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A different nationality
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:27
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There are many different nationalities here on pcmdaily.
I'm creating this thread to get to know different cultures, try to get to know other countries.
So my opening question (the rest will grow as this thread hopefully grows), obviously, is how important is cycling in your country, does your country "breathe" cycling, or just report it on the late evening news? |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:34
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Well. I'm from Germany. And I would be happy to see cycling on the late evening news.
There was a time, you know when Ulrich and Zabel were at their best, when cycling was very popular. I can't say too much about that time because I wasn't into cycling that much back in the days, and I was much younger as well.
All I can say about now is that since the doping process against Ulrich and since Zabel's confession, cycling is considered as the doping sport number one. In public opinion, it doesn't play an important role any longer. I think I remember something about Ryder Hesjedal's Giro win at the very end of the main news but except for the three Grand Tours, cycling doesn't really happen in the news.
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| Ad Bot |
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| felix_29 |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:36
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In Germany, there either has to be a doping scandal or a TdF stage to see it in the evening news. I guess that tells enough about the importance of cycling for the bigger part of people here.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:36
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That's too bad. Here in Belgium, cycling is really alive. Gilbert, Boonen, De Gendt, they all help keeping our hopes up. We see it a lot on the news and all kinds of talk shows (during TDF, for example). Maybe it's time for another great German rider  |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:36
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Tour de France Champion
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Being belgian, you're going to find cycling is way smaller in almost every other country.
Late evening news.....if the Tour de France has just ended. A 5 second clip announces the winner 
Or if a portuguese guy won, they'll mention it briefly in the sports section of the news.
Let's put the size of the national obsession with football into perspective: We have 3 daily (yes, DAILY) sports newspapers with huge circulation and around 40 pages each.
The last 5 pages or so of each aren't football.
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:38
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And if someday, a Portuguese wins a GT, those newspapers will focus on Benfica trying to sign 2838583 new players, or that Aimar likes roast beef... |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:41
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Tour de France Champion
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I really feel for you guys You really NEED this site, then, huh?
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:44
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issoisso wrote:
Being belgian, you're going to find cycling is way smaller in almost every other country.
Late evening news.....if the Tour de France has just ended. A 5 second clip announces the winner
Or if a portuguese guy won, they'll mention it briefly in the sports section of the news.
Let's put the size of the national obsession with football into perspective: We have 3 daily (yes, DAILY) sports newspapers with huge circulation and around 40 pages each.
The last 5 pages or so of each aren't football.
Same in the Netherlands...
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| craig324 |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:47
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In New Zealand we get an update on the news after the Tour has finished, if we are lucky. The majority of the time it is rugby and netball though... |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:50
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Whenever they report anything about cycling in the news, I react like this.
Almost at least. Only time they even mention it is when a Swede has won something big, like Larsson's time trial victory in the 2009 Giro, or when there has been a huge doping scandal. Like Contador's positive test.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:53
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I start to understand why people have such a low opinion of cycling, since the news is always about doping. I guess Belgium, Italy, Spain and France are the only 4 countries where cycling is almost a daily newsitem? |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:55
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No idea about Spain and France (France should be like that, Spain doubt it), but in Italy the idea is that only old people like cycling.
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 03-06-2012 21:58
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Though I see a lot of amateur-cyclists, cycing has a really bad name here, and is always associated with doping...
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:01
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Cycling used to be the third most important sport in terms of coverage, fame, prestige, or what could I call that, before 1998. Obviously football came first, but then it was either rugby/tennis/formula 1 or cycling.
Being a cyclist myself (U17) at the time my schoolmates would be impressed by my endurance capacity, my muscles, and such meaningless things.
It took a Summer for the general opinion to change. As high school guys we got the same opinion that pro cyclists seemed to get from the general opinion : our legs were not muscular but shove (which made us faggots, right...), we were a bunch of potential junkies, etc.
First remark when you told you're a cyclist was not "wow, I respect you for that, it's such a hard sport" any more, but "and... do you dope ? or do you know guys who dope ?". Answers were "no", and the person would stop showing any interest for cycling.
Things are not as extreme today, but the global enthusiasm is lost, probably for ever.
There's still some hype in the media when a French guys achieves something (say Voeckler 2004 or 2011), but that's about it.
The daily coverage I get of cycling ? L'Équipe's feed, and sometimes the finish of stages/races on a 30s video coverage of a daily sports news program.
Thankfully there's some decent coverage on internet (eurosport) who provide videos, highlights, etc. General news are a bit like in Germany. Doping scandal, or something special happening in the TDF (good French performance, or TDF ending, or an Alpe d'Huez stage).
edit : also the number of cyclists in amateur pelotons, races, etc. took in a big blow right after 1998. They're using tricks to cover it, by granting licences to various followers, but fact is the figures have been decreasing.
Edited by Aquarius on 03-06-2012 22:02
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:03
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I didn't realize cycling was off that bad in other countries... In Belgium it's still a sport of honor and fighting and endurance. I hope that view takes over the world again, maybe in the long run... |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:03
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Tour de France Champion
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I didn't realize cycling was off that bad in other countries... In Belgium it's still a sport of honor and fighting and endurance. I hope that view takes over the world again, maybe in the long run... |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:06
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In the USA, the majority of the country doesn't know cycling is a professional sport  If I ask anybody in my region to name a professional cyclist, most would have no clue or fall back on Lance Armstrong. And don't even get me started about the news, local never shows cycling period. ESPN does doping scandals and 5 second segments for TdF stages, thats about it for National sports coverage. So it's kinda strange why I'm here, you can thank random TV surfing and stumbling apon Versus showing the TdF. I have been hooked every since 
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| kumazan |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:09
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issoisso wrote:
No idea about Spain and France (France should be like that, Spain doubt it), but in Italy the idea is that only old people like cycling.
Not in Spain, in Spain the idea is that cycling (as a televised spectacle) is boring whatever your age is.
Nah, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but like in most non-Belgium Western European countries, cycling only hits the news during the Tour (and not in every channel), the Vuelta (in even fewer channels) or when a Spaniard wins something big. And I mean really big, for instance Purito's FW win was barely important here, and I don't think it was reported beyond TVE (public TV station, they broadcast ASO races + Vuelta+monuments+few others) and the bigger sport dailys).
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:11
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Luckily in the Netherlands, we have Eurosport which broadcasts (live) every UCI WT race in HD, and also races like ATOC
Edited by fcancellara on 03-06-2012 22:11
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2012 22:20
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Tour de France Champion
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Looks like I should be lucky to live in Belgium, cycling-wise.
What are the most important sports then, in your country? Football, in most cases? |
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