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skinny-
I’d contend that in their case it’s a mixture of both. I think some of their biggest exposure is not through Instagram/Twitter/rapha marketing but through their headcam race videos on YouTube and they wouldn’t be half as exciting if they weren’t winning the races (regardless if said races are local office park affairs or bigger events on the national stage). Either way they seem to have found the right formula.
SoYaap
Interesting point but I think it’s not entirely contrary to what they believe needs to be done to make the sport more appealing for young people. In some of the podcasts that Justin has done he makes no bones about saying that he thinks that part of the reason that cycling is unappealing to kids in the community he grew up in is the image/lifestyle of what a successful cyclist looks like. This is not just in terms of the lack of diversity at the top of the sport but the visible displaying of success. He draws a comparison with the likes of the NBA/NFL and the top players showing off fancy cars etc. and how this is part of what is aspirational to people. He also talks about how this stems from his early time and on ‘rock racing’ where they flew around in private jets and had Escalades as team cars etc.
By no means am I saying that I agree with this particular idea for changing the sport but I don’t think it’s out of step with what the Williams brothers are usually preaching. Also you to have to remember there likely not the ones paying for the Lambo and they seem to manage to get a pretty good deal from their sponsors considering the level they race at (in the sense that before this year they didn’t have pro license’s for legion riders).