In a video on his youtube channel over the weekend, Pro racer Lewis Buchanan revealed he'd received communication from the UCI informing him that due ...
By mark
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Sock hight, puppy paws and now only fans. They really are spoilsports at the UCI.
(Yeah, I’m not massively in favour of Only Fans sponsorship of sport. It doesn’t seem a very inclusive way to go.)
To say only fans is the same as twitter... I have doubts about the quality of 280 character text porn.
Product definition: "Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need. It includes physical objects and services.". So services, such as a media platform are also a product. "very uneducated".
He signed a contract/did a deal with the UCI, then another with Only Fans. Just read the contracts before signing, and it would be clear they are not fundamentally incompatible.
Wonder if his OF sponsorship relies on him competing to get paid? That'd be ironic.
Is he intending to race at an uci event? If not then it doesn’t matter. It’s just he sent ahead to be doing the enduro series this year
Did his frame sponsor drop him because of OF too?
I thought he'd been on Norco frames for a while - and now seems to be buying his own....
I guess the real question has to be is it really worth it From Lewis' perspective?
Hanging on to a sponsor and trying to battle a ruling if the governing body has excluded you from the sport? How big a part of his sponsorship does Only Fans make up?
I suspect that Only Fans are trying to shed their reputation by sponsoring various sports, but it's never going to work, their reputation for specialist grot is well established now...
I doubt OF are surprised by this, part of their strategy to try to become more 'acceptable'.
Not that I think that's actually possible...
Lewis has a tendency to assume he knows best, and to be fair, in his career he's been proved right a few times, but this just feels like "I choose to interpret it this way and there is no other viable explanation". And it makes him sound whiny and a bit dim here, not to mention selfimportant- it's a 10 minute video ffs! That's the worst bit, it's not like he gets paid by the second here.
Thing is, the UCI's rules are prurient and outdated here but they seem to be implementing them exactly right. As much of a joke as the organisation can be I don't think they can be faulted here on the execution.
But this is a generational thing. People who got their porn from a backstreet sex shop, or from a top shelf, or on pay-per-view, or on a paid internet site, or on pornhub- depending on their age- all know that what they did was absolutely fine and normal and everyone was doing it, but whatever the next generation does is disgusting and wrong. There's a generation that'll pretty much agree with Lewis here, but then they'll probably all turn their noses up at haptic ai porn or whatever it is the next generation likes.
(in general, onlyfans aren't trying to be more respectable, they're trying to have it recognised how respectable they already are to many people, by the older people who own companies and write rules)
And considering the UCI can't even stop riders from injecting tardigrade sweat into their eyeballs, I don't think they're going to sort out porn hypocrisy. They're all too busy watching Big Hairy Muffs VII on vhs.
It was the finest one in the collection though...
And a sneaky edit whilst I was typing my response out. Everyone knows that episode wasn't the best of that series!
but then they’ll probably all turn their noses up at haptic vr porn or whatever it is the next generation likes.
you have my attention....
From what i can see he last raced a UCI event in August 2021... it doesn't seem to be a massive priority ?
UCI - "Yeah, we're OK with Ineos or states who behead people but you know, we have to be careful".
- it’s a 10 minute video ffs! That’s the worst bit, it’s not like he gets paid by the second here.
IIRC they do now, or at least they get paid more for longer videos. Which is why every new video is pointlessly long.
YouTube has been pushing longer content for a while now.
Only if you do it right- ie people watch it and the ads. Lots of people drag out videos in the expectation it'll get more ads etc but that only works if people actually watch the ads, a 10 minute boring video that people watch 3 minutes of or click to the end doesn't earn any more than a shorter vid.
Though if Lew's understood the cpm rules as well as the UCI rules maybe we'll get another video in a month complaining that he didn't get his internet munney.
A stopped clock is occasionally right. That's the UCI in this case. Only* really is only for *.
From what i can see he last raced a UCI event in August 2021… it doesn’t seem to be a massive priority ?
He's ostensibly an EWS racer, which this year is UCI sanctioned.
Did he not say he was stopping racing as he wasn't interested in it any more?
He’s ostensibly an EWS racer, which this year is UCI sanctioned
Well he only raced 2 in 2022 and didn't start one of those.
https://www.rootsandrain.com/rider883/lewis-buchanan/results/
https://road.cc/content/news/uci-defends-decision-honour-turkmenistan-dictator-274491?amp
UCI can jog on.
