Cycling

[Nels Stewart]

So Ryder is poised to become the first Canadian cyclist to win a Grand Tour, and what is scheduled on Sportsnet Sunday morning? Cricket across the board, and a talk show about baseball on SN1. Giro coverage doesn't show up until 2 p.m.

Now I won't begrudge the cricket fans their opportunity to watch their sport as I'm sure they're just as marginalized and passionate about their sport as we are about cycling, but surely they can ditch a bunch of talking heads to show us Canadian sports history LIVE.

UPDATE: Guide on my PVR now shows Giro @ 6:30 a.m., but their online schedule still has the baseball talk show.

[YXU]

Hey Nels,
I'm showing SN1 carrying the Giro at 9:30 AM EST on Sunday. Great ride by Ryder today. Hopefully he left enough in the tank for tomorrow's stage, which should be a tough day. I was a little surprised he attacked on the way up to the finish, but if you're feeling good...

Inspired me enough to go on a nice ride at lunch to prep for the MS Tour ride. Although the hills in London, On aren't quite as steep or long

One last thought - I hate to complain when we've been given more cycling coverage by SN, but it's not nearly the same without Phil and Paul doing the commentating. Those two guys could make painting a fence sound fun and exciting.

[carlost2]

Well done Ryder, I couldn't be happier for him!!

He showed some grit and some determination today when he really did not have to. One more day in the mountains for Ryder, if he is still with the Maglia Rosa at the bottom of the Stelvio I think he'll do well, but I think if Basso wants to win the Giro he'll have to attack on the Mortirolo and try to drop Ryder and stay away.

YXU, no disrepect to Paul and Phil but I think their time has come, the constant mistakes and lack of keeping up with the sport has done it for me. IMHO Gogo and Schlanger are much better.

[Nels Stewart]

I love Phil and Paul, especially during le Tour, but their work at the Tour of California was abysmal. Give me Dave Harmon and Sean Kelly from Eurosport any day. I'm warming to Schlanger and Gogolski, particularly when they're able to do phone interviews with DS' in the cars, or other cyclists checking in. I just wish NBC Universal would do HD; I caught some of the Eurosport HD feed in a café this morning and it was sublime.

As for SN, my guide updated shortly after I made my post, although that doesn't diminish how much of an adventure it has been trying to find the coverage on SN the past three weeks.

[YXU]

Hey Guys,
No offence taken! For me, I think Phil and Paul are a bit like Bob Cole on HNIC. Lots of mistakes as he ages, but the voice and they way he builds enthusiasm are pure gold.

Having said that, what Ryder is doing is as exciting from a Canadian's perspective as anything we've seen since Steve Bauer in the TDF. It doesn't matter who does the play by play, tomorrow and Sunday are going to be really fun and nerve racking to watch! Just don't forget to add the extra time to the PVR for those taping!!!.

[57]

What a Ryder!

[YXU]

Superb ride! Nail-biting finish! What a great day for Canadian cycling!

[carlost2]

Congratulations to Ryder, that was amazing!!! Great day in Canadian cycling

I can't believe though that he has decide to ride the Tour, it's going to be tough for to be in any kind of shape for the Tour. Last year Contador blew away the field at the Giro and couldn't get anything done at the Tour. So don't expecrt exceptional results from Ryder at the Tour

[Nels Stewart]

Ironically, I wasn't able to watch the stage live as I was on a scheduled 100 km ride myself. So, until I was able to settle onto the couch and fire up the PVR, I spent the day figuring somehow Ryder had blown himself out chasing down de Gent on Saturday's stage and Rodriguez managed the TT of his life to retain the pink jersey. Boy, was I ever glad to be wrong, although there were some heart-stopping moments when Ryder's back wheel kicked out on the cobbles in Milan.
And while it's great to see the Canadian media finally paying attention to cycling and a race that isn't the Tour de France, it would be nice if Ryder's victory in Italy could be leveraged to a greater respect/appreciation for the rest of the racing calendar, including the one-day classics and even the one-week tours. After all, the seeds for Ryder's pink jersey were planted in those races.
Americans have been able to watch Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold and other such races live on Versus/NBC Sports, and lesser races get recaps. While Sportsnet has increased their attention to cycling, albeit with varying degrees of commitment, for the most part bike racing only hits the mainstream sports radar in Canada in July. The rest of the year, we're forced to hunt and peck for web streams or live text feeds.
It's easy programming to schedule; with the time differences, live racing from Europe rarely conflicts with any kind of sporting event in North America, and do we really need 10 hours of Sportscentre repeats that begin late at night and run on through late morning. It's got a built-in demographic for advertisers; look at the boom in road cycling thanks to the fondo and charity ride events that seem to run every weekend from April to September. The lore and history of the sport and its characters make it rich with storylines beyond the latest doping scandal.
Chapeaux Ryder!

[Nels Stewart]

Less than a week to Le Tour!
Looking at TSN's schedule, every stage will be on TSN2, but it appears Stage 8 on Sunday, July 8 will be delayed by a couple of hours (British Grand Prix). Fortunately, it looks like there may be an alternative:

In addition to cable coverage on NBC Sports Network, two complete live stages of the race will air on U.S. network television for the first time, beginning this year. On July 7 and July 8, the race’s 7th and 8th stages will be carried from 8 a.m. New York time to noon on NBC, Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network, said in a telephone interview.

[Nels Stewart]

Scott Moninger may be a knowledgeable commentator, but geez, he's like a talking coma. No wonder he was known as the "Iceman" during his riding days...

Fun Tour so far, really enjoying the "Tourminator." Ryder is also showing some excellent form coming off his Giro win and subsequent month away from competitive racing; it will be interesting to see if he's still got it when they hit the big mountains. With his teammates falling around him, he'll need all the strength in his legs he can muster.

[NeilN]

I was thinking the same thing about Moninger. I'm a casual fan (started watching the Tour about six years ago) so had no idea who he was. I miss Bob, Phil, and Paul all being in the same booth. And they've taken a step backwards with TV ticker. All they're showing is the time gap between the leaders and the peloton and ignoring groups in the middle or off the back.

[carlost2]

Absolute carnage on the road today, there goes Ryder's chances to do well at the Tour.

Riders were tweeting pictures of the wounds....not good The whole Rabobank team hit the ground today, not fun when you are doing 65km/h.

There were 14 riders at the main hospital in Nancy another 5 at another medical centre in the same city. We lost 4 riders and I think ther will be more non-starters tomorrow.

[ikidunot]

And Ryder is out....best shot in years, no Canuck on the podium this year! Hopefully he comes back next year....

[carlost2]

8 non-starters today (including Ryder) plus 1 withdrawal during the stage. So to summarize the crash yesterday put at least 12 riders out of the race.

Now to today's stage, Sky team looks very strong and it'll be very difficult to beat Wiggins I think if he keeps getting that kind of help from the team.