Lucarelli & Castaldi sponsor everything
Phil Castaldi is half of Lucarelli & Castaldi, a local law firm that specializes in representing accident victims. He has also become a familiar presence in NYC bike racing because he has been responsible for organizing, sponsoring and contributing to countless events and races including: CRCA races, The Harlem Crit, Governor’s Island, Branch Brook Park, inter-race sprint competitions, Staten Island CX, Bear Mountain, Transportation Alternatives’ Tours of the Boroughs, New York Cycle Club Escape NY Ride, 3 local racing teams, and not to mention this website.
Starting this year Lucarelli & Castaldi will launch a new initiative to promote excellent local bike shops in this area. "We feel that the sport and the LBS should maintain a symbiotic relationship, where each is supported and nurtured by the other. Our LBS’s have too often become an afterthought as people have become habituated to buying on the internet. Local bike shops provides an invaluable resource to our cycling community we want to call attention to some of the excellent shops in our area."
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1 ½ blocks from Prospect Park.
How did you get into cycling and racing?
I used to ride my bike around Prospect Park when I was in high school. One day I was doing some laps and the Team Brooklyn racing team came flying by me motor-pacing behind a motorcycle. That was pretty cool to watch. The “aha moment” where I thought I wanted to give racing a shot. Those were the days when no one was out in the park and you could do whatever you wanted; 100 mile races in Prospect Park, you could ride any direction you wanted, and you never even considered stopping for a red light. With some coercing from my older brother Chris, who had already been racing, I signed up for my first race in Prospect Park. There were about 40 to 50 guys in the junior field, which is unheard of now. I proceeded to get dropped the first lap up the hill on my Raleigh Grand Prix with the pannier rack on the back, but I was hooked. By the next season, I was on the Team Brooklyn Junior Team, had a top ten in a Junior Worlds qualifier, qualified for nationals, and raced all over the country. The Team Brooklyn senior team had some great talent (Alaric Gayfer, Tom Donahue, Norberto Caceras, Robert Brugna, and Patrick Gellineau). Those guys were great to learn from. I raced through my college years, mostly in New England, where I went to school. I raced as a Cat. 2 for a few seasons and stopped in 1988. The realities of life catch up with you.
Phil wins the sprint at Sentinel Classic at Superweek in 1985.
How did you get back into cycling?
I have been practicing law since 1993, and had partnered with my current Law Partner, Tom Lucarelli, in 1998. We had both been handling personal injury cases since we started practicing. In 2008, my brother Chris suggested that the firm, Lucarelli & Castaldi, sponsor the Wonder Wheel Cycling Team, which he had been racing on. Tom and I thought it was a good idea, so we put our logo on the back pocket of their jersey. The Wonder Wheel guys were totally supportive of us and referred us whenever the opportunity arose. Again, like 30 years earlier, my brother Chris suggested that I come out and race with the team. He said its master’s racing, 45+, not aggressive, no one gets hurt, “it will be fun”. He totally BS’s me about what I’m getting myself into. So after 25+ years of not racing, I think I’m going to be doing something equivalent to a gran fondo with a bunch of older guys whose only concern is getting home in one piece so they can go to work on Monday. Anyone who has done a local master’s race knows that that’s the farthest thing from the truth. I got to the starting line, teams are discussing strategy amongst themselves, everyone is decked out with carbon wheels and bikes; it looked like the start of the Tour. Half way through the race some guy rides up to me and says “We have the leader’s jersey, you guys have to attack to get it”. I would have told him to go Fondo himself but I was breathing too hard to speak. It was actually a real eye-opening experience, but I had to admit it was fun.
How did you get into sponsoring the local racing scene?
Charlie Issendorf, who I knew from way back, approached me about sponsoring the KOM jersey at the Cadence Cup Series and the Green Sprint Jersey at Floyd Bennett. We signed on and I must say, the local riders were totally supportive of us. Our phone began to ring with calls from guys who unfortunately were injured out training, mostly as a result of car accidents. The following year, Cadence didn’t renew their title sponsorship and Charlie offered it to us. For me, taking on the title sponsorship was a no brainer. I was racing regularly, enjoyed the local scene and I felt I could “give back” to the sport that I enjoyed, while also promoting the firm.
At that point, I was riding with the Wonder Wheel Team, but most of guys didn’t know who I was. Everyone knew the firm from our sponsorship, but not many people knew that I was actually the guy next to them in the peloton. Charlie made me up a Champion Systems Lucarelli & Castaldi kit to race in. When I started racing in the L&C kit, I think that’s when people realized that I was truly involved in and committed to the sport and not just some absentee sponsor. The recognition grew as did the support from local guys, and so did our commitment to the scene.
