Please thank Gavin Harvey of OLN for his comments on the 2004 Vuelta a Espana and also Dave Aiello for his thought provoking article on operationgadget.com.

I personally believe that the TV ratings in the U.S. would have improved for the 2004 Vuelta a Espana.

This is due to the momentum in the U.S. from the 2004 Tour de France and Tyler's and Bobby Julich's success in the 2004 Olympics Time Trial. I think that it was an error to assume that the TV ratings on OLN for the 2004 Vuelta a Espana would have been the same or worse than in previous years.

As anecdotal proof of the broader awareness of pro cycling in the U.S., I point to my own cycling experiences. I'm a competitive masters cyclist and look a good bit younger than my 55 years of age, plus I'm small like many of the pro cyclists (5 ft., 7 in. & 146 lbs.).

Recently, I bought a U.S. Postal Service team kit (jersey and bibs anyway) from Nike Town in Denver and have the Lance edition of the Giro U.S.P.S. team helmet. Every time I ride in Colorado with this kit on, a number of kids and adults either say, (a) "Go, Lance Armstrong" (they usually add the Armstrong) or (b) very excitedly, "Look, look, it's U.S. Postal."

When I wore a U.S.P.S. jersey and helmet in the past, this sort of public response NEVER occurred before this year. It tells me that the awareness of pro cycling and pro cyclists in the U.S. public has made a giant leap forward this year.

With Tyler now riding in the 2004 Vuelta, I'm disappointed that we are going to miss out on a big opportunity to keep the cycling momentum going in the U.S., at least as much as we could have, had the event been broadcast daily on the Outdoor Life Network.

As Tyler Hamilton says in his diary articles in VeloNews, "Thanks for reading."

Sincerely,

William Albert Gary
Principal & Managing Broker
MacLaurin Stewart, a Partner of ITRA Realty Group
2020 Arapahoe Street
Suite 1150
Denver, Colorado 80205-2548

Phone: 303/294.0277
Fax: 303/294.0278
E-mail: wgary@MacStewart.com
Web Site: http://www.MacStewart.com

My husband and I fully concur with the assessment that the Vuelta would have been more successful this year. It would have been better to continue the momentum from the Giro,Tour de France and the Olympics. Cycling in the U.S. is just catching on! And OLN does a great job. Terribly disappointed. Will miss those voices...Can anyone tell us if there is a satellite feed in the U.S.? I've checked out the BBC but don't see it on the schedule. Please advise.

Harvey,

I can watch fishing/hunting shows at anytime on any station. I guess you must pay your bills. Your station has more of the same stuff over and over. It will catch up to you, by doing other things like the Vuelta a Espana you would be building a base for other viewers (other than guys setting in a boat all day and eating). When the TV's are swamped with H/F all you will be know for is that you are just another fishing/hunting station. However I do think you for the Tour de France, no one can do it like OLN. Sorry your having a hard time with your finances. You do cycling so well, I know, maybe if the riders would wear camo... whould you change your mind?

E.Sloan
PS. Yes,I hunt and fish, but would rather watch anything But.........

It's really too bad that we won't see the Vuelta. I found it exciting and not to be missed. I am pretty much housebound and cycling on olntv has been the highlight of this summer. I hope oln will reconsider for next year and give us more cycling, not less.

We were very surprised and very disappointed to find that OLN was not covering the Vuelta which we enjoyed daily last fall. We were very excited after watching (again) the Giro & Tour this year on OLN. We, too, think that more cycling, not less, would be OLN's strength and benefit.

So did they spend too much $$ this year on covering the Tour? The 'tourist' stuff covered this year was ok, & we hope others enjoyed it. We watched all of the road races on OLN's Tour coverage; we watched very little of the tourist stuff. Would have rather seen Kirsten Gum helping narrate the race &, perhaps, saved enough $$ to allow the Vuelta to be shown.

Thank you for your review of the situation and the comments of others. We are definitely disappointed in OLN's decision!

Since the veulta's outcome is usually not decided until the last day(s) it contiues to be exciting for cycling viewers. In addition the race offers fans the chance to see the other cycling stars that are overshadowed by Armstrong. I appriciate OLN's coverage and understand their financial need however the cycling community does hold some responsibilty because there are very few ads on cycling programs for cycling products. View the hunting and fishing shows and the majority of ads are for that sports products.

The advertisers on cycling shows need to know from us viewers that we purchase their product(s) and appriciate their sponsership.

The only time I would bother watching OLN is the cycling coverage. Less cycling just translates into less OLN in my case. They really polished up their coverage of the Tour and Lance this year. They could have followed suit with the Vuelta as well.

Opportunity missed.

