Road Cycling - Documentary On Lance Armstrong: Oln

Hollywood, Ca. (January 6, 2004)-The Outdoor LifeÆ Network (OLN) announced today that it will air a 13-part behind-the-scenes documentary on five-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team in high definition beginning April 29th and concluding at the end of The Tour de France in July. The show will be the Network's first high-definition program.

It will chronicle Lance and the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team from the beginning of the journey to its end, capturing the highs and lows along the way as Lance attempts to win a record-breaking sixth consecutive Tour de France title.

ìWe are very excited to be presenting our first high definition show,î said E. Roger Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of OLN. ìHigh Definition programming will continue to become more prevalent and we look forward to exploring more opportunities for high definition programming.î

The show will provide viewers with unprecedented access to Lance and the team, which has never been done before in the U.S. with any pro cycling team. It will not only focus on the competition, but will truly take viewers behind the scenes showing them what transpires when the team members are off their bikes. Viewers will see the tension and drama unfold as the team gets ready for the most grueling and prestigious sports event of the year. They will experience the pressure, the injuries, and the physical and mental rigors of the teamís preparation.

ìOLN is going to give its viewers the first-ever first-hand look into Lance and the team leading up to and during one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year,î says Williams. ìThis allows our viewers to not only get an up-close look at what it takes to compete in the Tour, but also away from the race course. It will give them insight into what itís like for Lance and his teammates on and off the bike. Itís a great opportunity to begin following the team in April leading up to our live coverage of the event this July.î



Early Season Episodes will include:
- Lance Armstrongís off-season routine of commercial shoots and his personal appearance schedule. What a week in the life of Lance, off the bike, is like.
- Pre-season individual and team training sessions in Lanceís hometown of Austin, Texas.
- Wind tunnel testing in Seattle of new time trial gear and bikes.
- The introduction of new team members including the replacement for Lanceís chief lieutenant, Roberto Heras.
- The set up of base camp in Girona, Spain.
- The early season campaign, including races in the Basque Country in Spain and in France.
- Lanceís build-up to the Tour de France to include various races.
- His scouting and course pre-riding and training in all major stages of the tour including the critical stage of Alpe dí Huez as well as the coverage once the Tour starts.


Once the Tour begins, cameras will take viewers on the team bus for daily team meetings, to team meals at the hotels, on top of the bikes with Lance and the team. People will get a first-hand look at the obvious and not-so-obvious obstacles that the team faces. They will get a birds-eye view into how the team interacts before and after the races, how the team develops strategies and goals going into each stage.

During the 13-week documentary viewers will find out what kind of shape Lance and the rest of team are in and how Lance compares to other team riders. They will get a chance to see first-hand the commitment, and preparation it takes to be a Tour de France winner.

Cameras on team cars and riders and everywhere in between, will follow Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Teamís every move as they prepare for their greatest challenge yet.

The show will also document the development of new young U.S. riders as part of U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Teamís effort to discover and develop the next Lance Armstrong and elevate American cycling.

The leader in adventure TV, Outdoor Life Network (www.OLNTV.com) offers more outdoor recreation programming than any other network. The 24-hour cable network, now available in over 56 million homes, is the leading source for television coverage of outdoor adventure sports and outdoor leisure recreation.

i NEED OLN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! My first reaction is - what a fantastic opportunity this is for fans of cycling and LA. However, this has to be a distraction for Postal. Damn, this show should certainly generate some serious posting here, though! :)

Holy sh*te...the Real World on bikes!
I wonder who will move out first...and if Puck will be there, sticking his scabby hands in the peanut butter. Maybe he and Hincapie can duke it out a few times.

Pretty funny, 165.

I think this is a great opportunity to build up some real drama here. I knew that OLN subscription I'm paying for would finally have some real meaning!