IIRC they do now, or at least they get paid more for longer videos. Which is why every new video is pointlessly long.
YouTube has been pushing longer content for a while now.
Yep, pretty much lost interest in it as a result, I don't have the attention span or time to watch a 30 min video which should have been 90 seconds long, or a 10 min vid which really has only one sentence worth of information in it...
UCI are just wrong here. I'm not going to get het up to the point of opaque asterisks but Onlyfans is a commercial site for consenting adults doing consenting adult things. Last I checked they didn't advertise to or influence children or use adult content to promote themselves.
So what's the problem?
God forbid sex workers have a safe platform to offer services or we actually acknowledge these people exist. I bet some of you would have an aneurism if you found out about the Porn Pedallers. No, you don't have to give your approval but you know what? Nobody asked for it or expects it. It just is and it's legal so just deal with it.
Good call imo. Porn should have no place in sports.
The Facebook post about this article by the good people at this magazine is quite amusing, due to his mum (we presume?) being all over the comments.
Good call imo. Porn should have no place in sports.
Well since we're at it how about gambling?
How about countries with appalling human rights records?
How about companies who support the NRA?
How about big oil?
How are any of those any better or less damaging than a porn site that's behind an actual pay wall so you can't actually see anything unless you're legally old enough?
I'm not seeing an issue with OnlyFans myself... but you'd have to think that he'd have seen certain aspects of it likely to happen? I mean you wouldn't expect to see Pornhub advertising, it's still taboo in society. Although it's easy to argue that it shouldn't be.
It was a risky move for him and it's not quite paid off.
It was a risky move for him and it’s not quite paid off.
I'm sure he's paid very well for it by OF!
I’m sure he’s paid very well for it by OF!
That's the question/rub... i don't know what he's getting... it could be £1000, could be £50,000 who knows.
But this conversation is about OnlyFans, @squirrelking, and I agree with the decision.
it could be £1000, could be £50,000 who knows.
No idea, but given the outcome was entirely predictable, I assume he's been paid to be rejected, so that was all budgeted in when he negotiated the deal.
Unless he's a bit naive, in which case he's shot himself in the foot....
Yep, pretty much lost interest in it as a result, I don’t have the attention span or time to watch a 30 min video which should have been 90 seconds long, or a 10 min vid which really has only one sentence worth of information in it…
I'm sorry, I'm confused. Are you talking about clips on OnlyFans?
Yep, pretty much lost interest in it as a result, I don’t have the attention span or time to watch a 30 min video which should have been 90 seconds long, or a 10 min vid which really has only one sentence worth of information in it…
30mins of Lewis would be a struggle, thats if the video stays up long enough to watch it.
The videos for me are dull and have little in the way of any information or enlightenment. Trying to stay relevant when he's moved away from racing, onlyfans clearly pays well as he's doing alright from it for now.
UCI are just wrong here
Well, that's for them to decide really, not us. I agree with you in that I don't have a problem with his chosen advertising and you can always find hypocrisy in any advertising of anything and sports organisations don't seem to have a problem taking money themselves from all sorts of sources that you and I might find problematic. The sports -washing that F1/FIA indulges in is particularly egregious.
But, they're not "wrong", they've just made a decision about what they'll accept
For example;
Pornhub's business model for allowing sex-workers to promote themselves on it's platform isn't a million miles away from what Only Fans are doing, the difference being that Pornhub is also home to some very troubling and illegal activity, and it's not clear that Pornhub care over much. I don't think any normal person doesn't think that a racer with the Pornhub logo on the chin of a helmet (insert* your own joke here) is something I want to explain to a kid watching the DH on Sunday. By banning OF, the UCI are letting everyone know that without having to have that argument with them.
*It just gets worse really...
I’m sorry, I’m confused. Are you talking about clips on OnlyFans?
YT and their drive to lengthen content length...
UCI are just wrong here
Their game, their rules.
They can do what they like and always have...
@benos do you have a reason why?
Well, that’s for them to decide really, not us.
*sigh*
Yeah you're right, as said by footflaps it's their game so their rules. I just think that of a large wedge that's already well hammered in Onlyfans is the very thin edge.
I mean you wouldn’t expect to see Pornhub advertising
[s] Pretty sure there's a football team with them as a shirt sponsor.[/s]
Edit: seems I misremembered. But they have sponsored a motorcycle race team https://www.dmarge.com/pornhub-mv-agusta
squirrelking
Yeah you’re right, as said by footflaps it’s their game so their rules.
