Second season of Buckler Cycling Team
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 35
PAGE 4
The Buckler Cycle Racing Team has concluded its second
season. The bikes have been taken to the repair workshop,
the triathlon handlebars put back in store, the aerodynamic
cycling shoes replaced by comfortable trainers and the
riders are soaking up the sunshine on the Maledives So,
it's all rest and relaxation in the Buckler camp?
Buckler on schedule
Edwig van Hooydonck, winner of this year's prestigious Tour of Flanders.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. The riders in the Buckler
Cycling Team may be enjoying a
well-earned holiday, but the organi
sational staff who back the team are
kept busy during the winter season.
Evaluating the 1991 season and
drawing up plans for the new season.
One of the people with an inten
sive interest in the achievements of
the BucklerteamisThomas Hakkaart
Thomas Hakkaart was closely invol
ved in setting up the sponsorship and
filling in its details. On the whole he
is satisfied about the 1991 season.
'In 1991 the Buckler team achieved
34% more publicity than in 1990.
The average for all teams increased
by 12%, so Buckler stands head and
shoulders above the rest.'
But he is a little disappointed that
the number of wins in the Tour de
France was not as high as last year.
'But, having said that, we did suc
ceed this year in reaching Paris with
the whole team intact. Unlike last
year when Peter Winnen and Eric
Vanderaerden were forced to pull
out', says Thomas Hakkaart.
Lining the route
'Le Tour', as the Tour de France
is currently known, is by far the most
important race of the year for spon
sors. As much as 35% of all cycling
publicity is focused on 'Le Tour'.
According to a recent study conduc
ted by Sports Marketing Survey for
various sponsors - including Buckler
- the publicity value of the Tour in
Europe is worth some 75 million
guilders. During the Tour the names
of the sponsors were clearly visible
for a total of 57 hours. That total is
calculated by adding together the
times when the names were fully in
view for at least one second.
According to Thomas Hakkaart,
the Tour's publicity value was even
higher than 75 million guilders:
'Sports Marketing Survey does not
measure all media. For instance,
regional daily papers are not covered
by the survey and, of the TV stations,
they do not include Eurosport.
Another element they don't measure
is the number of people lining the
route to watch the race go by. In the
classic races there can easily be
between 100,000 and 500,000 spec
tators and in the Tour as many as 15
million people line the route. If
you're talking about the commercial
value, then you certainly can't over
look figures like those.'
Sporting 1991
From a sporting viewpoint the
Buckler team was slightly less suc
cessful this year than last. As com
pared with the 72 wins in 1990, there
were 53 victories this year. Is that a
great disappointment? 'No. At the
start of the season it had already been
decided that this year the focus
would be less on the quantity and
more on the quality of the races that
we won', explains Thomas Hakkaart.
Jan Raas' objectives for 1991
were a win in a World Cup race, one
of the top placings in the Vuelta
(Tour of Spain) and a significant role
in the Tour de France. Unfortunately,
not all those objectives were achie
ved. But Raas did not have to wait
long for the first Buckler victory in a
World Cup ranking race.
His wishes were fulfilled by
Edwig van Hooydonck, who took
first place in the Tour of Flanders on
7 April. Shortly afterwards Frans
Maassen won the second World Cup
race of the season: the Amstel Gold
Race. Jelle Nijdam featured promi
nently in the Tour de France with his
win in the 5th stage. Alas, the results
in the Spanish Vuelta were slightly
disappointing for various reasons.
Steven Rooks, specially recruited to
bring in honours for the Buckler
team in the Spanish Tour, had
suffered a fall about one and a half
months before the Vuelta whilst
riding in the Tirreno - Adriatico race.
Although he'd largely recovered, he
was still not completely on top form
and couldn't win a place on the ros
trum of honour.
