Gayle Falkenthal
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SAN DIEGO, June 23, 2012 – For three weeks, some of the world’s best conditioned athletes will fight for the ultimate prize in their sport, the yellow jersey, riding over the Alps and Pyrenees, through the sunflower fields and along the Mediterranean coastline, venturing from France into Belgium and Switzerland in the 2012 Tour de France.
The Tour de France is the third most watched sporting event worldwide, after the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. No surprise. It makes for spectacular sports television. Even if you’ve never watched before, do yourself a favor and give it a try.
In the United States, Tour coverage begins on Saturday, June 30 from the starting line in Liege, Belgium and concludes on Sunday, July 22 on the Champs Elysees on NBC, the NBC Sports Network on cable, and online at NBCSports.com
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This year in addition to 14 hours of daily coverage on the NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Group will air eight hours of live Tour de France coverage of two of the premier mountain stages on NBC during the weekend of July 7 and 8, the first time that the Tour de France will be broadcast live on network television in the U.S.
Tour de France coverage will move to the mountain stages the second weekend, July 7 and 8. Photo: Associated Press.
“The Tour will finish its first week of competition when Stages 7 and 8 are broadcast live on NBC Sports,” said announcer Phil Liggett. “It is usually by this time that the finger points to a half a dozen riders who feel they can win the race as they battle each other to the head of the overall classification. Stages 7 and 8 will introduce even more viewers to one of the greatest sporting events on earth as it airs nationally on NBC, a giant step forward for cycling coverage.”
NBC will also have same-day coverage of Stage 1 on Sunday, July 1, and the final stage on Sunday, July 22.
SCHEDULE (Subject to change, check your local listings)
Saturday June 30: Prologue | Liege
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Sunday July 1: Stage 1 (Flat) Liege to Seraing
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Tape Coverage - NBC - Start 4 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Pacific
Monday July 2: Stage 2 (Flat) Vise to Tournai
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Tuesday July 3: Stage 3 (Mountain) Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Wednesday July 4: Stage 4 (Flat) Abbeville to Rouen
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Thursday July 5: Stage 5 (Flat) Rouen to Saint-Quentin
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Friday July 6: Stage 6 (Flat) Epernay to Metz
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Saturday July 7: Stage 7 (Mountain) Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Fillies
LIVE - NBC - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Sunday July 8: Stage 8 (Mountain) Belfort to Porrentruy
LIVE - NBC - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Monday July 9: Stage 9 (Time Trial) Arc-et-Senans to Besancon
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
On the flat stages, the sprinters come out to play. Photo: Associated Press.
Tueday, July 10: Rest Day
Wednesday July 11: Stage 10 (Mountain) Macon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Thursday July 12: Stage 11 (Mountain) Albertville to La Toussuire
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 7 a.m. Eastern / 4 a.m. Pacific
Friday July 13: Stage 12 (Mountain) Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay Davézieux
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Time: TBD
Saturday July 14: Stage 13 (Flat) Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Le Cap d’Agde
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Sunday July 15: Stage 14 (Mountain) Limoux to Foix
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Monday July 16: Stage 15 (Flat) Samatan to Pau
LIVE - NBC Sports Network – Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Tuesday, July 17: Rest Day
Wednesday July 18: Stage 16 (Mountain) Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Time: TBD
Thursday July 19: Stage 17 (Mountain) Bagnères-de-Luchon to Peyragudes
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 7:30 a.m. Eastern / 4:30 a.m. Pacific
Friday July 20: Stage 18 (Flat) Blagnac to Brive-la-Gaillarde
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Start 8 a.m. Eastern / 5 a.m. Pacific
Saturday July 21: Stage 19 (Time Trial) Bonneval to Chartres
LIVE - NBC Sports Network - Time: TBD
Sunday July 22: Stage 20 (Flat) Rambouillet to Paris Champs-Élysées
RECORDED - NBC - Start 1 p.m. Eastern / Pacific
Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.
Longtime fans will be happy to know announcing team Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the much-admired broadcast voices of cycling, will call all the race action for both the live and nightly shows. Craig Hummer and Steve Porino will be the field reporters. Liam McHugh and former American cyclists Bob Roll and Scott Moninger will host NBC Sports Group’s coverage from studios in Paris. Robbie Ventura will report on the technical elements and equipment used by these elite athletes during the network’s three weeks of coverage.
As in years past, there will be coverage from team cars including Team Garmin-Barracuda, Team Sky, Team Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Team RadioShack Nissan Trek as directors relay strategy and updates to their riders. Reporters Hummer and Porino will be embedded with these teams, which is new this year.
For those who prefer online access to coverage, NBC Sports Group will offer Tour de France LIVE, cycling content online at NBCSports.com, and through the Tour de France LIVE Mobile app. The network will offer users two premium-subscription products which will give fans a multi-platform viewing experience to the Tour.
Tour de France LIVE offers live streaming video of every stage in HD, with the ability to pause, rewind and slow-mo the video. Viewers will also have access to a live GPS tracking map to follow the riders’ progress or to see an enhanced interactive map for each stage while watching the race. Subscribers will be able to personalize their viewing by choosing their favorite riders and teams to track throughout the Tour.
The Tour de France LIVE Mobile app is available for iPhone and iPad, and Android devices. All the features of the NBCSports.com online experience will be mirrored in the Tour de France LIVE Mobile app. It is sold separately from the online product.
You can access the online and mobile subscriptions here. (LINK UPDATED JUNE 26).
Social Media: Fans can also keep up with the Tour de France through social media platforms throughout the race. Many cyclists and members of their teams are active on Twitter, as are both announcers Liggett and Sherwen. Some accounts to follow to get you started:
@NBCSNCycling
@PhilLiggett
@PaulSherwen
@BobkeRoll
@CadelOfficial
@BradWiggins
@SchleckFrank
@LeviLeipheimer
@CavandishMark
@RGUpdate
@F_Cancellara
@Ghincapie
Here’s a nearly exhaustive list on Mashable from a fan.
Sunflowers along the French roadside during the Tour de France are a sight to behold.
Pour a glass of French bubbly and enjoy an exciting month of sports entertainment provided by some of the world’s most well conditioned athletes while taking in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Vive le Tour!
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
Please credit “Gayle Falkenthal for Communities at WashingtonTimes.com” when quoting from or linking to this story.
Copyright © 2012 by Falcon Valley Group
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