I was really looking forward to watching another race on OLN, having enjoyed the Tour so much this year and last year. I'm sorry that the Vuelta wont be covered this year. Your coverage of Cycling is really the only reason I have OLN at all. Please reconsider for next year. Thanks,

Bill

Several years ago, cycling on TV was only available on the occasional segment of
Wide World of Sports. I didn't watch much TV then and didn't subscribe to cable TV. When OLN appeared with live, daily coverage of pro cycling, I got cable just to watch OLN. I am very disappointed the Vuelta will not be on this year.

Scotty

I too was surprised to find no coverage at all; certainly the redundant fishing and hunting shows that serve only to attempt to sell to that narrow audience...who is likely out hunting or fishing...can't get better ratings...right?

I subscribed to the DirecTV extra package exclusively to watch cycling on OLN...the Vuelta last year changed me from a Lance fan to a Heras fan to a cycling fan in three weeks. Just when I figure it out, the coverage goes away.

Ack!

It is quite surprising that there is no US coverage of the Vuelta- especially after Tyler Hamilton won Gold in Athens!

Since OLN spent so much money advertising the "Cyclism" for the Tour de France, I think they missed the boat by not continuing the great coverage. I also only watch OLN for cycling, and I think OLN has an identity crisis on their hands. The viewer demographic that watches "Hunting with Hank" and other fine "sitting in the woods and waiting to shoot animanls" shows are much different than cycling programming or the gravity files.

It is only a matter of time when some other network realizes the money that can be made by advertising to a cycling audience.

I guess this year we'll just have to read about Beloki, Hamilton, Heras, Cunego (Giro winner!!), Vinokourov, and Beltran vying for the win...

I got the dish network satellite tv just so I could watch bicycling and the grand tours.
I'm very disappointed that OLN will not be covering the Vuelta. I guess I'll just have to go back to network TV because I will not be watching OLN.

The spanish channel TVI is covering the Vuelta with same day coverage. I can't understand spanish, but I will be dropping OLN for a while and subscribing to the Spanish Package so that I can at least watch the action.

Sorry OLN feels that way about the Vuelta. After being lodged daily in front of the tv for my second Tour de France, I was really looking forward to it--I'm now hunting cycling info daily on the web, good Lord, I must be a fan. Others must be becoming fans like me, so, as some have commented, I believe the Vuelta viewership might well have picked up this year. Maybe we don't need exhaustive, repetitive coverage all day, every day. I'd like to see the US races that were mentioned above also, of course. OLN may need to pick and choose, but I hope they show more cycling. And yes, as far as money is concerned, there's definitely some dead wood they could save on in their Tour coverage. (Bob Roll is not up for consideration.) What was that cyclism bit, anyway, I muted the commercials it was so annoying.

Incidentally, my husband and I fish. But guess how much fishing we watch on OLN...

Since OLN is not covering the Vuelta and doesn't have any significant cycling to show until next year, I was able to downgrade my Disk Network programming package. I told Dish Network I'm dropping the more expensive package because OLN isn't covering enough cycling. Too bad Aria TV or some other cable or satellite network isn't coverning the Vuelta. I'd switch in an instant.

Last year, I was concerned about the coverage of the Giro and the Vuelta. This year, the trend continued with the Giro. That coverage, alienated the west coast. With only early morning or midday programming here in the west, we could not come home from work and watch the coverage. Yes, we have VCR's and that is exactly what I did, but a large number of cycling fans and large dollar advertising targets are in the west. I know this, because I work for a very large bike shop in California. The '04 tour de france was a bit overkill and we are not asking for that type of coverage for the Giro, Vuelta or other races, but it is really a shame to try and cram all the great racing info into an hour a week. Give us a relaible and frequent (daily would be nice) program time that we can schedule into our lives, give us some decent coverage of the big races, the tours and general racing news and create a following. Over time, you will see a winner, we have money to spend and will support the advertisers that allow us to have these programs. It won't just happen over night and it won't happen if you change the rules on us all the time.

Thanks for listening.
keith

OLN and related TV programming will offer more coverage of cycling when profit is anticipated. As a start, organizations related to the sport must inform members of addresses to contact to request such coverage. During your next two, three, four or more hours ride, think about and plan a way to set aside 15 minutes of your free time to contact ABC, CBS, and NBC with your request for amateur and professional racing coverage. Sitting on your saddle is your desire. Sitting in complacency will get you sitcoms.

Yes, the redundant low budget looking "outdoor shows" that you have don't exactly speak to the average "outdoor person". I do know that ciclying has a limited audience. If you toned down the "bells and whitles" ( usually designed to suck up to Lance Artmstrong ) it would makes financial sense to cover the Vuelta. We don't need several people telling us how great LA is. If it's still possible, I suggest that you get it on. LA won't be here forever but cycling will. "Pulling out the rug from us is not a good investment in the future, in my opinion. It also makes OLN look very "Mickey Mouse", that's for sure!

