to openly disregard the rules of the road - by running traffic lights, not using lights at night, not wearing a helmet, and other forms of dangerous behaviour - and diminish respect for all cyclists.

Jim Colbert
Colbert Creative Communication Inc.


2001 U.S. NRC Rankings
(courtesy USA Cycling)

Rankings as of March 26, 2001

Men
1 Trent Klasna Saturn 435 points
2 Levi Leipheimer US Postal Service 240
3 Chris Horner Mercury/Viatel 234
4 Eddy Gragus Jelly Belly 221
5 Baden Cooke Mercury/Viatel 179
6 Roland Green US Postal Service 175
7 Vladimir Miholjevcic KRKA Telekom 156
8 Scott Moninger Mercury/Viatel 149
9 Harm Jansen Saturn 125
10 Michael Rogers Mapei-Quick Step 120

12 Gord Fraser Mercury/Viatel 99
33 Eric Wohlberg Saturn 29
35 Charles Dionne 7up/Colorado Cyclist 24
38 Ryder Hesjedal Subaru-Gary Fisher 21
48 Dominque Perras Marco Polo 11
49 Michael Barry Saturn 10
49 Scott Price Schroeder/Incycle 10
49 Svein Tuft Broadmark Capital 10
64 Jacob Erker Schroeder/Incycle 5
64 Mark Walters Navigators 5

Men's Teams
1 Saturn 824 points
2 Mercury 735
3 US Postal Service 430
4 Jelly Belly 287
5 Prime Alliance 273

Women
1 Genevieve Jeanson Rona Cycling Team 315 points
2 Kimberly Bruckner Saturn-Timex 295
3 Anna Millward Saturn-Timex 274
4 Kim Smith autotrader.com 209
5 Katrina Berger 800.com 194
6 Jimena Florit Sun International 138
7 Sandy Espeseth Intersports 138
8 Lyne Bessette Saturn-Timex 137
9 Tina Mayolo-Pic autotrader.com 122
10 Alison Dunlap Team GT 116

31 Nicole Demars 800.com 31
32 Gina Grain 800.com 30
34 Alison Sydor Subaru-Gary Fisher 27
41 Anne Samplonius Intersports 18
43 Sue Palmer-Komar Jane Cosmetics 16
49 Annie Gariepy autotrader.com 10
61 Heather Cole Soul Craft 5
61 Chrissy Redden Subaru-Gary Fisher 5
61 Melanie McQuaid Rona Cycling Team 5
61 Claire Hall-Patch Subaru-Gary Fisher 5
61 Leah Goldstein 800.com 5
61 Darnelle Moore Press Enterprise 5
61 Manon Jutras Rona Cycling Team 5
61 Andrea Hannos Press Enterprise 5
61 Erin Carter Intersports 5
78 Stacey Spencer Proctor & Gamble 4

Women's Teams
1 Saturn-Timex 872 points
2 autotrader.com 545
3 800.com 402
4 Rona Cycling Team 325
5 Intersports 218


Happy Birthday To...

Intersports team member Sandy Espeseth, today.