Universal Sports, the network that brought us live streaming of the Giro d'Italia, is following up with live online and delayed broadcasts of the 2009 Vuelta a Espana which rolls out from August 29 to September 20.
All 21 stages will be shown live at UniversalSports.com every morning, complete with an online “Tracker” that shows riders' positions on the course and stage maps and profiles.
The stages will be replayed on the Universal Sports broadcast and cable network during the day and followed by an enhanced replay in primetime.
Meanwhile, Tour de France broadcaster Versus announced that viewership soared 41% over the previous year. Multichannel News reported that the Versus website fared well too, with a 117% increase in traffic over 2008.
Watching Grand Tours
Those of us accustomed to watching hours of Tour de France coverage on cable, often find it difficult to go cold turkey during the Giro and Vuelta. That's why I'm glad that Universal Sports has stepped up here.
The broadcaster, which is a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, signed a four-year deal to present the Vuelta in the US. That's in addition to the Giro earlier this year, and the Tour of the Basque Country as well as other UCI and world championship cycling events.
Carlos Silva, president and COO of Universal Sports, points out Universal Sports now has two of the three Grand Tours. David Michaels will lead coverage of the Vuelta; he produced the Giro coverage this spring.
'09 Vuelta
Alberto Contador, the winner of the 2009 Tour de France, is defending champion of the Vuelta a Espana, but has said he will not compete in the race this year; neither will other top finishers Carlos Sastre and Levi Leipheimer, who broke his wrist in the Tour de France.
The biggest cyclist to announce so far is Andy Schleck, who finished in 2nd place at the Tour de France. [Update: Schleck may be unable to compete due to injuries in a crash.]Others includes US cyclists Chris Horner (Astana) and Tom Danielson (Garmin). Aussie Cadel Evans also will compete, maybe to atone for his dismal Tour showing.
Oddly enough, the first three days of the 2,025-mile bike race roll through the Netherlands then it proceeds into Belgium before taking a flight into Spain.
Although climbers might take a backseat earlier in the northern European countries, they'll come to the front in Spain. The Vuelta features five high mountain finishes this year. There also three individual time trials.
More details at the official Vuelta website.
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