Still, I'm interested to know how long the segments will be. I mean, if they just give an hour per segment, we won't see anything at all- everyone knows that these reality shows edit out some good stuff and string together what they consider to be relevant, then air it like it's one big event. A lot of times, I feel manipulated by "reality tv", which is why I don't watch those types of shows (other than Trading Spaces and the Price is Right- does that count anyway?). Remember when they did the Lance documentary on ESPN? It was like half an hour, and I was rolling my eyes too. Just nothing there at all. I'm hoping for 3 hour segments, and I really don't care about the private life crap, just the training aspect and how they interact as a team.

I'm interested in the wind tunnel training as well- I always tell people Lance could get it for free if he just came to Chicago and trained along the lakefront! :D

I wonder how much they're actually going to give up about the training anyway, since other rival teams may be watching to get the scoop on how Lance trains. My thought is that they won't be giving up too much with the Chris Carmichael training trade secrets. That would be suicide.

Koffee

Can't wait for that to come on. Real Word drama series but on bikes I love it!!!

I cant wait for that....sounds awesome!!!!!

Oh good. More Lance.

:end sarcasm:

Oh good. More Lance.

:end sarcasm:

Is this the backlash only b/c he's won 5 straight? Or he is somehow too "corporate" BECAUSE he's won 5 straight and is on commericals everywhere? Or b/c he was one cocky, arrogant SOB BEFORE he ever won a single TdF?

Otherwise, I just don't "get" the anti-Lance sentiment that pours out whenever there's an interesting thread like this.

Why watch a documentary focused on a guy who has only won the TDF 5 times? Sounds boring to me.

OLN does seem like total Lance/USPS mania, but I cant say they havent earned it.
I'll probably record each episode.

Maybe I'll simply buy a video capture card, and a new hard drive, and record every minute of cycling coverage this year. :D

What are people going to talk about when both Lance and Tyler have retired, Postal has folded and there is no dominate American TDF rider?

Poor Bettini has an incredible year but everything that he did is overshadowed by the man from Texas.

What Lance has gone through and accomplished is amazing and I fully expect and hope that he wins 6 in a row. I'm just tired of the overwhelming preocupation about Lance and Postal. 16 pages of "Did Jan wait?" Give me a break.

What are people going to talk about when both Lance and Tyler have retired, Postal has folded and there is no dominate American TDF rider?

Poor Bettini has an incredible year but everything that he did is overshadowed by the man from Texas.

What Lance has gone through and accomplished is amazing and I fully expect and hope that he wins 6 in a row. I'm just tired of the overwhelming preocupation about Lance and Postal. 16 pages of "Did Jan wait?" Give me a break.

Well, I don't think we established the answer to that question yet. Can we discuss this a little bit more? Did Jan wait or not?

:D

Hey, when a US citizen does well (not just an American, because then we have to include other countries :D ) it would be good media to follow that person. That's how money is made by all the media outlets. I don't blame them for jumping on the Lance wagon. In a couple of years, Lance will be no more, and the media will be looking for the replacement, and as soon as they find that someone, they'll jump on that bandwagon. That's how we do it. It's just unfortunate that other riders get lost in the shuffle.

Koffee

Yeah. The same thing happened when Greg retired. It's sad that it takes a dominate American rider to get Americans interested in bike racing.

But it does get America interested in bike racing, and that's a good step. Lemond hit at the wrong time in terms of media exposure, too. He got a half hour on wide world of sports. He wasn't in as many advertising campaigns as Armstrong is. People have heard of Tyler Hamilton now, too, because they were watching LA in the Tour. Look, people can ***** all they want to about how he's becoming overexposed, but I don't think there's such a thing for a sport like cycling. Anything that happens to get it on the front page of newspapers and the covers of magazines is great as far as I can tell.

Add to this the Imax movie that they were filming
at last years TdF (followed Tyler) and there will be
lots of exposure to pro cycling. Get enough folks watching the movie, cheering Tylers stage 16 break
and we could see Cycling become even more popular than Cricket or Curling here in the states.

