"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Lifespan of the Tour of California

While I'm excited about the Tour of California, and I've always loved the sight of big European teams racing on American soil alongside our own domestic teams, a dark thought still lurks in the shadows: looking back on races like the Coors Classic and the Tour de Trump/Tour de Pont, how many years will this race be around before a similar fate possibly occurs?

If the sponsors see benefits from their involvement, then it will go on.

Where can I buy some Amgen? :)

Where can I buy some Amgen? :)

Just ask Roberto Heras.. :D

for people not living in california it's really hard to follow the race. the website absolutely sucks and the media doesn't really cover it. no wonder these races don't stay around long. hopefully this is differnent, but i'm not so sure.

for people not living in california it's really hard to follow the race. the website absolutely sucks and the media doesn't really cover it. no wonder these races don't stay around long. hopefully this is differnent, but i'm not so sure.

Good point.

The coverage does suck. The best coverage I know of is on ESPN2 at 1 AM. :(

dunno, but the turnout at the prologue looked pretty big! Hopefully the ratings will justify better coverage for next year.

dunno, but the turnout at the prologue looked pretty big! Hopefully the ratings will justify better coverage for next year.
My question is how do they compare ratings for a show that is on at 1am. Do they take into account DVR recordings? Good if so because that is the only way many of us on the east coast are going to see any of this event. The coverage started out great but then at the end when all the big names were going they just kept showing finishes...I wish they had done the reverse and shown the whole ride of the later riders. Still it was pretty cool to see racing on TV again (damn Dish dropping OLN :mad: ).

that's what i hope too. i'm just really disappointed that the live video feed isn't working. i was really looking forward to that. oh well. maybe later in the race they'll get it working.

for people not living in california it's really hard to follow the race. the website absolutely sucks and the media doesn't really cover it. no wonder these races don't stay around long. hopefully this is differnent, but i'm not so sure.

I thought the website was quite good. Its got yesterday's results and each stage is highlighted with profiles and details.

What I also found helpful is major landmarks along each route and approximate times of the peloton to be at that point. That is helpful for spectators who are trying to take time off from work to see the stage.

I don't subscribe to cable TV so I don't see ESPN2. So I get updates from Velonews.com and cyclingnews.com. I'll hope to be out along the course for the last two stages in Southern California. The estimated times provided on the website will help me be at the right place at the right time.

What I found strange is who they decided to cover with the cameraman/motorcyclist. I only saw one or two of these guys, so they were limited, but why cover a no name?

Phillip Anschutz's company puts a lot of money into the tour and had committed to five years of promotion. I think the lifespan will be at least that long if not longer. The point being the promotion of the race is to promote California tourism, so hopefully it will work. I'm glad they are using cycling as the venue for such ... it's a boon to overall cycling in the states.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2005/04/11/story8.html

The 5 year committment gives hope this can grow into something that sponsors will want to support. Of course the Tour Dupont made it past 5 years, and looked like it was here to stay.

What I thought really sucked was the marketing of this event. Sure, all us Californians who are cycling enthusiasts were all over this. But what about those who live in California, who are not into cycling? This would have been a golden opportunity to promote the sport, but I saw little to no advertising for this on local television.

Next year, put some money to market this thing!!!!

Its not getting enough coverage in the media full stop.
news papers havent given it much coverage ( la times etc )
Nor has tv does sports center show highlights ?
It needs to get some hype...yaknow.

Its not getting enough coverage in the media full stop.
news papers havent given it much coverage ( la times etc )
Nor has tv does sports center show highlights ?
It needs to get some hype...yaknow.

No kidding. Sunday's Chicago Tribune had NOTHING on it. Nothing at all. That is beyond pathetic. They made sure they had a half-page article all about some trodlodyte goose hunter and his trusty dawg though.

Guys, you need to understand how behind the ball these guys were. Courses weren't finalized until a month before the start of the race, sponsors were still missing-it didn't look pretty. That they've swung it this well has been impressive, especially with any kind of TV coverage. I'm willing to bet their 'media group' is two or three rather overworked people, and if the LA papers are anything like the East Cost compatriots, they'll ask to be sent the info and then do nothing with it. It's a pain.

and if the LA papers are anything like the East Cost compatriots, they'll ask to be sent the info and then do nothing with it.

I've heard rumor that it's a pain to get the LA Times to list *pro hockey* scores, let alone cycling results.

I was disappointed with the local media coverage leading up to the start of the Tour. There was very little announcement/warning in any of the papers or TV news until Saturday. To some extent I think the Olympics are trumping coverage.

I can say though that "on the ground", the sponsors are promoting the hell out of themselves, as they should. There's no way you could get anywhere near the start or finish and not get blasted with Amgen propaganda. I really hope they keep it going, because it is very cool to see these guys riding on "our" roads. I hope the rest of the world gets some sense of why we consider this paradise, as well as gain some appreciation of the sport of cycling.

It may not be perfect, but it's a start. At least it's drawing lot of spectators. Hopefully it's something to build on and improve each year. I actually think the ESPN 2 coverage is pretty good, all things considered.

Perhaps someday the Tour of California can grow to be as good a race as the Tour of Georgia.

I was disappointed with the local media coverage leading up to the start of the Tour. There was very little announcement/warning in any of the papers or TV news until Saturday. To some extent I think the Olympics are trumping coverage.

I can say though that "on the ground", the sponsors are promoting the hell out of themselves, as they should. There's no way you could get anywhere near the start or finish and not get blasted with Amgen propaganda. I really hope they keep it going, because it is very cool to see these guys riding on "our" roads. I hope the rest of the world gets some sense of why we consider this paradise, as well as gain some appreciation of the sport of cycling.


I saw coverage in the San Jose Mercury News probably two weeks ago, and then starting Saturday they were all over the tour, with a special section dedicated to just the tour. It was hard to miss.

Yes, it was very cool to see these guys racing on the very road I commute on every day on my bike. I live just two blocks off Piedmont Road (where the race came by twice) and was able to watch the hillclimb as well as their second lap down Piedmont.

I was very pleased with the behind-the-scenes happenings where the race volunteers and police officers were, for the most part, curteous to everyone. I was also worried that the race spectators would leave trash and debris along the sides of the roads but no problems with that. Everyone packed up what they brought and left. That was a relief as there is a lot of NIMBY-ism that goes on these days.