OLN’s Comprehensive Same-Day Cycling Schedule Debuts March 6th

STAMFORD, CT (Feb 10, 2005) – OLN®, the home of professional cycling, introduces Cyclysm Sundays, a new, weekly show dedicated to the races, the athletes and the teams that cycling fans are watching throughout the season. Airing every Sunday at 5:00 PM ET, Cyclysm Sundays will feature same-day coverage of many of the major cycling races, including the Spring Classics, and will be hosted by the rotating team of cycling experts – Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll.

"Cycling is hugely important to OLN, and the Spring Classics are some of the most exciting races out there," said Gavin Harvey, President of the network. "By presenting cycling every Sunday, we're creating a basis for the entire season. Fans, even those who only recently caught the cycling bug, can turn to OLN to watch the season unfold and experience the building drama of this punishing sport."

In addition to race coverage, Cyclysm Sundays will feature a weekly update on Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Cycling Team; training tips from Chris Carmichael, personal coach to Armstrong; and coverage of the National Championship Series, a U.S.-based cycling series in which the top domestic cyclist is crowned at the end of each season. The format of Cyclysm Sundays will change somewhat in June, when the show focuses mainly on previewing the Tour de France.

“We’re excited about this new format,” said John Carter, Vice President of Production and Executive Producer. “It’s going to be a fantastic showcase for Lance's team as they take on the heaviest schedule ever for these great classic races.”

The race schedule for Cyclysm Sundays follows (same-day unless indicated; subject to change):



March 6th Paris-Nice (France)

March 13th Paris-Nice (France)

March 20th Milan San Remo (Italy)/Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)

March 27th Criterium International (France)

April 3rd Tour of Flanders (Belgium)

April 10th Paris-Robaix (France)/Redlands* (USA)

April 17th Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands)

April 24th Liege-Bastogne-Liege (Belgium)/Sea Otter* (USA)

May 1st Tour de Georgia (USA)

May 8th Giro d’Italia (Italy)**

May 15th Giro d’Italia (Italy)

May 22nd Giro d’Italia (Italy)

May 29th Giro d’Italia (Italy)

June 5th US Pro Cycling - Philadelphia (USA)

June 12th Road to the Tour (Tour de France preview)

June 19th Road to the Tour/Nature Valley Classic (USA)

June 26th Road to the Tour

July 3rd - 24th Tour de France (France)***

Sept 4th Vuelta a España (Spain)

Sept 11th Vuelta a España (Spain)/San Francisco Criterium* (USA)

Sept 18th Vuelta a España (Spain)/Tour de Cliffs* (USA)

Oct 15th Giro di Lombardia (Italy)
* Tape delay

** Giro d’Italia coverage may be expanded to include Saturday Coverage

*** Tour de France will include daily coverage

It's great that OLN's doing a regular show - but no coverage of the Giro?! What a drag. Anybody know how to get Eurosport in Northern California?

It's great that OLN's doing a regular show - but no coverage of the Giro?! What a drag. Anybody know how to get Eurosport in Northern California?

This should not come as a big surprise. They drop coverage of the Vuelta, consistently the most exciting grand tour in recent years, and turn their Tour coverage into a jingoistic joke.

The only good news in all of this is that we've probably seen the end of Adrian Karsten. He got busted for tax evasion. If only someone could drop a dime on Fishwig and the Gummer. Roll has worn out his schtick, too.

Bob Roll is still funny, but the rest I could do without. Just give me Phil and Paul and have Roll on ocasionally. Nothing else is needed.

Still, no daily Giro? That sucks!! OLN needs to step up. I bet more people watch cycling than their market research indicates. Who watches all those hours of PBR anyway?

Mother of fawking gawd!!! All Lance, all the time! Why not just have an hour of the those frat boy retards from the OLD TdF coverage and a bunch of pathetic podium girl shots along with some analysis of LA's freaking bowel movements, and be done with it. They would make a crap load of money that way. All the loosers and LA Fan Boys would watch, and the production costs would be rock bottom. Please god, let there be a web based British streaming video option soon. TV in America fawking SUCKS!!!
Aiiiiiii!!!!!!