Can anyone say Team Discovery as in Discovery Channel? I cannot invision OLN promoting pro cycling in the USA when many viewers tune in to OLN, only to see ads for the Discovery Channel on the strips of many riders. I certainly can see that OLN has lost business motivation to promote cycling. But, the basis of the lost motivation may not be ratings as the Prez candy coats it. Let us be honest: cycling never has nor never will draw as many viewers as fishing, so if ratings were the only issue, we would not have seen all of these years of grand tours and classics. Oh yeah, next year's Tour of Italy and Spring Classics are probably gone too.

I was stricken by waves of grief this morning as I flipped through OLN's tv schedule and saw no Vuelta coverage. This was the year to show it with strong American participation. The Vuelta usually turns out to be much more exiting than the Tour "day" France, as it is much less orchestrated by a few powerful teams.

It is also frustrating to see how much emphasis is put on Armstrong. It is risky to draft behind the image of one American cylcing god, sometimes you have to get out there and takes some pulls of your own, OLN. Or at least catch on to the wheel of a few other American stars, i.e. Hamilton, Landis, Leipheimer, Julich, Danielson.

Obviously it is not your responsibility to support US cycling, but as someone else said, it would build on your base for the future to cover some of the other Americans. Plus some of us also are interested in more than just American born riders.

I too only purchased the satelite package in order to watch OLN's bike racing and ski racing. Now with your new NASCAR coverage, your numbers should go way up to support some lowly cylcing and skiing, maybe in the wee hours of the night.

Could you at least get a feed from Eurosport without great investment?

I only watch OLN when there are bicycle races. When I went to program my tivo for today's prologue, I was shocked to find that there was no Vuelta coverage on OLN. Is bull riding that much more popular than bicycle racing?

I was shocked to discover that OLN will not cover the 2004 Vuelta! America has outstanding representation at this event (Landis just won the TTT)and the past two Vuelta's were superb contests. I also find the Vuelta on par with the Giro and Tour de France in terms of OLN's past coverage of the event. Puh-leeze bring it back !!

I am in shock. I really live for watching the grand tours, starting with the Giro in 03 and was definitely counting on OLN to broadcast the Vuelta. I'll definitely seek out TVI's coverage.

I was really pissed to have Kirsten Gum bumped off in favor of a boy's team for the Tour. That tourist stuff was anoying and I never watched it I was really sorry for her. Now I am even more upset to think OLN spent so much money on Al Troutwig that it can't afford to cover the vuelta.

This is known as killing the goose that layed the golden egg.

I hope you can get it together for next year.

I too subscrbe to OLN for its cycling coverage, and I am very disappointed the Vuelta will not be on their schedule this Fall. I am a former racer who fell in love with cycling in the 1950s while living overseas. I am now wheelchair-bound due to ALS (Lou Gherig's disease)and all my cycling is now vicarious. Too bad.

I would like to concur with the comments posted by dom, earlier today: I got up early to search frantically for when and where Vuelta coverage might be on TV, to no avail! Disappointing when you consider that the Vuelta has been the most consistently exciting of the Grand Tours over the last five years... I also think that the 'over promotion' of Lance Armstrong could be to the detriment of cycling, similar to the situation pro basketball created with Michael Jordan.
Many of us will follow the race on the cycling news or velo news websites,
less apt to go to OLN for anything.

I am also dissapointed that the Vuelta de Espana will not be shown on olntv this year. I concur with others that there was a lot of enthusiasm here in the U.S. to see the U.S. Postal team continue to do well. Also, remember that our great country, the United States, is a country with immigrants from all over the world and that many of us enjoy watching other sports besides basketball and football. There are many cycling fans here who enjoy not only the Tour de France but also La Vuelta de Espana and other cycling events.

So! I get up this morning to program my Tivo for the Vuelta and Wo! Where the hell is it? I frantically climb the stairs to my trusty Mac go online to Velonews and check the calendar only to find nothing...nada...zip! Ok, I own a business, I understand the need to tow the line, but to be honest I only watch OLN for cycling. Perhaps you dont understand the numbers of me's that are out there. WE WANT OUR CYCLING COVERAGE!!!

Thank You

Donal Owen

I too am sad to hear that the Vuelta will not be shown. I looked at OLN's calendar and saw that they running it in October. The only reason I bought DirectTV was to watch cycling in the first place! I guess I'll try to see if La Gazzetta shows highlights. I hope you all reconsider the decision next year. I think in order to build an audience in the U.S. past the Tour it may be necessary to eat some cost. I get sick of seeing H/F shows all the time...other channels show that stuff too you know. It'll be a shame not to see Tyler, Bobby and Floyd riding this time of the year.