Tom Lucarelli and Phil Castaldi
What events have you sponsored in the past, and what about this year?
Off the top of my head, in the last few years we have sponsored The Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Prospect Park Series, The Tuesday Night Floyd Bennett Series, the Green Jersey Sprint Competition at Floyd, the KOM/QOM in the R&A Series, Harlem, Governor’s Island Crit., Staten Island CX, CRCA Lou Maltese Memorial, CRCA Masters Throwdown, CRCA FBF Race, CRCA Floyd TT and TTT, CRCA Bear Mountain Spring Classic, as well as the Transportation Alternatives Borough Tours of Brooklyn and Staten Island, and the New York Cycle Club Escape New York Ride. We have also sponsored some of the local racing teams.
For 2014, we have signed on to sponsor the KOM/QOM at the R&A Series, the Team Competition at Floyd, Bear Mountain, and a Transportation Alternatives Borough Tour. We have an office in New Jersey and handle cases there, so we have signed on as the title sponsor of the Branch Brook Park Spring Series and the Branch Brook Cherry Blossom Race. We are also the title sponsor of the former Siggi’s Team.
Why did you sign on to sponsor that team?
I believe that we need to introduce more people to the sport and help develop local talent. That has probably been the best development team in the area. Hundreds of guys have been introduced to the sport through the program and a number of local teams have been formed by the alumni. When I started out racing, I received great support from the owner of a small LBS called Bay Ridge Bicycle World. The owner, Pete, would give us his shop van to travel to races, gave us gas money, and decked us out in custom kits. Cuevas even made the team frames with an awesome custom blue fade paint job that matched the kits. I don’t think the shop sold one bicycle because I was riding around in their jersey, but the support he gave me allowed me to develop as a racer.
Developing local talent is something I am passionate about. I wish there were more programs in the area doing it. I have another brother, Peter, who is 5 years younger than I am. I got him into racing when he was 15 and helped him develop into a good Cat. 2 racer. He raced with some of the class riders that grew out of the local junior ranks, like George Hincapie, his brother Rich, and Charlie I. Pete owns a software company on the west coast, Kovarus, which sponsors the Kovarus/Wells Fargo Racing Team and a cycling club that lost a member to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and which works to raise money to fight the disease.
Phil at the front of the field at Floyd Bennett.
What are some of the biggest changes you have seen in NYC racing?
One of the biggest changes is the number of local races that are available which you can ride your bike to. You can actually race 3 to 4 times a week without getting in a car. When I started racing, after the Spring Series, you spent entire weekends traveling around to New Jersey or New England to do criteriums in small towns. They were great races because the whole town would come out for the annual race held on the main street in the downtown section, but you spent a lot of time in the car. Some of the other biggest changes are the number of masters racers and the quality of those races, and the sheer number of people who actually race or who are completely decked out and look like they race. The down side has been that none of the promoters can run a junior field at any local events because no one shows up. Most great riders have developed out of the junior ranks and that’s not going to happen around NYC as things stand. Another great change has been the diversity of the ethnicities and cultures of the guys participating locally. The Latino and African American racers often dominate at the local races. Twenty-five years ago they didn’t make up much of the peloton. The best guy to talk to about that is William Montgomery. He’s a wealth of information and can best explain how far the sport has come in that respect.
In my opinion, the best change has been the growth of the local scene to the point that people actually refer to this as our local cycling community. People actually look out for each other. If someone gets hurt or is in need, local cyclists rally to the call. Take Damian Lopez Alfonso as one of the best examples of local guys stepping up, in addition to the ride for Euris, Sandy relief, the indoor ride for Foundation’s M. P., the Nancy Morgenstern 911 Ride, and the Dave Jordan Ride to Piermont. All great events where this community came together and gave their time to someone in need.
How did you get started representing​ cyclists as a lawyer?
It came from a personal experience. During my senior year in high school, while out training, I was hit head-on by a car being driven in the wrong direction in Prospect Park, in the bike lane, when the park was closed to cars. My parents hired a lawyer to represent me. I was hurt pretty badly and my bike was totaled, but at 17, I was concerned about getting a new bike and getting back on the road. I had purchased that bike used for $800 and made some upgrades. My lawyer wouldn’t believe that a used bike cost $800, he couldn’t appreciate that I had made upgrades, and he ended up getting me nothing for it. His attitude was that I could go over to Sears and get a new Huffy for $69, so it wasn’t worth his time. As a result of that experience, I handle every damaged bicycle claim for free. In just the last few years, we have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for local riders just to replace their damaged bikes, all with no attorney fee. Actually, that’s not entirely true, I tell guys when I get them a new bike they owe me a lead-out.
What is the most common mistake that cyclists make when they have an accident with a car?