Gordon

At this rate, I'd be willing to subscribe to their coverage if it's good, esp. it were daily coverage of the major tours.

BT

cycling.tv looks good, but they don't have Phil & Paul. Let's face it: annoying as they can be sometimes, P&P really make a bike race much more interesting to watch with their comprehensive knowledge of the players and personal insights. And I don't know if cycling.tv will have the cash to get the GT video feeds. Those are probably hellishly expensive. For me, looks like it will be cyclingnews.com live coverage for Giro + Vuelta then OLN for TDF.

cycling.tv looks good, but they don't have Phil & Paul. Let's face it: annoying as they can be sometimes, P&P really make a bike race much more interesting to watch with their comprehensive knowledge of the players and personal insights. And I don't know if cycling.tv will have the cash to get the GT video feeds. Those are probably hellishly expensive. For me, looks like it will be cyclingnews.com live coverage for Giro + Vuelta then OLN for TDF.

They are good, and I like Bobke too, but OLN will only put so much of that on. Unfortunately, we wil also be subjected to incessant analysis of EVERY freaking thing LA does. I got so pissed last year when there would be some killer 5 rider early break, in an early flat section, and !@#$%!!! OLN talked endlessly about LA this, LA that. All LA was freaking doing was not falling the @#$% down!
Now what I would really like to see is OLN take the entire P&P commentary, from EVERY MINUTE of every race, and stream it over the web to me. I would pay probably $5 per race day. They could make a killing off the diehard fans, and put 'All Lance, All the Time' and the @#$%! Cutters on the boob tube for the idiots to watch.
Ain't gonna happen, and OLD aint getting a dime of my money. Loosers.

G

I'm definitely on the same page. Especially with all the nonsense coverage of Fancy-Lancy's personal life. Personally, I'd rather see footage of Levi Leipheimer's wife than Sheryl Crow - at least she used to race bikes! (and doesn't make crap music.)
But hey, OLN's not in the game b/c they love cycling, they're trying to make as much money as possible. And obviously the Cult of Lance is what sells. I can only hope that sponsors and viewers stick around once Armstrong retires and coverage gets a bit more balanced.
Oh well, time to go hit the rollers and watch tapes of last year's Giro.

I'm definitely on the same page. Especially with all the nonsense coverage of Fancy-Lancy's personal life. Personally, I'd rather see footage of Levi Leipheimer's wife than Sheryl Crow - at least she used to race bikes! (and doesn't make crap music.)
But hey, OLN's not in the game b/c they love cycling, they're trying to make as much money as possible. And obviously the Cult of Lance is what sells. I can only hope that sponsors and viewers stick around once Armstrong retires and coverage gets a bit more balanced.
Oh well, time to go hit the rollers and watch tapes of last year's Giro.


For those of us who receive OLN's broadcasts of cycling, we're getting screwed. Plain and simple. The Vuelta went to a pathetic "highlights" broadcast last year after daily coverage in years before and this year it appears the Giro will do the same. While there is delayed coverage of many spring classics, OLN cant even rebroadcast daily delayed or nightly coverage of the Giro now. Their President recenlt said he was a cyclist and wanted to be know as the cycling broacast station. What a joke!

Admittedly, they are the only major station that even shows cycling. Admittedly, they could, in theory, change their minds and vroadcast at least nightly coverage of teh Giro and Vuelta. But as many on RBR have said, if only daily TDF coverage is what we get, they are truly sinking to the Only Lance Network. God save us when Lance retires.

Please go to www.olntv.com/feedback.asp and nicely state your concern and displeasure.

What I wrote:

I and my friends have greatly enjoyed your past coverage of cycling events. However, if I understand your 2005 cycling schedule correctly, the Giro this year will be "highlight" coverage. If that is the case then I am deeply disappointed in OLN. Didnt the President of OLN recently say in an interview that he was a cyclist too and OLN was committed to cycling coverage? If OLN is in fact now not providing at least once daily coverage of the Giro, after last year, dropping daily coverage of the Vuelta, then you and the OLN President just dont get it. In that instance you will have become as some are saying, the "Only Lance Network." And that is a shame.

