Sean Tucker...owner of the Toyota-United team. Before the season starts ProCycleNews caught up with him to find out more.

By Brian C. Grenier

VISION, how does one define it? For the man without vision there is only the ability to dream, for the man that can see, there is complacency as he lives in a 20/20 world only able to see what is, but for the visionary there is truly magic as he can visualize his dreams and command them to come alive with passion!

For Sean Tucker that vision was a well managed, motivated and successful US Domestic Cycling team. Something that had existed but not at the level Sean saw it. This would take vision and drive to build and he had it, he had it by the buckets full, but what was its source? Could the drive and vision be traced to Sean’s days as a national champion, his days at the '96 Olympic trials or from his business savvy perhaps?

But no, I think as a fellow rider it was the thrill of Professional cycle racing, almost unknown in America. The shear excitement, terror and primordial rage of being in a peloton as it screams down the road, the mid range whirring of gears, the crunching of gravel, the shear pressure of the peloton as it roars by, whap—-whaap-whaaaaaaaaap! In the staccato blast of a machine gun, humans and their machines flying by in a wave of pressure, eye catching colors and at speeds that seem inconceivable! 

NO, that is where I think Sean drew his vision and drive from. I had a chance to chat with Sean this past Sunday as his riders reported for camp and instead of asking about riders and the bikes, all that I wanted to talk about the team where it came from and how it was built, Enjoy!

Sean can you tell us a little about yourself, how you got started in cycling and where you feel you are going with the team you created?

Well Brian I started racing when I was ten that was 1979. My first race was at the Laguna-Sega raceway in California, I came in 2nd place, yeah 2nd place to the national champion, Greg Foster. The guy beat me every race I entered <chuckle>.  I raced all the way from '79 up to '85. I became pretty accomplished as a junior - I was 3rd at the National Criterium Championship in '85, I won that in a field sprint! I was also on the Junior National Team and I won at the World Trials beating some big name guys like Mike McKinley and Mike McCarthy, guys that went on to be big names in cycling. I had some good results as a junior. But when I turned 18 it was time for me to leave the comforts of my parents home and strike out on my own, not necessarily my choice. I was like hey I am just getting good, I need support, help me out here, but it is what it is. I was riding at the time for GS Mangoni and Fred Mangoni offered me a Pro contract, all I had to do is come back east to New York. I knew, you know my family is from there, I was incredulous, I was raised in California you know and I was thinking to myself, 'how am I going to ride in NY City'? I turned it down - the thought of riding in NY City just scared me, it didn’t make sense to me. He was the only guy to pony up though, all the other sponsors offered a bike and some race fee comps, but I was like hey I got to pay rent! After that I just moved into the work force. So there I was in the work force, I mean I had a JOB <chuckle> but within two and a half years I opened up my own tuxedo business and I ended up owing and operating 5 businesses for the next 5 to 6 years. I had worked in the business even when I was a junior rider so I had a sense of what that business was all about. 

However even when I was a junior I had always worked part time, but owning and operating a business that was a little different. I was pretty pissed at this time at the world you know? Here I was, this promising junior. I was billed as a top quality rider, tour stuff you know? Plus I had a wicked sprint at the time and then wham, I am on my own and my support base was gone and I had this feeling that I was left out in the cold, you know the harsh reality of life! I felt angry! So I just got out of cycling and decided to make a bunch of money then come back as a Professional. Well I didn’t make a bunch of money, I made some, I did ok.  I closed the stores down in '92 and I started selling off my inventory of tuxes to get some money up. It was a strange time, I was selling tuxes out of the back of my car up in Woodland, CA, it was pretty wild.

Eventually I ended up going to Belgium in '92 with Greg Lemond. We were pretty close growing up - we were friends his coach was my coach. He was like, 'come on over and I will help you out and set things up.' I decided to go over and race and train. I mean you have to understand I didn’t even ride my bike for 5 years while I was running my tux business, so there I was in Europe, ha, at first I couldn’t hang for even 10 min! Yeah overweight and out of shape, but hey, I just jumped right in and by the end of the summer I could last an hour! Over that winter I busted my butt training and dieting. I lost 20 pounds and by the next spring I was in shape and I was getting into the top ten again beating out some big names like, McKinely and Roderto Gasiollie - I had my sprint back I was cooking! I finally got a sponsor and started getting results again, getting into some big races like the US Pro championship and at that time I stayed Pro all the way up to '96. I was riding as an independent Pro. I was raising all my own money and I was one of the highest paid guys on the circuit, not necessary the best but definitely the highest paid. That is where I learned to raise money and it would help out later on as I started to put together the vision of the team. I did the '96 Olympic Trials and after that season I hung it up.