Oh, and please no more of that Tourist stuff and the Cutters(during the TDF)..never watched that and I dont think it was necessary. Come to think of it, you may have blown waay too much money on the "cyclism" bit too. I agree w/ others who stated that LA is not all what cyclings about. What are you gonna do when he's gone? Promote cycling, not just one rider.

Ronnie Santos

Thank you for your explanation about lack of coverage of the Vuelta. That said, we are IN SHOCK. Please rethink this for next season. The Web is no substitute for the beauty of live coverage. Where will our inspiration for fall cycling come from? The camaraderie with others who have watched the day's stage? We are so disappointed.
Deb Oakley and Hobie Iselin

I canceled my OLN and subscribed to the Spanish channels so that I can watch the Vuelta on TVEI. The prologue was great with Postal looking very strong. I may not understand Spanish, but I do understand the joy of watching a great race. In three weeks I can cancel the Spanish channels and the total cost will be less than $25.00. A great bargain in my book. I then have to decide if I want/need OLN back.

I think that OLN and sponsors should read the postings on this page carefully then multiply them by a factor of probably thousands. There is more to outdoor television than watching bull riding or someone using $15,000 worth of technology to catch a single fish. By failing to broadcast the third jewel of the racing crown the network is constricting instead of expanding its viewer basis; also look at the demographics of the cycling audience.., we're the younger folks in TV land. Let's admit it, OLN has made a bad decision this year; let's pray that they rethink who the programming department uses for advice before next season.

Ditto to everyone else!!! We also subscribe to OLN for the cycling coverage....Poor, poor decision by the big shots...all the Bull riding and fishing and hunting could give way to at least once a day coverage for the Vuelta. I too will get the Spanish station in exchange for OLN at least for the next month....

Like many who have posted comments, I watch OLNTV almost exclusively for the cycling coverage, and am greatly disappointed that the Vuelta won't be televised on any channel I can subscribe to. Thank heavens for on-line live commentary and WCP!

While the Lance Chronicles may have interested some viewers, I'm interested in *cycling*, not just one cyclist, even though Armstrong rides the Tour 'day' France remarkably well.

Bobke and Kirsten Gum made a fine team - she clearly has become interested in the sport and has done her homework. Al Trautwig, on the other hand, expressed little to no interest in, or understanding of, cycling (by his word choice and body language, he deemed numerous stages dull and boring) and focused almost exclusively on Lance Armstrong. Sure, he's got a smoother voice than Gum, but I kept wishing he would go away. I also wished that he'd learn some manners, and not interrupt the knowledgeable members of the OLNTV team with fatuous (and often incorrect) blither. Yes, adding Trautwig was a marketing decision, but I question how much research went into shaping that decision.

In my opinion, OLNTV would have benefited more from budgeting for coverage of all the grand tours, than from minimal coverage of the Giro and near-saturation coverage of the Tour.

I, like many of the others above, purchased oln exclusively for cycling coverage. I'm very disappointed that the vuelta will not be shown as in many ways it's an even better race than the tour since it isn't controlled by the same riders/teams as the tour is. you've lost my viewing.

I think the person who made the connection with the sponsorship of the Discovery Chamnnel was on to something. OLN may be getting cold feet seeing a competitor in their playground. They should stay in the game. People I know only know of OLN as a cycling channel. It was pioneering and unique programming that made a name for them and an audience! They also need to continue covering the European classics because domestic racing just does not have the unique blend of excitement, cultural richness and beauty. Watching the peloton speed past the Walmarts and Home Depots in Georgia just will not make as good viewing as negotiating the narrow streets of a medieval town in Spain. I don't expect US farmers to create field art to celebrate the Wachovia tour coming through Pennsylvannia. And what about those crazy crowds in the Pyrenees? US racing is just not the same and may never be. Give us back the big three, at least, OLN or join rat-trap pedals in the dust bin of cycling memories!

I was shocked to find no Vuelta coverage on OLN. You can't justify a half hour or an hour review each day? Even at 6 AM ? The only sport I watch on OLN is Bike racing and I feel that you cover the sport very well. However, after Lance's and Tyler's recent wins I thought that you'd be trying to build your audience so that we would not look to other sources for coverage. The Vuelta will be a good race this year and I feel that my Spanish will be better after I watch it all on Spanish TV.
George McNeil
Oceanside, CA

I can't believe that OLN made the very unpopular decision to entirely forego coverage of the Vuelta, especially coming off the hugely successful production of the Tour de France. Of course, this would all be different had Lance Armstrong or Tyler Hamilton chosen to ride. In the end, We may miss Floyd Landis on the podium and, in retrospect, interest might have been a lot higher than the OLN Moguls predicted.