FYI - based on OLN's TV listings, it appears that there will me more coverage - on Saturday the 12th.

There's also a listing for Wednesday the 16th, but maybe this is a re-airing of a prior show?

Could there be hope that coverage on OLN may expand slightly from what they initially posted?

FYI - based on OLN's TV listings, it appears that there will me more coverage - on Saturday the 12th.

There's also a listing for Wednesday the 16th, but maybe this is a re-airing of a prior show?

Could there be hope that coverage on OLN may expand slightly from what they initially posted?


no. oln has chosen to suck.

The problem is that OLN used to show serious coverage of the Vuelta and the Giro and guess what. The ratings SUCKED. A small number of hard core cycling fans would watch, but the rest of the country tuned out.

OLN claims that bull riding brings in a total of about 10 million viewers (not all at once). TdF brings in even more, but if we want OLN to cover the rest of the cycling season, we need to give them hard numbers to convince them that we can deliver around a million eyeballs for the Giro and the Vuelta.

What this means is that everyone on RBR (around 10,000 people) needs to get 100 friends to contact OLN and ask for serious coverage of the entire cycling season. Can we do this?

The problem is that OLN used to show serious coverage of the Vuelta and the Giro and guess what. The ratings SUCKED. A small number of hard core cycling fans would watch, but the rest of the country tuned out.

OLN claims that bull riding brings in a total of about 10 million viewers (not all at once). TdF brings in even more, but if we want OLN to cover the rest of the cycling season, we need to give them hard numbers to convince them that we can deliver around a million eyeballs for the Giro and the Vuelta.

What this means is that everyone on RBR (around 10,000 people) needs to get 100 friends to contact OLN and ask for serious coverage of the entire cycling season. Can we do this?

My quess is there are a lot more chew spitting, sheep boffing, rodeo watching red necks in this country than there are spandex clad roadie freaks who want to watch scrawny spandex clad men ride bikes for days straight. The only real way to get more Americans watching bike racing is to increase the number of wrecks. That is what attracts the American audience. Why else would the NFL and Nascar be top rated sports? Blood, crashes, highlight reel hits and wrecks. In short, food for the 8 year old male intelect. Truth is, I give up. I ain't gonna get good bike racing coverage, any more than I am going to get good fencing coverage. The fact that the first gold medal ever in Women's Sabre was from Oregon doesn't matter. Too much thinking required, not enough carnage.

Gordon

Cycling is just not popular with Americans, do not know what it is but I do not think it ever will be (absolutely have no understanding how people can say it is boring but 250,000 people and millions more on TV will watch cars go around a circular track for 3 hours!). I believe the most popular game in the world is soccer but how often do you see soccer covered on major TV. I only good soccer in this country is either pay per view satellite or on spanish or european television.

I ain't gonna get good bike racing coverage, any more than I am going to get good fencing coverage. The fact that the first gold medal ever in Women's Sabre was from Oregon doesn't matter. Too much thinking required, not enough carnage.
Gordon
When it's done well, there's very little as cool as fencing on TV---if ever there was a sport made for slow-motion replays and commentary this is it---but you're right that we're not going to see much of it on TV in our lifetimes.

Still, I'm not sure about the blood-lust factor. If I compare hockey or NASCAR ratings to baseball or basketball and think about the comparative bloodshed, I think there's more to it than violence.

Across the sea cycling is very popular the same countries where drunken sports fans have the bloodiest riots at soccer games.Europeans aren't watching cycling as a break from reading Goethe and Proust, they're watching it in the same way Americans watch the NFL.

I think the lack of interest in cycling in the US is simply a quirk of cultural history. Bullfighting and rugby are not terribly popular on TV over here and they have all the blood you could ask for.