Sitting here in New York watching the 2007 Tour de France on the Versus cable television channel is proving to be a bittersweet experience.
The TV coverage is excellent, three or four hours a day, first live and then taped replayed at mid-day and in the evening. Some of the stages are shown without any ads for the last hour.
No more scenic fluff spot or unnecessary graphic, just racing, like in Europe.
How has the TV coverage been back in Canada? Probably not so good, huh? Can you imagine what it must have been like to read The Toronto Star back when Ernest Hemmingway was covering the Tour de France for them as a correspondent!
It becomes bittersweet because one of the major sponsors of the show is Cérvelo, the bike manufacturer doing so well in the pro peloton formerly of Quebec, now of Ontario. Cérvelo is a hug success story that most Canadians have probably never heard of.
Today during Stage 8 two or three on six Australians were either forced to quit or didn’t make the time gap. That still gives the Australians three or four more guys in the race than Canada.
How sad for Canadian cycling that Australia can enter six guys in the Tour de France and Canada does not have one rider in the event. They have not had a rider for years. In fact, somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but in all of Canadian cycling history we have had only three riders compete in the Tour de France, two in Yellow, Alex Stieda, Steve Bauer and Gord Fraser. Geoff Brown of Ottawa was in it for years as a mechanic.
How can Australia field so many riders and Canada so few?
I’ll tell you how, because Australia spends far more than Canada does, both from their government and from the private sector and Australia has people in place who know what they are doing.
The Canadian Cycling Association and its past President and current Board Member-at- Large, Bill Kinash are to blame. Canada has people like Lorraine Lafrenière running their cycling program who never saw a bike race before taking over the sport.
How stupid is that?
How does this happen.
What will we do about it?
If you're Canadian repare to be very disappointed in China for the 2008 Olympics.
The TV coverage is excellent, three or four hours a day, first live and then taped replayed at mid-day and in the evening. Some of the stages are shown without any ads for the last hour.
No more scenic fluff spot or unnecessary graphic, just racing, like in Europe.
How has the TV coverage been back in Canada? Probably not so good, huh? Can you imagine what it must have been like to read The Toronto Star back when Ernest Hemmingway was covering the Tour de France for them as a correspondent!
It becomes bittersweet because one of the major sponsors of the show is Cérvelo, the bike manufacturer doing so well in the pro peloton formerly of Quebec, now of Ontario. Cérvelo is a hug success story that most Canadians have probably never heard of.
Today during Stage 8 two or three on six Australians were either forced to quit or didn’t make the time gap. That still gives the Australians three or four more guys in the race than Canada.
How sad for Canadian cycling that Australia can enter six guys in the Tour de France and Canada does not have one rider in the event. They have not had a rider for years. In fact, somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but in all of Canadian cycling history we have had only three riders compete in the Tour de France, two in Yellow, Alex Stieda, Steve Bauer and Gord Fraser. Geoff Brown of Ottawa was in it for years as a mechanic.
How can Australia field so many riders and Canada so few?
I’ll tell you how, because Australia spends far more than Canada does, both from their government and from the private sector and Australia has people in place who know what they are doing.
The Canadian Cycling Association and its past President and current Board Member-at- Large, Bill Kinash are to blame. Canada has people like Lorraine Lafrenière running their cycling program who never saw a bike race before taking over the sport.
How stupid is that?
How does this happen.
What will we do about it?
If you're Canadian repare to be very disappointed in China for the 2008 Olympics.