  I retired really young at 28 years old. I was winning say two races a year and I was always there at the top, but there were always the same 10-15 guys that were beating me, so I had to have a reality check. I had some talent for sure but I had missed those very important development years for an athlete and I knew it. You know Brian, I was making pretty good money for a cyclist and I was doing ok but it was nothing I was going to retire on.

So I made the decision to go back into the working force and got into the internet business boom, high-tech and the like in Jan '97. I made good money, made some very good investments and stayed in that business all the way up until I started the team. I invested heavily in the team and I got a few partners that had the same vision to come in with me. Toyota came in at the last minute and they liked the vision and the fact that we had a lot of skin in the game and they said we want to back it. You know we didn’t sign Toyota until the 4th of February '06 and we launched our team in NY city, in Time Square with ESPN’s Cold Pizza show on the 7th of February '06 and then we won stage one at the Tour of California on the 17th of February '06 - it all happened so fast, I mean we are now just catching our breath. 

During those early days we were flying by the seat of our pants. It was exciting but now we have built in all the controls and have all the checks and balances in place like a business should. We were always winning so it was so hard to get an infrastructure into place but over the winter we focused on that and busted our butts getting that right it was almost like starting the team all over again. It was hard but we have that part dialed in now!

What was your VISION when you started setting up Toyota United?

The whole concept that I have here is to try and figure a way to get the fans involved more. You know, in cycling it is free to watch, there is no gate fee. Other sports here and in Europe the fans pay to see the sport it doesn’t matter, soccer, football, baseball, it doesn’t matter they have to pay to get in, however in cycling it is free as far as I can tell you just show up and you can watch the race. Our fans are as passionate as in any other sport - it’s sort of like once you are hooked you are hooked for life. So I had to look at it and think how could I get these fans to pay some money to help support the sport and get something in return.

What I wanted to do was build a TEAM and not build a team around one superstar!  Now of course you will have people that are superstars like with JJ Haedo come through your team and that is good, but the focus has to be on the team. No matter how good JJ did it was a solid focus on the team - we never had individual rider cards it was always the team. I really focus on developing the whole team, that way we always have the team and not just one guy that passes through.  The concept is like that of a franchise, what we have done is build the whole organization, sponsors, supporters, fans and riders all around the team. Our Business name is United Pro Cycling Team, LLC so the name is actually our trade name and on everything. So Toyota came along and they wanted name and title and I said to them 'I really want to build this as a franchise' but they came back and they said they really, really wanted to be part of it and in the end I said, 'if you support us with enough money I will let you in' and well its history, they did and the team became known as Toyota-United. 

The thing here is to notice that it is Toyota “dash” United we keep our marketability and name so if Toyota were to ever go away we are still a team and we just don’t crash like some of the other teams that have had their main sponsors go away, big names like U.S.Postal, all that brand equity lost! Look at the ING-New York City Marathon, no matter what happens, the branded name is the New York City Marathon, it stays in tact. That is how I built the business model and there are others that are jumping on the band wagon so that no matter what happens with sponsors the team survives. This type of model allows you to be steady in your marketing from year to year, branded uniforms, merchandise, equipment and the like.

We also have a membership program for the fans where they can pay in and they get internet access to full Bios, team information as well as kits of merchandise, equipment and a high quality newsletter. Just last year alone we brought in 13,000 + of fan members. Truthfully not all are paying members, some have come in as paying members and others have transferred over to a paying membership which is good! Granted 13K isn’t all that much but I believe over time this will build up to the point that one day we may have a million members and even if only 150.000 are paying members that could become substantial. Your readers can check it out - click here.

We have a fan base all over the world, it is really wild - I mean we have like a contingent in Japan, Australia and all over, it is pretty cool. They send us these super emails all the time and they are a very important part of the team and they have a vested interest in the team. This concept also builds geographic or product loyalty which grows the fan base! We even have a super fan he lives up in Palm Springs - we call him 'our main man' - he was our first ever fan of the month Phil Lingrem. He is retired and he has some health problems but he is such a fan and he sent me this awesome email saying it is you and the team that is saving my life. He said it was the guys and the team and the concept that motivates him and gets him up every day to train and that helps keep him healthy as with out his training he would fall off fast. You never know how you are going to positively impact someone's life you know? That is just over the top!

