SunSwingsLow

Unfortuantely, everyone on this board is abit insulated form the realities of what is going to happen. The people who post on here are mostly avid bike riders and fans. Of course the limited amount of people we each come into contact with outside of our riding we will try to influence as best we can. However, without a #1 GC contender the interest in the US will drop off signifigantly.

The reality is going to bite ultra hard next year AL(After Lance)

I guess its to be expected though. How much do the French care about the Super Bowl, World Series or NBA championship. How much does the US care about the World Cup? Its only to be expected IMO.

Walter

Well....

I can distinctly remember the LeMond years and their positive but relatively short impact.

LA is bigger than LeMond but I suspect he'll fade away in the mainstream fairly soon as will alot of casual (yet valuable) interest in the sport. That's my realistic/pessimistic view.

There is one big variable that might make a difference. There was no live or even extended TV coverage of LeMond whereas LA is on 3+ hours a day. I can distinctly remember ABC telling viewers that LeMond had won the ITT in '89 before they showed the clips. Pretty poor treatment of one of the most dramatic sporting monments of the 20th Century (I don't think I'm exaggerating).

With today's much better coverage there's the chance the sport has won more fans. OLN could've done more in that area IMO but the sport speaks for itself pretty well.

At least that's my hope.

smurfy

Interestingly enough, I believe American interest in the TdF was piqued by the '98 edition of the tour, BEFORE Lance started winning. Some of my co-workers back then, who are devoted NASCAR fans and know nothing about bicycle racing, were definitely paying attention to all the "troubles" of the Tour and were asking ME about it. They seemed to know more about it than I did, and I was the one who was, and is, bike crazy.

jitteringjr

How many of today's American pro cyclists were influenced by Lemond? I'm guessing a fair number. Now that we have Lance making an even bigger mark, I am guessing that there will be a lot more future stars influenced by Lance than what was by Lemond. There may be short-term ripples, but the long-term impact is going to be very positive for American cycling IMO.

FatguyRacer

I wouldnt be surprised in the least to see TdF coverage drop to the same level as what ESPN was doing before OLN picked it up. The Giro and the Vuelta must have been ratings disasters for OLN the last couple of years. They didnt repeat the mistake this year with the Giro and wont with the Vuelta. OLN has done alot to make us happy. Where else would you have seen live coverage of Paris Roubaix in the US? I think whatever they do will still be better than it was before they came along.

Bontrager

Not everyone that is watching now had a prior interest in riding or watching cycling. Lance did a lot for cycling in the U.S. that goes way beyond winning a few races.

hi565

No, well unless he has some influence on america. And an american. I'm pissed now, I dont know who to root for!

hi565

"Cyclism: ehh not worth it."

ed073

Exactly my point.

Crank It Up

Inebriated American fans can no longer run alongside LA in the mountain stages. No Lance: tv audience plummets for 2006 Tour "day" France!

Bontrager

How about rooting for some other Americans.

DocRay

Yeah, well if the S for B's at OLN bothered to talk about other american riders, maybe they'd have some fans without having to resort to rubber bracelets. Hincapie almost won Paris-Roubaix twice. George who?

hi565

Well lets see, I am going To be e rooting for disco, because they are American (ya figure?) ANd prob CSC, because Zabriskie is my homeboy!

squeegy200

Most unlikely......
There are already news agencies that have not renewed travel plans and accomodations for next year. Some media outlets that once covered the entire tour are now negotiating abbreviated stays next year. When marketing appeal drops followed by revenue decreases, the minimal television coverage that is currently here in the US may be up for negotiations as well.

TheDTrain

Yeah, well, I hope no one wins anything anywhere ever again.

2Rodies

Yeah I have to agree with this statement. OLN virtually ignored the efforts put forth by Landis and Liephimer (sp). If the amount of time Lance was mentioned had been cut in half and then replaced with Floyd, Levi, David, and George maybe the fan base in America would have expanded.

My personal opinion is that we will see Levi in the top 10 again and George will join him maybe making the top 5 in '06. These will be great accomplishments but unfortunately Americans can't understand this and will look at them as "loosers".

BTW CSC is an American company.

marqueemoon

Dave Z is a riot. He's definitely the kind of personality that could keep Americans interested in the sport.

Flaneur

When the plucky unknown Norwegian kid from the small team comes outta nowhere to expose the remnants of Lance's supporting cast, I like to think a bunch of you guys will be suitably impressed and intrigued.

Not holding out much hope for Mr and Mrs Mainstream sports fan- even if there's a heartwarming human interest sub-plot...............

GitaneRider

Yea people only watched the tour just to see lance...right?...well i did

CLNeumie

One positive thought: "An expanded mind never returns to its original shape".

We will lose viewers, but remain way above pre-Lance levels. Add the Tour de Georiga and Tour de California to the mix and we start the rebuilding.

2Rodies

I think that is true, however from a broadcasters standpoint OLN will need to be able to see the ratings results immediately. With out the numbers they will program something else. In today's atmosphere tv programmers need instant gratification. If it cost them X amount then they must deliver Y viewers. That is why you might see more bull riding than cycling. Bull riding might cost them less to acquire than cycling.

squeegy200

There are three significant conditions working against this year's upcoming Tour De France. All will have a negative impact on it.

First--a significant percentage of the foreign press corp that was present in the past few years isn't even making travel plans this year. That can be attributed only to the media magnet that Lance Armstrong brought to the table.

Second--The significant drop on mountain top stage finishes just isn't attractive to television viewers. There are way too many flat stages which just doesn't translate into market share on the television.

Third--the TDF will overlap Soccer's World Cup. Since that is a much more popular sport, it will take a significant amount of the television shares.

ReptilesBlade 

Yeah, even though I am new to cycling I am a cycling fan and not a Lance fan. He is cool and he has done a great deal for the sport but he is not why I took cycling up, I took it up to improve my physical and emotional health and to finally find some kind of outdoor activity I can participate in other than ****ing fishing. Lance was realy the furthest thing from my mind.

Warblade

American company, Danish team.

waltergodefroot

Who are the foreign press corp that are not making travel plans this year, and how do you know this?


A significant drop? In 2006, there are 3 stages ending with mountain top finishes. In 2005, there were three mountain top finishes, in 2004, there were 3 mountain top finishes, in 2003, there were 3 mountain top finishes, in 2002 there were 5 mountaintop finishes, in 2001 there were 5 mountain top finishes, in 2000 there were 3 mountain top finishes, and in 1999 there were 3 mountain top finishes.

So in 6 out of the last eight Tour's there have been 3 mountain top finishes. How is this years a significant drop?


The Soccer world cup ends on July 9th. The TDF will continue to run till July 23rd, another two weeks. This overlap will be during the time the TDF is being run over the flat stages, which you said: So by your estimation, the impact of the Soccer world cup should be minimal since you don't think the viewership of the TDF will start in earnest till the mountains.

Now what were you saying?