The number one mistake that cyclists make is not remaining at the scene until the police arrive. To bring a claim against the owner/operator of the vehicle, I need to know who they are. I often get calls from riders who didn’t realize at the scene that they were more seriously injured than they actually thought. They left the scene without having a police report filed, woke up the next day in terrible pain, or realized that there was a hairline crack in their carbon frame, and now we have no information regarding the vehicle. Also frustrating is when a rider leaves the scene with just the driver’s cell phone number and low and behold the driver gave them an incorrect number. I tell guys, if you can’t wait for the police or even if you think you aren’t hurt, at the very least, take a picture of the car’s license plate before you leave and get the names of witnesses. The second most common mistake is not getting treatment because of the fear of incurring substantial medical bills. There are many caveats to this rule, and I try and make everyone that I can aware to the fact that if you have an accident with a car while riding a bike in NY, no matter who is at fault for causing the accident, the insurance carrier for the car must pay your medical bills, including the bill for the ambulance. So even if you are out doing intervals, riding with your head down, you blow through a red light and t-bone a car, that car’s insurance carrier under NY law must pay your medical bills.
What are some of the common and more interesting cycling cases you have handled?
I am currently handling two cases, both involving Trek, where a carbon seat post snapped off causing the riders to crash. In one case, I represent one of our local bike shops that is alleged to have over tightened the binder bolt causing the seat post to fail, and in the other, I represent a local cyclist who was severely injured commuting to work when his carbon seat post sheared off. I find both to be really interesting cases because the issues are so relevant to what I do. The other attorneys on the cases probably don’t feel the same. They know nothing about bikes or carbon fiber, and one attorney has no idea what a seat post is. He calls it the seat port. We also recently secured a recovery for a cyclist who struck a pothole and was seriously injured. Most of the other cases involve the hazards we all commonly face: cars, cabs, opening doors, pedestrians (often with head phones), loose dogs, driver’s texting, and so on. Probably everyone reading this knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Has supporting the local bike races really been a good business decision for your firm and why don’t more businesses do it?
From a strictly personal non-economic perspective, supporting the local bike races has been a rewarding experience for me because I truly enjoy the sport and I participate in the races we sponsor. It has also been a good business decision for the firm. We handle all types of personal injury cases but cycling related cases have developed into a major part of our personal injury practice due in large part to our sponsorship of local events. It’s unfortunate that many of us get hurt. Honestly, I hope no one needs my services again, but with all of the hazards we face, that’s pretty unlikely. Sponsoring local events has really enabled us to get the word out to the local community about the services we provide to injured cyclists and the business we have developed from it allows us to continue to sponsor future events. I get a lot of calls from injured cyclists who specifically tell me that they called our firm because of what we do for the sport. That allows me to see and appreciate the benefit to the firm of what we do for the sport, and it’s the incentive to continue to do it.
Why don’t more businesses do it; that’s a difficult question to answer in this interview, but I have my theories. First of all, there really aren’t too many businesses that will derive an economic benefit from people riding their bicycle around an abandoned runway at Floyd Bennett Field on a Tuesday evening. There’s no crowd, no TV coverage, and no exposure to the sponsor. Bike racers have to appreciate that fact and go the extra mile to support the small number of sponsors that we have. As a bike racer myself, I can appreciate how incredibly difficult it is to solo away from a field, especially on an abandoned windy runway, or to fight for position coming into the last 200 meters and to win a field sprint. However, we as local racers have to understand that even if we accomplish that feat, if its 6:30 am in Prospect Park or Central Park our sponsor is basically getting very little in return, if anything.
One of the few businesses that can actually benefit from sponsoring local racers and events is our local bike shop. Unfortunately, not very many shops have any interest is sponsoring bike racers or races. The reason I hear over and over when I discuss sponsorship with local shops is that local racers want stuff for free. That may or may not be true, but whatever the true reason is, it’s unfortunate that very few local shops are involved in the sport. Most bike shops aren’t going to give a guy free equipment even if he is crushing it at the local level. We need to support our local shops. What I mean by that is, if your buddy needs to buy a bike for his kid, or himself, or whomever, go with him to the bike shop that sponsors your team or some local team. Introduce yourself to the manager and make him aware that you brought your friend to the shop because he is sponsoring the local scene. Even if you stop into a shop to pick up a tube or for whatever, let them know you are at their shop, and not another shop, because they support the local scene. Next year, when the issue of sponsorship comes up, the shop is going to want to sponsor our scene.
