Pro Cycling Classics On Steephill TV

As a huge cycling fan, I'm always frustrated by the lack of media coverage our sport gets in North America. Newspapers barely even whisper race results, let alone any race coverage. Versus TV in the US has been a little better over the past few years thanks in large part to the "Lance Armstrong" effect. But OLN in Canada (a sort-of partner to Versus) has dismal coverage at best. Professional Rodeo? Fill your cowboy boots on OLN.

At least we can get Tour de France coverage on OLN. Sadly, not much else. I find it amazing that Pro Rodeo is really that much more popular than cycling in Canada - but then any "free" TV can only function if it sells advertising. I would guess OLN's marketing department has a decent handle on the Canadian viewing market - and rodeo must sell better than cycling.

Thank The Cycling Gods For The Internet

At least the Internet has emerged to help quench our thirst for live (or even delayed) video coverage of Pro Cycling. I was thrilled more than 10 years ago when I could start following Le Tour in text updates only on www.Velonews.com. And now that relatively cheap bandwidth has become ubiquitous, video options on the Internet have emerged.

I first found www.Cycling.tv a few years ago, and their service has been evolving. I think they still have server capacity issues with their high-res live race feeds. And not everything is free to view. For a cycling junkie, though, it might be worthwhile to spend a few dollars to satisfy some cravings.

And now, one of my coaching clients has found a useful website to follow Euro-cycling's Classics as well as the bigger Tours: www.Steephill.tv. I know this weekend I'll be trying them out for Milan-San Remo. Through them, it looks like they can point the way to some free race video feeds.

Let Us Know About Your Favourites

If you've got some sources of your own, please let us all know here on BicyclingBlogger. Post a comment with your suggestions...