TV

French TV cutbacks

Most readers won’t be able to watch French TV and you’re not missing much given the weak output of most of the stations which rely on imported US series, made-for-tv films and parochial news coverage for the bulk of their prime time content. But one bonus is the coverage of cycling from France Télévisions and in 2012 there will be 120 hours of race coverage. Hopefully this time without staff ramming riders off the road.

But if 120 sounds like a lot, it’s significantly less than last year and even if you live on the other side of the world these cutbacks could hamper your TV viewing and reduce team sponsorship too.

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French TV upsets Spain

After all the talk of statistics, probability and law, here’s something quite different courtesy of French TV show Les Guignols. Fast forward to 3m35s for the relevant bit in the clip above (Flash Player needed).

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Demand and supply for women’s racing

Tour de France TV

Most of content on the Inner Ring is about men’s pro road racing but I follow the women’s side of the sport too. Right now we’re seeing teams disappearing and in 2011 some of the big races on the calendar have gone, a point made in an articulate interview by Australian rider Bridie O’Donnell on SBS.

There are calls to improve the women’s side of the sport with ideas like compulsory women’s teams for every World Tour squad or for big race organisers to put on a women’s race too, with Gerard Vroomen making some great arguments. I like these ideas… but maybe there’s more to be done?

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Time trials on TV

time trial TV

Today sees the elite men’s time trial. A lone rider against the clock, surely you don’t get a purer athletic contest in cycling. But as impressive as the contest may be, often it makes for poor TV viewing. 95% of the time you are watching a rider pedalling like a metronome and little else. I find myself reduced to analysing different hand positions, observing if shoulders are rocking or looking at the line they take around a corner. It’s a bit like studying a painting, you have to search for the details.

TV matters. Big audiences are key to attracting sponsors and the opinions of TV producers sway the UCI. So making a time trial more appealing for TV audiences matters a great deal. Sporting purists might regret this but always remember that if you’re reading The Inner Ring, you are not an average viewer of the sport but someone who has gone out of their way to read a niche blog.

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How much does a rider earn?

Lambo bike

The simple answer is €218,000, about  US$305,000. But before you rush out the door for a training session, note this is the average salary in the bunch and averages ignore detail. Simply put a few riders earn millions whilst most collect more modest pay.

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The Giro resumes

Normally I’d be very excited about today’s stage of the Giro. Stage 5 from Piombino to Orvieto is a moderate 191km long but includes the sterrato or unpaved sections. The race leaves the Mediterranean, heading inland to use the strade bianche, white roads, of Tuscany as well as some climbs. But it’s impossible to forget Wouter Weylandt, any battles on dusty roads today just won’t have the same urgency or importance as they might normally get.

With Wouter Weylandt in mind, note the Leopard-Trek team have left the race. Yesterday’s stage must have been impossibly hard to ride for them. They’ll be back. The same for Tyler Farrar, he was very close to Weylandt and has returned home. If you’ve ever watched a Sporza internet stream and discovered Farrar speaking excellent Flemish in a post-race interview then a lot of this is because of time spent hanging out with Weylandt and others in the Ghent area.

The Leopard team have set up a way to donate money to Weylandt’s family. You’ll find full details for donations here and they’re working on adding a PayPal facility soon.

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Street sprints

There’s a new racing concept coming to the sport: the elimination sprint. It sees two riders go head to head over a 1,000 metre course, usually the final kilometre of a well known race.

Quebec sprint
Rémi Pelletier-Roy, Stéphane Cossette and Dominique Rollin in the 2010 Quebec sprint

Tested last year alongside the Grand Prix de Quebec, it will be back again used in the sister World Tour race in Montreal that’s also run by race organiser and local mini media magnate Serge Arsenault. But there are plans to take it to many more races.

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Slow motion pavé

A reader’s sent in a link to this Dutch video clip from Paris-Roubaix. Shot with a Weisscam, a German-made high speed digital camera capable of 4,000 frames per second, it captures surprising details in slow motion. You can see tubs deform on the cobbles and specks of dirt flying off the wheels. It’s so detailed … Read more

Team car TV

Saxo car

The in-car TV footage from the Tour of Flanders worked for me. I was sceptical but the production skills made it great.

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Five things to watch in Flanders

If like me you will be watching the Tour of Flanders on TV, here are five things to look for during the race. The early break: which of the big teams manage to place someone in the move that gets away and in particular, is it someone who could help their leader at a later … Read more

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