There was a time, not so long ago, when cycling was considered a minority sport with little or no coverage provided by television and certainly none by radio. But thanks to Channel 4, whose early remit was to give extended coverage to so-called minority sports, cycling has now been elevated to a mainstream sport.
Recent British successes in cycling can’t, of course, all be down to TV’s coverage of events such as the Tour de France, but it has undoubtedly helped raise the profile and instil an interest in the sport among a new generation of enthusiasts.
And this year there is even more coverage than ever, although sadly no longer on Channel 4; instead ITV4 has taken up the challenge. With at least two or three hours live coverage each afternoon over three weeks, followed by an hour of edited highlights in the evening, cycling fans are finally getting their fair share of what is taken for granted across much of Europe.
Fronted by the excellent Gary Imlach, Matt Rendell and Chris Boardman, ITV4 is providing intelligent, reasoned and insightful coverage with racing pictures courtesy of a live feed from French TV. Each day former Olympic champion Chris Boardman provides astute comments with a detailed look at the day’s stage, much of which he rides on his own bike beforehand.
It’s always satisfying to see TV dealing with a sport seriously and not just seeing it as entertainment, unlike football where the emphasis seems to be on jokes with comedians Mark Lawrenson, Robbie Savage and Chris Kamara the regular stand-up comics; even Alan Green is now becoming a little wearisome. And when you do get a reasoned football presenter like Mark Bolton it’s disturbing to see him dumped from Sky’s Revista De La Liga Spanish football highlights show. Why, oh why?
Part of the Tour de France’s fascinating appeal is that it is also something of a three-week advert for the French Tourist Board.
It may seem an odd thing to say, but the French genuinely love France. Villages and towns pay thousands of euros for the privilege of having the tour pass through their vicinity, and when you see aerial shots of all those picturesque villages, sun-kissed rooftops and craggy peaks, you begin to understand why French television devotes so much time to the Tour. It’s part travelogue, part patriotism and part sport.
It’s one thing, however, devoting hours of live television coverage to a sport, but an entirely different matter when it comes to radio.
While the British Open may be our most important golfing event and a captivating TV sport, the fact is that it really does not lend itself to detailed radio coverage. It is not a natural radio sport. It’s impossible to keep all those scores in your head and difficult to follow. Similarly continuous coverage of the Tour de France would be a struggle on radio as there is often little action, just the peloton gliding along casually.
So, why then, did Radio 5 Live devote 12 hours a day to live coverage of the Open? Beats me.