Even abbreviated coverage would have been greatly appreciated. Personally, I don't understand how innumerable bass fishing tournaments can draw crowds of tv viewers. It's the same show over and over again. Maybe that's the trick..it is the same show. I'm not calling for full coverage, as in the Tour; but no coverage is an insult to the growing sport of cycling, worldwide. Even bull riding (ha) has it's own programming; and that's a lot of bull (pun fully intended).

I am very disappointed that OLN is not providing coverage of the Vuelta. I have become a huge cycling fan the last three years, and depended on the Vuelta to give me a little dose of the Posties, and all the great riders I have come to love and follow, before the winter sets in. I guess I'll check out the spanish stations, but I will miss Phil and Bob...

Check out this petition to get the Vuelta back on OLN:

www.petitiononline.com/vuelta3/petition.html

I too am disappointed, and saddened at not being able to watch Tyler, Bobby, and the group in the Vuelta. What a way to start off the day--6:30am and live racing on the tube, while getting ready for the day, especially if the day includes a ride! Saddly, it comes down to someone's idea that there isn't enough $$$ showing up relating to the broadcasts. I agree that oln missed the trend and the boat-- there's gotta be more interest after the TdF and Olympics. oln gets demoted to lower case for this one.

What a let down. US Postal is riding in this tour and there would be heavy interest in it from all the viewers who watched the Tour De France this year. I just can't understand why OLN is turning their back on an oportunity to build an audience for bike racing. Especially considering the drivel this station airs most of the time.

Drop the Cutters.
Drop Christen Bubble Gum and Al Troutfish
Drop that forgetable/insufferable not-one-bit-funny culture reporter...the bald guy with glasses.
Drop the expensive "Cyclism" promos..what the hell was that anyway? How much did they pay Jason Lee to act like a maniac?

Give us 3 guys: Phil, Paul & Bobke
Give us 3 Grand Tours: Italy, France and Spain.

Then air Bull riding all winter for all I care.

I, too, am disappointed that OLN has chosen not to cover the Vuelta. I have to pay extra for OLN, and cycling coverage is the only reason I do so. I looked forward to the Vuelta--no need to check the schedule early, right--it would just be on like it always is. Wrong. Guess since i don't watch the huntin' and fishin' shows, I can cancel oln for now. You guys have gone way down in my estimation.

I am very disappointed that OLN isn't showing the Vuelta. I was looking forward to watching it and believe that viewership would have been up. The Vuelta is a better race than the Giro. OLN needs to rethink this decision.

There's not much left to say...
I've always chuckled to myself when I thought of some hunter or fisherman tuning in to watch fat guys sitting in a boat and see men in brightly colored tight clothes instead. I thought about that this weekend when I got out of bed early, tuned in to OLN and saw fat guys sitting in a boat. I guess the final joke is on us.
I'm no marketing pro, but common sense tells me that many people who've never watched cycling tuned in to the TDF this year to watch history in the making. Many of them learned about the sport from the incomparable team of Phil and Paul, (in spite of the ignorant blathering of Al Trautwig.) There must be several new fans who would have watched the Vuelta if given the chance. It seems to me OLN "set the hook" in a prospective new viewer base, then neglected to "reel them in."
Final thoughts:
1. Phil, Paul, and Bobke, period.
2. How could you pass up the chance to televise more history, the final grand tour ever of the posties? Good luck boys!
3. We can do without those stupid Cutters.
4. What the hell is a "cyclism"? I still don't know.

I'm a woman who just recently started enjoying watching television coverage of professional bicycle racing; and OLN has done an impressive job bringing coverage of the Tour, Giro, and Vuelta. That is, until this year.

This was supposed to be the year of Lance Armstrong and his triumphant, record setting TDF win. Instead, it almost turned into the theatre of the bizarre; featuring Al Troutwig and Kristin Gum(ball), and a supporting cast of even sillier cads. It was a wonder that we saw as much racing as we did.

I fear that OLN found that these irritating side shows are more expensive then they figured. They coukd have saved enough money on Mr. Troutwig and Ms. Gumm to have at least given a little notice to the Vuelta. By the way, what are the sports credentials of either one of them. I know Mr. Troutwig is following the sports scene everywhere; tennis, cycling, gymnastics, et al.
If he left for another line of work, today, I would breathe a sigh of relief. You can't imagine how irritating his presence is as he competes against the event contestants themselves and his "co-hosts" for prime attention. Please do not renew this man's contract (anyone).

As a major sponsor of Lance Armstrong and the "Posties", one would think it natural to cover at least the three major cycling grand tours. Where were your collective heads, OLN executives, when you deemed the Vuelta, less significant than the Giro? They shold have equal billing.

I am seriously disappointed in OLN for not covering the Vuelta. I switched from cable to direct TV just so I could get OLN because they broadcast the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta. The only thing I watch on OLN is biking. I just went on OLN's website to get a copy of the Vuelta time schedule and discovered that not only is there no Vuelta coverage, there aren't any bike events until September 27. In fact, there is so little bike coverage I'll proabably forget about what little they have. Who wants to watch the Vuelta coverage October 27, about a month after it is over?