In other respects, too, the Tour of
Spain was something of a let-down:
hotel accommodation for the non-
Spanish teams was minimal, almost
shamefully so. On one occasion the
riders couldn't even get washed in
the hotel. Add to that the bad weath
er - with one stage cancelled because
of snow - and the 'party' was com
plete!
Crown on work
On Dutch soil this year's racing
performances were outstanding.
Apart from Frans Maassen's victory
in the Amstel Gold Race, there was
also the Dutch championship jersey
for Steven Rooks and, after the close
of the Grand Prix de la Libération,
the Buckler team again went home
with their third World Cup.
For Raas the Grand Prix de la
Libération was the crown on his
work, as the six triumphant riders
were all discovered by Raas person
ally and had all been trained by him.
Raas: 'It does me good to see that
they're forcing their way through to
the top. I've got particularly good
hopes for Patrick Eyk and Wilco
Zuijderwijk. It was their first year as
profs, so there is plenty to come from
them yet'.
Activities
The Buckler sponsorship does not
stop at a financial injection. On the
contrary, that's just the beginning.
All European operating companies
have an involvement in this interna
tional sponsorship. Together they set
up all sorts of activities relating to
the sponsorship, such as the hospita
lity programme, the publication of
'tie-in ads' and other promotional
activities.
It is the first time that a sponsor
ship has been utilised in this way
within Heineken. Harrie Jansen,
Public Relations Manager of the
Buckler Cycling Team, organises a
great deal of this hospitality: 'The
hospitality programme followed the
same pattern as last year. So, there
were a number of people, mainly
customers and business relations of
Buckler, who enjoy
ed the most exciting
day of their lives.'
During the Tour of
Spain a buffet lunch
(Almuerzo Buckler)
was offered each day
to the reporters and
the race entourage
under the motto
'Time for a Buckler'.
All team managers
and jury members
were also provided
with a 'Musette': a
packed lunch of
sandwiches, fruit and
- of course - Buckler.
In that way they could enjoy their
Buckler lunch without having to
shift their attention from the race.
'The 'Musette' was enormously pop
ular. If someone had accidentally
been missed out when they were dis
tributed, he would come up to Jan
Raas in the car and ask where his
'Musette' was!', says Harrie Jansen.
Looking ahead
1992 will be the last season when
the Jan Raas team will ride in the
Buckler colours. The sponsorship
will not be extended. When the spon
soring agreement was made, it had
already been stipulated that the spon
sorship would run for a period of
three years. This period should be
long enough to achieve the sponsor
ship's principal objective: building
up a brand recognition of more than
75% in a number of European coun
tries.
Meanwhile, this objective is well
on target in all countries. 'We're on
schedule, and we expect that our
objectives will have been achieved
by the end of the next cycle racing
season', says Thomas Hakkaart. This
is, of course, due not only to the
sponsorship but also to the combined
strength of the joint promotional
activities and - last but not least - to
the quality of Buckler alcohol-free.
In 1993 Buckler plans to shift the
emphasis to the essential attributes
of the brand. Having built up aware
ness for the brand name, more atten
tion will be devoted to the brand
image. Instruments other than the
sponsoring of cycle racing are more
suitable for this purpose.
Sporting plans
Jan Raas will be continuing with
three men fewer in 1992. Because of
a wage increase for a number of
riders, the team had to be cut back
and it was impossible to offer new
Frans Maassen under
manager Jan Raas.
the watchful eye of team
contracts to the three involved. Work
simply has to be done within the
constraints of a set budget.
The sporting plans for next year
are the same as for 1991. Jan Raas:
'We'll again be concentrating on the
World Cup races and on ultimately
winning the World Cup. This year
we finished up second in the rank
ings and that's not the 'right' place.
Next year there will again be thirteen
World Cup races and we aim to win
as many of them as we can. Besides
that, the Vuelta and the Tour de
France will again be very important.
We've got the right riders for those
events. That I'm absolutely sure of'.
Heading for victory in the Grand
Prix de la Libération.