If UCI were a company I'd agree but they aren't... they are a defacto monopoly in that NGO grey area and a active (expanding) monopoly.
If they were a utility company it would be closer to water than energy... at least in terms of you can't pick your supplier and if your supplier decides to dump a load of raw sewage you can't just swap provider as a protest.
UCI can support or allow
How about countries with appalling human rights records?
How about companies who support the NRA?
How about big oil?
and the only thing a individual or team can do is "not race" in the international (and to an extent national) circuits.
I was just looking and Russian/Belarusian privateers are banned (and other measures) whereas those in sponsored teams (based outside) are not.
On one hand anyone competing isn't shooting or bombing Ukraine at the time and on the other I doubt Putin has lost any sleep over the Russian DH team... so this only seems to punish the riders for an accident of birth and seems more about "We need to make a statement" than actually achieving anything?
and the only thing a individual or team can do is “not race” in the international (and to an extent national) circuits.
Not 100% sure on the finer details but i think the top two divisions of team have a minimum calendar they have to fulfil or they either get fined or put their license for the following season at risk (and lose invites to other, more prestigious events)
mert
Not 100% sure on the finer details but i think the top two divisions of team have a minimum calendar they have to fulfil or they either get fined or put their license for the following season at risk (and lose invites to other, more prestigious events)
I was more fundamental than that... other than hardline/crankworx and a few slopestyle events there is almost nothing a pro-level rider can meaningfully compete in. (Self interest - bloody annoying when they turn up at local events and set a time you can't even dream of)
At a really broad basic level (without the finer details) it's really UCI and their "subservient" national bodies or not a lot.
It's not like Trek/YT (Dare I say Yeti) have any viable option than UCI for DH and now Enduro???
@squirrelking As I said, *I* think porn should not have a place in sport. That's why I agree with the UCI on this, regardless of where their authority might derive from.
The whole thing is just clickbait as there is evidence to suggest he is planning or even eligible to race any elite UCI event anyway
As I said, *I* think porn should not have a place in sport. That’s why I agree with the UCI on this, regardless of where their authority might derive from.
Yes I read that the first time round.
I'll make my question clearer - can you expand on why?
On reflection maybe there is a case for a 'porn' ban in cycling, because it's a sport that struggles to attract and put on races for an even split of men and women.
Either women's fields are very thin (MTB) or there's not enough interest to maintain a full calendar (pro road tour). And against that background it's arguably wrong, it's a dog whistle version of having pit/podium girls.
If we were talking about netball, hockey, the WSL, or something like that then the argument would perhapse be different.
Who do you think the majority of these sex workers (call them what they are) are?
That's what I don't get. There seems to be backlash from men deciding that women need protecting from That Sort of Thing* but I've not heard anything from the female side. Obviously there are a lot of demographics at play here but, I dunno, I'm not going to start taking pointers on feminism from guys. I want to listen to the female perspective but I've heard nothing so far.
*not just here
Edit: I understand concerns relating to the accessibility of the sport and uptake by women but honestly, making their minds up for them isn't much of an improvement. That's before the utterly shite prize money disparity across disciplines (not just the UCI at fault here). There's a lot more things wrong than the marmite sponsor of one athlete.
If we're going to debate ethics then I'm all for it but so long as one area gets special treatment, especially when overall harm is considered then I'm afraid the present argument doesn't hold water as far as I'm concerned.
@squirrelking Ah, OK. I thought you were lumping your question to me in with the response you quoted immediately after.
Why? Ultimately I think porn and the sex industry in general is a significant net harm to society (for both men and women) and so I’d rather not see it celebrated, normalised or promoted in other industries.
I probably won’t be able to respond if you have any more questions, partly because I’m getting ready for a funeral early tomorrow morning, but also because I’m not really interested in debating the pros and cons of the sex industry on here.
Isn’t the whole point of his sponsorship to try to promote the fact they’re not a porn site? I know of quite a few artists and comic writers, etc that use Only Fans in the same way that others use Patreon and other crowdsourcing sites.
Yes, there are people on there that produce adult content (I’m too poor to find out myself) and the6 have got most of the publicity (probably due to the likes of the Daily Mail, “think of the children”), but they want to show that they are more than that (or sport wash) by sponsoring a wide range of athletes in different sports. Is Mary Whitehouse on the UCI board of directors these days?