If you can't do a better job than this, I hope Discovery TV starts to broadcast bike races as well as sponsor a team.

For the past three years I have purchased a Dish package almost only to watch the grand cycling tours. I don't watch all that much else off the regular news networks (NBC, CBS, ets.). This year OLN was not in the basic package and I bought the most expensive combo because that was the only way for me to get OLN and the Tour. I thought I was buying into the Vuelta too. I will now probably buy the package one month per year to watch the Tour de France and cancel it the rest of the year.

Too bad that OLN decided not to air the Vuelta live this year. I am frankly in cycling withdrawal since the end of le Tour de France. OLN's decision made me glad that I had taped much of its TdF coverage back in July. I am certainly enjoying the "reruns" on my VCR.

As for the upcoming T-Mobile in San Francisco on Sunday September 12...I have the good fortune that I live in the Bay Area. We do get the same-day live coverage thanks to KGO-TV Channel 7, but more importantly, I will be in SF for the fourth year in a row to watch and cheer on the cyclists. Go Lance! Go Eki! Go Bobby! Go Levi! Allez, allez, allez!

I'm yet another cycling fan that recieves OLN just for the tours. I subscibed to digital cable right before the 04 TDF. As for OLN's decision to show smaller US races of the tours I dont quite understand. Both the small American teams AND the big International teams need to be seen to promote all around cycling. As for this years TDF, the promotion and Lance hype by OLN was a bit much. Al Trautwig doesnt even normally cover cycling. He covers GYMNASTICS!!! What a waste of money. I will be dropping OLN untill next years Giro or possibly forever.

I am disappointed, like everyone, about the lack of cycling coverage in the US. OLN has taken great strides in bringing us races we would have never seen. That being said, the lack of Vuelta coverage due to a sense that there will be no one watching seems to me as short sighted. You have to look no further than ESPN and the sports they show. Where would the NHL be if ESPN hadn't taken the chance to push the sport? What about the X-Games. It took a while to really catch on, but now you have other networks jumping the train for "Extreme" sports, with the "Gravity Games," etc... OLN, take the chance and put a full schedule on cycling on!

Gavin Harvey makes the statement that he would prefer coverage of the Tour of Georgia over one of the three grand tours in the world! This is equivalent to scheduling coverage of a local soccer championship in favor of the World Cup! No joke - and not funny given America's increasing isolation from the rest of the world in general.

I say fire Harvey and put someone in charge with vision! I say this man does not deserve to make decisions that encompass an entire nation of viewers.

I am very disappointed for the lack of coverage of la Vuelta. I followed daily the coverage last year and was looking forward to see it this year. After reading many other messages in this forum I hope that OLN will realize its mistake and correct it in the future.

I'm so glad to see so many reactions to the sad lack of coverage of the Vuelta on OLN. I raced back from my summer vacation hoping to see the race on OLN and... oh no! - major disappointment!
I also believe this is a mistake and that cycling has become more popular than ever before! It's hard to believe that repeats of Extreme This and That and fishing shows are all that OLN needs to rely on. No one else will cover cycling in the excellent way that OLN has. I too miss Paul and Phil and Bobby Roll's voices for those few weeks this time of year. As well, the investment into user-friendly nightime editions was not worth it to me. Keep it straight, it's easily understood!. Reconsider OLN! I'll be waiting!

Wow!! I can't believe OLN isn't covering the Vuelta; we're in shock! We have been faithful viewers of OLN for one reason only - THE CYCLING COVERAGE, YOU IDIOTS! What are they thinking? We were in NYC this summer and noticed the huge-budget, multi-storied banners advertising TDF coverage in Times Square. We commented that we were glad to see OLN doing well enough to spend the big bucks on cycling - that must mean we could depend on them for future coverage of important events like the Vuelta. Wrong! We feel betrayed by OLN for sticking with them for months at a time these past few years, only to have the rug jerked out from under us. Guess we'll have to drop our OLN subscription bundle in favor of whoever will pick up cycling coverage. I say spend less on the whole "Cyclism" crap and just bring us more races - at least the Grand Tours!!

OLN: What are you thinking????

Just came home from CA to tape the Vuelta, nada...

Profoundly dissapointed.