Marty

and we could see Cycling become even more popular than Cricket or Curling here in the states.

Marty

Dooooh! Funny, but oh so true. :roflmao:

Anything that happens to get it on the front page of newspapers and the covers of magazines is great as far as I can tell.

Oh of course. What will happen though is that Lance and Tyler will retire in a few years and Americans will again lose interest in bike racing.

It would also be nice if this increased exposure would do something to generate interest in something else BESIDES the TDF and all things Postal. Lot's of people perk up at the mention of the TDF but quickly dissapear as soon as it's over. By the time the Tour of Lombardi takes place, the only cycling discussion is about whether or not Lance will win in 2004.

It would also be nice if this increased exposure would do something to generate interest in something else BESIDES the TDF and all things Postal. Lot's of people perk up at the mention of the TDF but quickly dissapear as soon as it's over.

We should be thankful for the coverage that we get. It's not like the TDF gets stellar ratings even at its peak. It is sort of silly to chide the general public because they don't know who is favored this year at Paris-Roubaix.

Even the major sports in this country, sans the NFL, are hurting for ratings...and I don't see the few remaining NHL viewers out there filling the void next year during the lockout by following the pro peloton.

In other words, I'm thankful everyday that passes and OLN has not announced it is dropping cycling from its coverage.

It's not necessarily about television coverage though. One can very easily follow races that are not televised. Cyclingnews.com has live commentary of most major one day races.

I really don't expect your average American to care about who's favored to do well in Paris-Tours. One would expect a bike racing fan to take an interest. That's not happening enough though. It's all about the TDF. Interest in "lesser" races has to start here first before Joe American is ever going to care.

we could see Cycling become even more popular than Cricket or Curling here in the states.


Don't know about you but I'd rather watch Cricket than baseball or basketball.

Don't know about you but I'd rather watch Cricket than baseball or basketball.
Only if its not a 5 day.

Marty

Is this the backlash only b/c he's won 5 straight? Or he is somehow too "corporate" BECAUSE he's won 5 straight and is on commericals everywhere? Or b/c he was one cocky, arrogant SOB BEFORE he ever won a single TdF?

Otherwise, I just don't "get" the anti-Lance sentiment that pours out whenever there's an interesting thread like this.

Ask Christophe Bassons if he "gets" the anti-Lance sentiment.

It's not necessarily about television coverage though. One can very easily follow races that are not televised. Cyclingnews.com has live commentary of most major one day races.

I really don't expect your average American to care about who's favored to do well in Paris-Tours. One would expect a bike racing fan to take an interest. That's not happening enough though. It's all about the TDF. Interest in "lesser" races has to start here first before Joe American is ever going to care.

But even in Europe the same criticism is beginning to ring true. Look how many more teams are relegating their classics programs in favor of building a team for "The Tour." I guess we can partially blame Lance's training philosophy for this, but sponsors also want the biggest bang for the buck, and that comes with the Grand Tours. The fallout is that the "lesser" races are truly becoming that, with teams and top riders staying at home. And following a race with non-marquee riders via text updates isn't really going to win over many converts--even those on these boards.

Like soccer, the european peloton is just not our culture. And even though we have been told for the last three decades that soccer will one day conquer America, it has yet to even come close--even with a generation of kids raised on the sport. I think these kids see soccer as recreation, not as a passion. I have a feeling most folks that ride in this country see it the same way--passionate about riding and their bikes, but not necessarily Cipo or Bettini.

Is this the backlash only b/c he's won 5 straight? Or he is somehow too "corporate" BECAUSE he's won 5 straight and is on commericals everywhere? Or b/c he was one cocky, arrogant SOB BEFORE he ever won a single TdF?

Otherwise, I just don't "get" the anti-Lance sentiment that pours out whenever there's an interesting thread like this.