Top tens are great and every team manager should keep track of them. They should be celebrated by the guy who earned it and his teammates that rode in support. But when you are asking your sponsor to sign on the next year, for say $5,000, those top tens probably don’t mean much, if anything, to his bottom line. If you have 15 guys on your team, and if each guy brings just one customer to the shop, and the shop sells 15 bikes averaging $3,000, that’s $45,000 in sales. That’s a good return on a $5,000 sponsorship deal for the LBS. Have your rider report the sales he generated to the team manager, keep track of that number and make your sponsor aware of it. The following year when it’s time to renew the sponsorship, the shop owner is going to call you and ask what he can do for you.
I’m not a big wafel or a dinges guy, but when that Wafels & Dinges truck is parked outside my office on Wall St., I buy a wafel and I tell the guy behind the counter to thank his boss for sponsoring the bike racing team, and I’m not even on that team. Honestly, I’d much rather get a taco at the taco truck, but the taco guy isn’t sponsoring a local bike racing team. My feeling is that every team dinner should be at Blue Ribbon, need urgent care go to CITYMD, need a package delivered call Breakaway Courier, need team kits get them from the local guy who sets up the camera and cones at 4:00 am so you can race; you get the point. If we support these businesses they will support the sport. Bottom line, if you bring customers into the LBS that sponsors your team, the shop owner is a whole lot more likely to give you free equipment then if you solo away at Battenkill somewhere in the outskirts of Albany.
What do you enjoy most about sponsoring local events?
Cycling has been a big part of my life and its rewarding to give something to the sport, especially at this local level. As I mentioned earlier, I grew up riding, training and racing in Prospect Park, so it’s pretty cool to be involved in a great annual series held in my backyard, The Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Prospect Park Series.
However, the truly best part of sponsoring events that you race is the free pass you get for putting up the whole prize list. If I don’t take a pull, no one says boo. No one screams “hold ya line” at me, there’s the occasional unrequested, but much appreciated, push if I’m drifting backward through the field on the uphill, and many requests during the race to find out if I need water. I never really thought about it, but I guess that’s almost what it’s like to be a pro with domestiques looking out for you. Thanks guys.
Anyone that has crossed paths with Phil knows what a decent guy he is, I’m glad he is getting some recognition finally. He is one of the few guys who is putting his money where is mouth is and supporting bike racing, we need more like him.
Thanks for supporting local bike racing, Phil!
Thanks for the continued support Phil. This interview was a great and informative read.
If only every one who reads this were more like Phil….the cycling world would be a much better place.
But since it isn’t, let’s get back to that other thread bitching about Bear categories
Phil is a great guy. His support of the local racing scene is greatly appreciated.
Great Alex
Really interesting to read about Phil’s cycling career.
Thanks again Phil and Tom for all the support given to the cycling community.
Definitely an inverse relationship between positive worthwhile content and related posting. Sad that an ELI post would get 100 times the posts that this one will get.
Nonetheless, cycling needs more guys like Phil who make a real effort to give back to the sport.
does he do class action suits? i think local master’s could use his help suing for a master’s field at bear.
Phil is just what we need in the community. Had the pleasure to take a team ride with him to piermont… great guy
Yo Phil – thanks for all the support!! You truly are a great benefit to local cycling and we appreciate it!!
DIO
Thanks Phil for all you are doing to support !
Great read, great guy. Thx to you both.
Great interview with a real standup guy. The part about returning value on sponsorships should be mandatory reading.
Huge thanks go out to Lucarellig & Castaldi. In the past couple of years it seems they are sponsoring a large majority of local races. I think EVERY SINGLE RACER WHO WANTS SPONSORSHIP SHOULD READ HIS RESPOSNCE ON WHETHER RACING SPONSORSHIP HAS PAID OFF. You need to give the sponsor some return on their investment. Winning 10 6:30 am races doesn’t give your sponsor much ROI. Some teams do a great job promoting their sponsors and they are the ones you will see keeping, and getting new, sponsors.
Thank you Phil for supporting the local racing and cylcing community.
Thanks for all you and your partner do. You are great guys
Phil (and Chris too) are real assets to our cycling/racing community.
They have real pedigree, and knowledge. Good guys.
Sponsors races and racers, and as a previous client can testify the he is a talented and experienced attorney.
Well I am happy that I have not needed Phil’s services as an attorney, I do like the centiment in this thread about supporting the company’s that support the local cycling community. Just got some coffee and a waffle from the W&D truck outside my office. I don’t need an excuse for being slow, but . . .
First Thanks to Phil and Tom for sponsoring the local races, on the topic of shops, I would like to give shout out to Bicycle Habitat, they sponsor not only one but actually 5 Local CRCA teams (including 2 woman’s teams).
Hopefully some of us will drop in and support them in return.
Nice interview and definitely a big thank you to Phil and his partner for supporting local cycling. Also, great advice about supporting local shops and having the correct perspective around sponsorship.
great article. Thanks for all the support for the sport and the team.