My wife and I have enjoyed OLN's coverage of the Grand Tours for 4 years. We are most certainly Postie fans but we also enjoy the other riders as well, Phil and Paul are so good about giving a little tid bit of info about the not so famous (at least not in the U.S.) riders. We have enjoyed following these other guys careers as well as the big named guys. OLN does a great job and I was very dis-heartened when I realized they weren't going to cover the Vuelta a Espana this year. I am not a network president but I do know what is fun and entertaining to watch and it is the 63 days a year that I tune into OLN to watch the Grand Tours. I can say I don't think I tune into any other channel that much. I still watch the tape of Roberto Heras winning the Vuelta last year on the final up hill t.t. I know the ending but I still get excited. Please reconsider your decision Mr. Harvey!!!!!!!!!!

Really disappointed to get back from vacation and to find that the Vuelta is not on OLN. No need for frills in the coverage. I think last year Phil and Paul commentated from London using a live feed from Spain. Worked for me and kept me going back every night for the next stage.

As an earlier message stated, I don't think most viewers need a big hoopla coverage of the Tour de France. A team of two or three would do: Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwin and maybe Bob Roll. Save money on Tour de France coverage to fund other events like the Vuelta.

You're building a loyal audience. Don't lose us!

No Vuelta? I was really shocked to find that OLN had dropped their planned Vuelta coverage. I have watched the Tour for the last four years on OLN and this was going to be the first time I watched the Vuelta...I was so pumped!

I have Dish Network and upgraded my service with them specifically so I could get OLN and I don't watch fishing or hunting shows. I wanted OLN specifically for the Bicycling. I can understand wanting to save a few dollars, but you don't turn off a whole segment of your customers (viewers) in order to do that. The viewership of OLN was growing because of their coverage of Cycling, and if they had more Cycling coverage there would be even more viewers.

As my open message to OLN I have to say, "You have a niche market here. Nobody else is filling it right now, but that may change. You have gotten in on the ground level of Pro Cycling coverage, but if you snooze you will lose the viewers you have (not to mention the potential viewers) to some other media outlet."

I must agree with the other contributors. I have been waiting all year to be able to see the 2004 Vuelta on OLN. We subscribe to the premium cable package to get OLN for the coverage of the grand cycling tours. It's my favorite, and I am devasted!

Ditto to what this guy wrote:

"Drop the Cutters.
Drop Christen Bubble Gum and Al Troutfish
Drop that forgetable/insufferable not-one-bit-funny culture reporter...the bald guy with glasses.
Drop the expensive "Cyclism" promos..what the hell was that anyway? How much did they pay Jason Lee to act like a maniac?

Give us 3 guys: Phil, Paul & Bobke
Give us 3 Grand Tours: Italy, France and Spain.

Then air Bull riding all winter for all I care.

Posted by: Mark I. at September 5, 2004 10:47 PM "

BOO-HISS to OLN for not showing the Vuelta. What is WRONG with you??? The only reason we have or watch OLN is for cycling and the Vuelta is one of THE GRAND TOURS. The idea is to GROW your cycling viewership, not cut it off at the knees. You know, Lance won't be around forever and we want to see the up and coming new stars. If you have a financial crunch as you claim, get rid of the unnecessary, boring fluff (Gum,the stupid Cutters--why are they an attraction anyway, and maybe Al Troutwig). All you need are Phil, Paul and Bob and as much cycling as possible.

Here! Here! The most exciting of the Grand Tours last year was Heras winning the Vuelta! We only received digital cable to watch the Tours (all three, no fishing or bulls). We've stopped it now.......

Anybody know how we can contact Harvey directly via email? There are 2 weeks left, all they need is the Spanish feed. Phil and Paul are usually sitting in Stamford anyways.

Someone needs to tell them that USPS/Tyler will probably lead at every stage, and they are missing more US cycling history, and the answer to the question of whether we will be a force after Lance retires. And that we WILL all mobilize and find another channel to get onto cycling. Then it will be OVER Life Network.

A true leader would limit his losses, admit a mistake, fix it real-time, and turn himself into a hero. Do the demographics: how many americans ride a bike at least once a month? How many americans do ? You can convince me that fishing/hunting play, but not a lot of the other things. Remember, people are paying at least $350/year extra just to get OLN.

Here's a new call: BOYCOTT OLN. We'll find a new US feed for the Tour by next year.

Flame off.

Duane Schulz
Portland, Oregon
Home of Cycle Oregon

I, too, am one of those who only have cable for OLN's coverage of cycling. I tape every spring classic and watch them repeatedly through the winter. Throughout the Giro and Tour de Lance, I mean France, I was routinely late to work so I could watch the early coverage. I was almost late to my own wedding because we foolishly planned it at the same time as the mountain stages!

Imagine my shock to flip on OLN the other morning to watch the start of the Vuelta and find Bubba huntin' and fishin'. AND IT WAS ONE I HAD ALREADY SEEN BEFORE!!! Arghh! I commute on my bike, I ride my bike for fun and I have a lot of bikes, not mention the fact that most people who watch these programs usually have a fair amount of money (cars are great sponsors for sports!) and/or participate in a number of other outdoor activities. (I bike, climb, whitewater kayak, ski and sail, just to name a few!) I don't buy the full USPS kit, but I do buy stuff for all of these activities, especially for my bikes. Hell, I am an avid Campgnolo fan, but if Shimano showed me a reason to buy their stuff on tv I would at least check it out!