I think people are just concerned about everything being about Lance instead of being about cycling. If it's all on him then all we've gained in TV coverage, etc. will go away when he goes away.

Yeah. The same thing happened when Greg retired. It's sad that it takes a dominate American rider to get Americans interested in bike racing.

I teach CAT V's and recruit and teach juniors to race...what are you doing to promote the sport "to get Americans interested in bike racing"?

Not calling you out...but if you care, get involved.

I think people are just concerned about everything being about Lance instead of being about cycling. If it's all on him then all we've gained in TV coverage, etc. will go away when he goes away.

We had TV coverage, at least, of the Tour, pre-Lance post Lemond. But remember there was not an OLN out there like there is now. Cable TV has exploded, recently (last 7-8 years)...I don't think that it will "go away" after Lance retires. Plus, at least Postal has tried to develop new riders..

You're right Schiek. There's so much money and pressure to win the TDF now that the classics are in danger of falling by the wayside.

The riders that are the truly important are riders like Bettini, Rebellin and Zabel. Guys that race from February to November, both one day races and grand tours.

I teach CAT V's and recruit and teach juniors to race...what are you doing to promote the sport "to get Americans interested in bike racing"?

Not calling you out...but if you care, get involved.

I try to get people in interested in followjng racing. It's all about spreading the word. I don't know that only racers are interested in following bike racing. How many NFL fans have ever stepped foot onto a field?

I try to get people in interested in followjng racing. It's all about spreading the word. I don't know that only racers are interested in following bike racing. How many NFL fans have ever stepped foot onto a field?

I understand, but the more racing there is to watch (not necessarily on TV) in the US, the more interested people will get in it. And if kids are not being developed to race, eventually there is no racing.
In Indy, we have a pretty serious Masters program. Most of them are former CAT 1's and 2's..in other words, it's not a place for 50something's to try a new sport....the bulk of the rest of the category racers are in their 30's to early 40's...and little to no junior racing is available. Once these guys are gone out of the sport, that's it..
Why has soccer gotten more play on TV??? A gazillion kids play soccer.
If their kids race, adults watch, like my friends who never would have watched a soccer game if their kids had not played.
Where I grew up, sports like soccer and bike racing were part of the culture. In most of the country, it's stick and ball sports.
I have ecouraged many people to watch the Tour (like many watch the Indy 500 to get introduced to auto racing) and they are amazed at the speed, skill, and stamina required. But before that, they thought a bike was a toy.

You're right Schiek. There's so much money and pressure to win the TDF now that the classics are in danger of falling by the wayside.

You are looking at this via an American perspective via the American provided coverage.
I've lived in Europe. Classics are not going to fall by the wayside. What you have now are specialists...kind of the same in many other sports now...like baseball for example. You used to have pitchers. Now you have starters, long relievers, short relievers, stoppers....Hoops..power forwards, shooting guards, point guards..that's what's cool about Hamilton last year...he won a classsic and contended in a GC. Been a while since that's happened.
Bike racing's the same way....Classics specialists like Museeuw and Bettini and Van Petegem, and GC guys like Lance, and Ullrich, and Beloki, and Simoni...

You can enjoy both....it's just different riders. Heck, Quick Step practically has a separate team for classics (lead by Museeuw and Boonen)...another for GC's (Virenque)..same with Lotto..

Why has soccer gotten more play on TV??? A gazillion kids play soccer.
.

What's funny is that ratings show that these gazillion kids don't watch soccer. I've had this discussion many times on soccer boards. i.e. why kids play but don't watch.

The only people following the Argentinian and English leagues are dorks like me.

Oh yeah:

http://www.panderzinedistro.com/cycling

The only people following the Argentinian and English leagues are dorks like me.

Taking into consideration your views on Lance and Postal, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you are not a Man U. guy.

Wolves, maybe? ;)

Ipswich Town

Taking into consideration your views on Lance and Postal, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you are not a Man U. guy.