And haven’t we all (as bikers, the industry and the UCI themselves) been whinging and harping on about wanting more outside sponsorship for the sport?
And let’s be honest it’s not he same as PornHub, Playboy or Penthouse sponsoring a rider as they are 100% smut.
(Edited for spelling)
And it makes him sound whiny and a bit dim here
It does. Selective interpretation of 'services' when there is a clear and unambiguous definition.
Reminds me of a teenager in the wrong squirming to get out of it.
It is a very interesting social experiment.
Obviously Only Fans crosses the lines for the UCI bods, probably because they have only heard about it / used it for viewing porn under the radar. PornHub on the other hand appears on the side of race cars, but I guess these days its more sociably accepted, although its tracked record disgraceful allowing under aged porn etc.
Then you have every man and his dog using Twitter which does much harm to many people physically and psychologically but it is socially acceptable so all mainstream companies, including the NHS use /endorse it.
Anyhow his sponsorship has already done its job, lots of middle aged men are now more curious to go and find out a bit more about Only Fans as their wife's have already blocked PornHub on their wifi network
Isn’t the whole point of his sponsorship to try to promote the fact they’re not a porn site?
How much content on OF isn't porn though? This is sportswashing just as much as Qatar hosting the football world cup.
OF is problematic for a number of reasons, not least of which are the endless clickbait articles in eg. the MEN* saying how much money people have made off it - but for every one who makes big money, there will be hundreds of potentially vulnerable people being exploited for pocket change.
(*The editor of the MEN recently did a ridiculous interview where she said she wanted the MEN to be like the New York Times. Cue hollow laughter from everyone)
And let’s be honest it’s not he same as PornHub, Playboy or Penthouse sponsoring a rider as they are 100% smut.
Playboy and Penthouse used to have some interesting articles, I'll have you know. Probably why they rarely ended up as hedgeporn, the connoisseurs used to keep them safe for their informative content.
Obviously Only Fans crosses the lines for the UCI bods
In a way donating to the NRA doesnt...
but then what do the UCI actually do in MTB? (do as in an actual action)
1/ Set rules
2/ have some jerseys
3/ take money
4/ be "we are the UCI"
I don't think they actually organise events, build the tracks or even do the travel for the athletes themselves...
To paraphrase someone commenting on PB it's not a difficult job to call a ski resort, tell them if they pay you then you'll stick some summer revenue their way and they'll be hearing from your "event partner" if interested
Playboy and Penthouse used to have some interesting articles
Uh Huh...Remember any of them?
https://www.vogue.com/article/10-surprising-playboy-articles
Not specifically to make a point, but there were a surprisingly high quality of contributors and a few genuinely literary important articles hidden behind the bushes.
eg: Fahrenheit 451 - had little circulation when published, then was serialised in Playboy, became the classic and at the same time helped Playboy through the early issues.
I guess that's the benefit of being an autocratic governing body, you can have a flexible moral compass. See also BC, CIPD, etc, etc.
I guess that’s the benefit of being an autocratic governing body, you can have a flexible moral compass. See also BC, CIPD, etc, etc.
True but I guess the real benefit of working at one is you can have donations direct to your own bank account as well.
True but I guess the real benefit of working at one is you can have donations direct to your own bank account as well.
Also very true.
The donations will just be resting in people's own bank accounts, though
but then what do the UCI actually do in MTB? (do as in an actual action)
1/ Set rules
2/ have some jerseys
3/ take money
4/ be “we are the UCI”I don’t think they actually organise events, build the tracks or even do the travel for the athletes themselves…
what do they do in road and track?
are they building velodromes, designing courses, organising road closures, negotiating sponsorship? genuine question, I dont know.
Sports (as in competitive sport, not riding your bike for fun) need a governing/organisational body of some sort.
Call them fiscally inefficient, traditionalist luddites; sure. But don't call them useless.
@theotherjonv, Playboy is also where the modern version of the Illuminati conspiracy was given lots of column space.
Makes you think.
what do they do in road and track?
are they building velodromes, designing courses, organising road closures, negotiating sponsorship? genuine question, I don't know.
Genuinely don't know... however the local equivalent (BC) seems to do "some stuff" ... at least at the velodrome/track level
Sports (as in competitive sport, not riding your bike for fun) need a governing/organisational body of some sort.