Think about this, the concept is in play all around sports and we need it in cycling, think of it this way; if you are a Cowboys fan you buy the shirts, hats, footballs and all that they have to offer. You get their news letter, you show and pay at the gate for all the home games and then there is the TV revenue - its all there, it’s a package. Year after year it is almost the same, and that is how you build and brand a team

What were some of the business and management challenges you faced? 

Well putting together the management team of course. We were lucky to get some good people on board from the beginning - Harm Janson, and the others have been instrumental to our success. Then there were some areas like logistics where we were very lacking but it was all a learning experience ya know? The riders have been just awesome like everyone said, on paper we were the dream team that is for sure.  Then there is the money, it is the life blood of any team. My partners and I put a good bit of funding in as well as Toyota - they have been very supportive.  Right now truthfully, we are top heavy in sponsor money and that is ok, we are bringing around the other areas. We have the membership area like I had mentioned, then there is merchandise and marketing which for the first year we did pretty good. But our sponsors are a big part and we are grateful for them!

2006 is in the books and I cannot imagine as a disappointment in any way, however if you could pick one thing that was a defining moment what would it be?

HA!  That would have to be stage one of the Tour of California! I went with my business partner and I was all new at this. I didn’t know I could get VIP seating, I mean I showed up as a fan - that was where I was at. So we got up on a 5 story parking garage, and here in California these garages have chain link fence around the top to stop people from jumping off. You know I climbed over the fence 5 stories up and I was hanging out so I could se the finish line. I couldn’t see the line but just the spot that was a few seconds past the finish line. I mean I just didn’t know, I was new to all this and here I am hanging out and I see JJ Haedo out of his saddle pumping his fists into the air and it just doesn’t register surreal in a way, even now! I can’t tell you what was going on in my mind. I was sort of detached watching all this then I heard some muffled announcement over the PA just Bla Bla Bla Toyota-United and JJ is down there pumping his fists and no one else is and they are looking glum and it hits me! Hey we won-we won!!! My partner and I went rushing through the streets of Santa Rosa like the Key Stone Cops, you know? I was a team owner and here I was rushing down the streets and ally ways, running into my partner trying to get to the guys and I could hear the PA muffled in the distance, Toyota United Bla Bla Bla. We were like kids man - that was the moment that I lived for, you know just the realization, We won-we won!!

Well 2007 is here and the guys are at camp. What goals do you have for the season and what tweaks have you had to make from the lessons learned from 2006?

Well we want to WIN of course! But some of the tweaks we are doing are at the management level. We brought on Kirk Willett from Prime Alliance Cycling team, where he was a team director, to help Harm manage the team. Frankie is gone now. However Harm and Kirk together are awesome. One is a medical student the other has a masters degree in engineering - they are the brain geek's with all their spread sheets. Plus we hired a logistics guy that was part of Trek Travel - his ability to handle the logistics which was a big area we were hurting in last year. This way the guys have hotels to show up at and gear is accounted for it has just made for a smother running machine. This guy has all ready made a huge impact!

Looking at the team right now what is your view at where you are going and or how is it all going to shake out on the pavement?

Brian, you know you have to race to find out! But I think we look good, on paper we are just awesome, but it is where the rubber meets the road, that’s all that counts. I think this year it is going to be more a mental thing instead of a talent thing. Last year we were an unknown and we just made a plan and raced the plan modifying when needed and it worked. I don’t know how the imagined pressure will play out.

Cycling at the pro level has taken off over the past few years in a very substantial way! What role do you see Toyota-United playing in that growth and what do you see as the future for domestic cycling in the US?

Domestic cycling is healthy as I have ever seen it in the depth of the rosters and the strength of the teams. The races are looking great and this is exciting and gets better every year with the ProTour. I mean all around it is healthy, growing and we are attracting the best riders and teams. The prize money is very weak right now in the '90’s it was much better but I think that will change with time.

We don’t have all the doping problems you have in Europe here.. It just doesn’t make sense here - we have 5 to 6 day races and there they have 21 day races and the riders get paid huge salaries. Here on the Pro Domestic scene it just isn’t like that. We are also attracting some of the best riders from Europe and I think that is in part due to that fact that you don’t have all the doping problems associated with European riding. Some of it is also there are a limited number of jobs there in Europe due to some of the Pro teams folding, so I think the US is going to be a hot bed for cycling for a while!