Please bring back the Vuelta (and the Tour de Malaysia and Australia if you can!) I even like women's races (women are a huge part of discretionary income, my wife certainly handles the money in our house!) triatholons and all things of that sort. Please please please

Profound disapointment at no Vuelta 2004 coverage, I personally would have saved the money spent on the Lance Chronicles, which was not a commercial quality product.

My wife and I watched every stage of the Vuelta in 2003, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We have been waiting for September to come around again, and are so disappointed that it will not be aired this year. Please consider airing the Tour, Vuelta and Giro on OLN in future years. The three most important cycle races in the world!

Oh the irony! At the moment an American is in the leaders jersey of the vuelta. I think OLN has to look to the future of Cycling and a post Lance era. Floyd Landis in a Gold jersey is a missed oppoutunity for OLN. A young American could win a Grand Tour and we will miss the day to day drama. Sad.

Thanks for nothing OLN. I subscribed to expanded cable after being hooked on your coverage of the grand tours while living with a roommate. I suffered through less-than-adequate Tour TV coverage when growing up during the LeMond years (hell, I taped some mountain stages by swiping my parents' stash of BETA tapes to record on).

Maybe too much money was spent promoting "cyclism" or The Cutters, and not enough saved for the Vuelta. Heck, save even more money by axing the commentating crew, and tap into the Eurosport feed. I can't understand half of what Sean Kelly is saying, but when I do it's not the rah-rah LA commentating I'm used to hearing from the OLN crew.

You've got a captive audience OLN. Fans that subscribe to satellite or cable packages just from the cycling, and you've let them down by not showing the Vuelta. No Lance doesn't equal no coverage. You've got a load of talented cyclists most casual watchers have hear of by now, not to mention some contenting Americans, and for two years running, champions not "crowned" until the last days. You want drama, you want excitement, you want happy subscribers? You should have covered the Vuelta.

Bring back the Vuelta. I plan to drop my expanded cable coverage until next July. I expect there will be no Giro or Spring classics to watch. By the way, do hunting and fishing really get ratings?

OLN, you do wonderfully with the TDF, did even better this year, and had great momentum for the Vuelta. The ratings losses in earlier years makes your decision to not telecast the race understandable. However, I assume that football takes a lot of viewers from all the other sports in September. You can't compete in that market, so it would seem that you would want to build another. Cycling is a rapidly growing sport in the US. OLN has been at the forefront of that. Don't lose the energy. You have the unique opportunity to be the broadcast leader, and be as connected with the sport as CBS was for years with the NFL.

I have been following cycling for 25 years. I can remember when the only way to get race reports was a small update in the New York Times. I remember when Wide World of Sports would do an hour on Saturday to update the Tour. Then ESPN picked up tour coverage. OLN coming along has been a boon to cycling coverage in the US. We added OLN to our satellite t.v. package just so we could watch cycling. Not broadcsating the Tour of Spain was a big mistake by OLN. I have to agree with posts that by having cycling as a big part of your programing you will (and have) build up your viewership. If your coverage is inconsistent then I/we probably won't be consistent viewers. As it is now we are going to drop OLN from our package until cycling returns in the spring. I can watching fishing shows all day on some other networks. There was only one place for cycling. Now there is none. Too bad.

You probably had more vewers for Tours than any other fishing programs or similar. The only reason we had OLN was for Cycling & Skiing. Cut the unnecessary & get on the map with real event. Vuelta a Espana is one of the best tour. You took the wrong decision by droping it. Good luck with your fishing programs.

The notion that I want to watch the Tour of Georgia instead of the Vuelta is like telling me that I would want to watch a Single A minor league game instead of the Yankees/Red Sox game. That argument is not convincing. The Vuelta is a great event, if well covered it would be great to watch.

well for those who are looking............you can get the vuelta feed at TVE International although it is in spanish. Some cable outlets carried it you just need to subscribe to the channel for one month and voila! no commercials and great coverage or you can go to JumpTV.com and subscribe for one month too and see the race. Plus at lavuelta.com you could see the last half hour of the race live with no commercials also. For the Giro you can watch it, as we watched the Worlds live! at BeelineTV.com which is FREE. You just clicked on RAI Sports to see it. Of course it was broadcast in Italian, but it too was live and uninterrupted by commercial breaks. Plan on finding more cycling this way in the future since the "Home of Professional Cycling" thinks it is all about the bull...............

Sadly missing the phenomenal programming that used to be the OLN channel.