British Cycle Races on TV
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British Cycle Races on TV
April 2013
The top level of British road cycle sport gets under way this weekend with the Tour of the Reservoir, the first round of the Premier Calendar.
The Premier Calendar series gets a real shot in the arm this year with more TV coverage as Eurosport and British Cycling have agreed a deal to broadcast both it and the Elite Circuit Series.
Eurosport has long been the best source of cycle racing for the British armchair enthusiast and cover over 40 races each including the three Grand Tours, other stage races and the Classics. Eurosport see their coverage of top flight British cycle sport as being a means of further strengthening this position with its channel British Eurosport. This may be a reaction to the fact that recently both ITV4 and the BBC have started to broadcast more cycling as the traditional media wake up to the cycling boom and its surging popularity.
For its part the governing body of British cycle sport, British Cycling, see the knowledgeable Eurosport audience as being key to raising the profile of British domestic racing and supporting the massed ranks of British based pros that now exist. The TV coverage will hopefully benefit the race organisers as well.
And lets hope that it helps to encourage some more organisers to come forward. Despite the booming cycle market in the UK, the current series is much reduced compared to years gone by, with just 6 rounds, and is very biased towards the north of the country…
There is also the Elite Circuit series which will also be televised by Eurosport. It too features 6 rounds but again is pretty northern based.
Fortunately for the home based pros there is the Tour Series of city centre criteriums, this year sponsored by Pearl Izumi, a series that does have a more even geographical spread. The Tour Series will be fully televised on ITV4.
With other high profile events such as last weekend’s Rutland – Melton International CiCLE Classic, the summer Nocturnes, and the Revolution Track Series over the winter, also now on ITV4, the domestic scene certainly looks very healthy, which all bodes well for continuing the flow of British talent into the biggest continental races.
British Cycling Premier Calendar
British Cycling also carries the results but other good, timely sources of results are VeloUK.net and UKcyclesport.com
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