La Course

[Irulan]

The live coverage of this race was on Universal Sports, which Comcast doesn't carry. With the regular NBCSports coverage, there was a whopping 2 minute synopsis. Really?
So to make up for that, here's a great interview with Shelly Olds who finished 5th.
http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/14443

[pll]

I was able to catch the last 3 laps on ITV4. For some unknown reason, NBC moved its coverage of La Course to its Universal Sports arm, which is not carried by Comcast. I am simply sick of it: Comcast stopped carrying Universal and Universal asks you to call Comcast, which is absurd.

SteepHill.TV has links to the highlights here: http://www.steephill.tv/tour-de-france/ (scroll down -- listed after the stage 21 highlights and clips). You may want to check out the "Hola" extension to Chrome.

If you care to watch some good women's racing, the Giro Rosa stages are in youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/girdon2009/videos

Someone posts the daily 1 hour show from RAI 2. Narration is in Italian and the coverage not nearly as refined as that of a grand tour, but one can follow the race. After a while, you start understanding some Italian words to boot.

[ny biker]

I was able to catch the last 3 laps on ITV4. For some unknown reason, NBC moved its coverage of La Course to its Universal Sports arm, which is not carried by Comcast. I am simply sick of it: Comcast stopped carrying Universal and Universal asks you to call Comcast, which is absurd.

The people that run Universal decided to change the type of cable channel that they were, which resulted in them being dropped from many cable systems. I think they expected viewers to call their cable companies and demand that Universal be added back into their channel lineup, and ultimately Universal would make more money as a result. I had the impression that Universal was not actually owned by Comcast/NBC.

I assume NBC did not cover La Course on any of their other channels because they were already struggling to cover all the events that they were contracted to cover yesterday (they've had to show F1 races and qualy on CNBC in order to show them live during the TdF, and did not show Friday practice live like they usually do), and they figured that a woman's bike race would not give them higher ratings/more revenue than the shows that are typically on the other non-sports channels that they own.

[Irulan]

NBC was able to insert 2 minutes into the Tour coverage.... big whoop. I would think they could have added just a little more. It's obvious they had cameras there as they have some footage of it.

[pll]

Yep, they are an NBC affiliate. According to their site: "Universal Sports is a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP." Their logo incorporates the NBC one. But anyway, Comcast does not care what its customers think, so asking customers to call is pointless. Why they do not sell access online is beyond me. They did it one year, for the Giro, and I was a happy camper.

NBC should have covered La Course as part of their app, which included complete stages (more than 5 hours of coverage each day).

[pll]

NBC was able to insert 2 minutes into the Tour coverage.... big whoop. I would think they could have added just a little more. It's obvious they had cameras there as they have some footage of it.

Evidently, it is more important to follow the men posing for pictures and chatting while they leisurely roll to Paris, because that is high quality competition.

One a more positive note, I loved the SBS video clip where they interview several of the Aussie riders. They were all still super excited at the end of the race.

[Irulan]

I just wanted to see the podium boys kissing the winners.

[pll]

I have not found any videos of the podium ceremony but there is a cool one, from a camera mounted on Marianne Vos's bike: http://www.raboliv.com/video?videoId=66088

[azfiddle]

I was pretty disappointed as well. By the time I woke up on Sunday morning (5 am MST) it was already over anyway It should have been covered and included in the nbcsports package for the TDF.

If you have not gotten a chance to watch the movie "Half the Road" about the disparity in men's and women's cycling - it is now available on iTunes. I attended the premiere here in Tucson with the film maker and a few of the women who are featured in the movie. Within 5 days of the first showing, they announced La Course. It is just a first step however.

[pll]

<beginning of rant>

I, too, would *love* to see a women's Tour de France, but I think we should be more vocal, demand coverage and *follow* already existing, terrific races:

• Giro Rosa (9 stages)
• Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen (6 stages + a prologue)
• La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
• Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen
• Friends Life Women's Tour (5 stages)
• Trofeo Binda
• Ronde van Drenthe

Focusing on more coverage of existing races might also shore up struggling sponsorship of the Giro della Toscana (4 stages) -- last year, this tour was conducted in open roads, with cars cutting off the riders. After the third stage, about half the riders protested and abandoned the race. That included Elisa Longo-Borghini (who was the most vocal Italian in the protest and was chastised by the organizers as if she was betraying her country) and Marianne Vos (who was the leader of the race). Mind you that several of these races, save for the Friends Life tour, have a long history. The Giro della Toscana will be on its 20th year, the Giro Rosa (formerly the Giro d'Italia Femminile) nearly died a couple of years ago, until a new sponsor stepped with a commitment through 2016.

Another area where women should be more vocal should be in making the UCI drop the limits on road race distances (130km on stage races) and, I believe, 10 stages maximum (why does the UCI say 'the same limit as in 2004'... if you manage to find the 2004 rules, they refer you to the 1996 rules!). Simply drop those limits for elite women races and let the sponsors experiment.

We should also support any initiative demanding that US races (Tour of Utah and Tour of California) include a women's version, not just a token TT. USA Cycling probably carries enough weight internationally that it could ask for an exception on the length of women's races and use the same course as the men's for a women's tour.

Anyway, I am trying to put my money where my virtual mouth is, and recently joined the Women's Cycling Association and follow women's races the best I can. There are two excellent resources I have found to follow women's cycling:

• Podium Cafe: Women's Cycling
• Unofficial Unsanctioned UCI Women's UCI Cycling blog

<\end of rant>

[tulip]

Pll, the UCI World championships--Men and Women--will be in the US next year. I hope that many TEers, particularly those on the east coast, will make the trip to see the races and support the racers (particularly the women racers). This is huge for the US to host the World's. A lot of people are unaware that the World's will be in the US, apparently. It's up to us to support elite racing when it comes to our shores; otherwise they won't come back. So who's going? I am!

[rebeccaC]

I have not found any videos of the podium ceremony but there is a cool one, from a camera mounted on Marianne Vos's bike: http://www.raboliv.com/video?videoId=66088

That was a great sprint on the inside while dodging those barrier legs

For some photos.... a good one of Vos crossing the finish line.....but no podium boys

[pll]

Pll, the UCI World championships--Men and Women--will be in the US next year. I hope that many TEers, particularly those on the east coast, will make the trip to see the races and support the racers (particularly the women racers). This is huge for the US to host the World's. A lot of people are unaware that the World's will be in the US, apparently. It's up to us to support elite racing when it comes to our shores; otherwise they won't come back. So who's going? I am!

Absolutely! I will be there for sure.

[Crankin]

Here is a picture of the pdium boys. Yes, it's in an article in Self magazine. Scroll down a bit to see it.
http://www.self.com/flash/sports/201...cling-converts

[Blueberry]

Thanks for posting that, Crankin! I love the video at the end - from Marianne Vos' bike - showing the final spring. Amazing riding!