I've no idea about the road/track stuff but surely calling it "the same sport" as DH/Enduro and prob XC is about as accurate as saying Rugby is just another "football" with a slightly different ball?
Then for XC/BMX you have the IOC and various national bodies as well...
Call them fiscally inefficient, traditionalist luddites; sure. But don’t call them useless.
It seems like lots of bodies (in both senses) no really doing much other than "being"?
I think most governing bodies don’t do much for the sport per se. They set the rules and take money. What do fifa actually do? The FIA? To give just 2 examples.
They set the rules
Indeed, I think the rule that Lewis fell foul of was particularly plain as well.
I’ve no idea about the road/track stuff but surely calling it “the same sport” as DH/Enduro and prob XC is about as accurate as saying Rugby is just another “football” with a slightly different ball?
A fair point - if there was a different organisation, a UMTBI or something, and all the off road disciplines switched to that; I'd be equally as happy.
Its happened before, in various sports, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes they become separate rival entities, in others athletes happily cross between them.
Putting our off-road biking exceptionalist train of thought aside...
Aren't football and rugby different sports with similar names whereas MTB, road and track cycling are different disciplines of the same sport?
If XC broke away from the UCI, it'd no longer be in the Olympics unless the IOC accepted a new international governing body for off-road riding. Which is more than doubtful.
ocrider
Putting our off-road biking exceptionalist train of thought aside…
Aren’t football and rugby different sports with similar names whereas MTB, road and track cycling are different disciplines of the same sport?
I think the "exceptionalist" train of thought could just be reversed.
Ignore the names and they are both using balls.. it could easily be square and tennis ?
A DH MTB has as much to so with a road or track bike as a squash racquet has to a tennis racket...
If XC broke away from the UCI, it’d no longer be in the Olympics unless the IOC accepted a new international governing body for off-road riding. Which is more than doubtful.
I guess I just see that as a scale-up.
Isn't football and olympic sport? How is it being an Olympic sport make it "better" than Rugby ???
Is XC "better" than DH or BMX "better" than slopestyle?
The Olympics just seems like an extra layer of faff and buerocracy?
A DH MTB has as much to so with a road or track bike as a squash racquet has to a tennis racket…
probably less, but you have gone to the two extremes
If you lined them up as
DH
Enduro
XC
Cyclocross
Road
Track
You see a lot of top or near top level pro athletes that will cross over between at least 2 if not 3 adjacent disciplines
(and add in the judged/trick side of the sport with (non-racing) BMX, slopestyle, DJ, big mountain freestyle - which I'll admit to having little interest in, but there seems to be quite a cross over here too)
I dont think racquet sports or inflatable ball sports has the same integration at the pro / semipro level.
probably less, but you have gone to the two extremes
You see a lot of top or near top level pro athletes that will cross over between at least 2 if not 3 adjacent disciplines
Sure but they don't need to have the same governing body or that isn't a reason they should.
A lot of endurance athletes might do completely different sports (bike/running) or there is a lot of crossover between BMX and skateboards ..
A better example from Olympics maybe
Boxing, fencing, judo, karate, taekwondo, and wrestling are all listed as martial arts in the Olympics but don't share a governing body anywhere I know of.
BMX (racing) should be slap bang in the middle of that list as there have been successful riders moving into track and DH / Enduro.
BMX (racing) should be slap bang in the middle of that list as there have been successful riders moving into track and DH / Enduro.
Well you can add moto-x and swimming etc. but again doesn't mean they should have the same governing body
BMX (racing) should be slap bang in the middle of that list as there have been successful riders moving into track and DH / Enduro.
less of a progression line and more of a spider web - add in BMX racing, 4X, dual slalom, and gravel racing.
A fair point – if there was a different organisation, a UMTBI or something, and all the off road disciplines switched to that; I’d be equally as happy.
Its happened before, in various sports, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes they become separate rival entities, in others athletes happily cross between them.
It almost feels like this is happening at least some manufacturers seem to be moving away or at least hedging bets for MTB???
I guess ultimately the UCI are basically the emperor with no clothes .. but whilst people pay taxes as it were the "World Cup" is still the world cup.
The difficulty seems to be the "bike manufacturers" are between a road and a rocky place? To take your list the big 5 have various degrees in each so if the UCI starts punitive "if you compete in XYZ we'll ban you from every discipline" they are losing the other disciplines.