Cycling fans living outside Europe sometimes have difficulty seeing live, or any, coverage of the three grand tours of the year: the Giro d'Italia, le Tour de France and la Vuelta a Espana. In Australia fans rely on SBS television which does transmit the whole of the Tour de France, albeit in the middle of the night. For la Vuelta a Espana, the Tour of Spain, SBS will show only eight stages. The governing body of cycling, UCI, well aware of the increasing popularity of the grand tours and fans' desire for more images, recently made an announcement of another source of cycling coverage.
iPod Application Announced by the UCI
On 20 August 2010 the UCI issued a press release alerting cycling fans to an iPod application that will enable fans and followers to obtain the latest results, news and press releases for all cycling disciplines. The UCI says its application will also have videos and of UCI events containing 'exciting moments', interviews and more, just a few hours after the end of competitions. The UCI says the number of downloads in the first week 'has exceeded all expectations'.
The application is available as a free download from the iTunes Apple Store. The service doesn't seem to have any mens' road photos or videos as yet which would be a bonus to watchers of the Tour of Spain in other timezones and languages other than Spanish. However, it does seem to be a good source for mountain bike events.
Coverage of la Vuelta on TV and the Internet
In Australia SBS television will show eight stages of the tour live and daily highlights, usually at 6 pm eastern time. For viewers in other parts of the world, Steephill TV transmits and has a list of international broadcasters on their site. In the U.S. Universal Sports will provide live streaming from 10 am eastern time most days, with a rebroadcast on Universal Sports TV in the US at noon, 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm and 10 pm Eastern time.
In Europe, Eurosport will broadcast all stages live everyday to 59 countries. The Spanish channel RVtv.es, will transmit in Spanish. Cyclingnews will provide live text updates and on Twitter, Steephill will also provide live text updates. The live vuelta Twitter group is tweeting.
La Vuelta begins with a night time trial in Seville on 28 August. The team presentation will be at 5 pm against the backdrop of the La Maestranza Bullring. The teams have been announced.
Something to do on the weekend, have a Spanish party and watch la Vuelta.
Toni Bartush - Toni Bartush was a Barrister at the New South Wales Bar and a Solicitor in private practice, specialising in civil litigation. She was a ...