Wolves, maybe? ;)

Liverpool!
You'll Never Walk Alone

Liverpool!
You'll Never Walk Alone

Toon Army!

What's funny is that ratings show that these gazillion kids don't watch soccer.
If 1% of them watch MLS, they get a network TV contract..

oh, wait, that's already happened.... :D

Jan is much more interesting as an individual.

Jan is much more interesting as an individual.

There's no doubt about that. I wish there was an camera going when he did X @ a nightclub, and when he crashed his Porsche into a row of bicycles. Damn, now that would be a reality cycling show! :D

Hi

Did anyone record the lance chronicles?

Why god damn CableVision can't offered OLN ??????

I can't have Direct TV!!!!!

Damn....!!!

Corsaire :(

You don't get OLN on DirecTV? I think it's channel 608 or something like that on ours.

pfft. do a documentary on 53-11. Lance who?

Wow thread necromancing.

If you enjoy this type of stuff, "The Road to Paris" is a documentary following the Postal Squad in 2002(?) for 28 days. Its not entirely about Lance but the entire teams efforts to get to Paris. There's interviews with mechanics, soignuers, and race directors. You'll see young Tyler Hamilton, Victor Hugo Pena, and Christian VandeVelde. It highlights race efforts at places like Circuit De La Sarthe leading up to the TDF. Its really heartbreaking to watch George Hincapie's lead in the Paris-Roubais being lost by mechanical problems and then finally being humiliated by four Agricole(?) team members with no US Postal team members to help.

Its one of my favorite cycling videos

You don't get OLN on DirecTV? I think it's channel 608 or something like that on ours.

Only Direct TV offers OLN, not Cable what I have, at least in my area and my landlord won't allow me to install Direct TV just because he doesn't want any dish sticking out of his roof.
Corsaire

This sounds a lot like last season's Lance Chronicles on OLN. Is is the same thing or is it different?

It would be great if it were different. The Lance Chronicles were worth while watching for a choice moment here or there. They definitely aren't worth watching again. One of my complaints against OLN is that the Episodes weren't numbered or named and they did a LOT of repeats. They also didn't show a new episode at the same time every week. It was only after the season that I discovered detailed descriptions of each episode on Lance's (or was it U.S. Postal's?) website.

This sounds a lot like last season's Lance Chronicles on OLN. Is is the same thing or is it different?

It would be great if it were different. The Lance Chronicles were worth while watching for a choice moment here or there. They definitely aren't worth watching again. One of my complaints against OLN is that the Episodes weren't numbered or named and they did a LOT of repeats. They also didn't show a new episode at the same time every week. It was only after the season that I discovered detailed descriptions of each episode on Lance's (or was it U.S. Postal's?) website.

if you are referring to the first page of posts, it WAS last season's Lance Chronicles....note the post dates of last January...

I think a whole season of documentary shows about Lance and the USPS would be awesome, if OLN would follow up with some substantial cycling coverage for the rest of the year. It shows how the "market research" boys are in firm control of that network, Americans could only possibly be interested in Lance, right? As it stands, OLN is a lot like being in a restaraunt that serves up a delicious appetizer, then an hour later, you look around and the restaraunt's closed! I know all the "some is better than none" guys are gonna flame me now, but try getting a full paycheck once a year, then getting sporadic fractions of your normal pay rate and use that line of reasoning! OLN sets themselves up for this sort of criticism when it touts itself as the "cycling network".

I know all the "some is better than none" guys are gonna flame me now, but try getting a full paycheck once a year, then getting sporadic fractions of your normal pay rate and use that line of reasoning!
As opposed to no paycheck at all? That is how it used to be, and that is why some will feel compelled to flame.





OLN sets themselves up for this sort of criticism when it touts itself as the "cycling network".
I agree that OLN exposes themselves by declaring themselves as such. It is a bit of a stretch, but tell me, who else is televising cycling?