The Cycling Show - Would you watch it?

josame

I think we should have a cycling programme on the beeb in a similar vein to Top Gear (bar all the naffness of that show)

Thoughts?

No_Ta_Doctor

Like Top Gear bar all the naffness?

You mean just title credits then?

Mind you, some sort of anti-Clarkson would be quite fun, laying into government cycling policy, car drivers etc....

RichN95.

I'd watch a cycling show, but I don't think you could do it in a Top Gear style.

For a start bikes are all pretty much alike there's mountain bikes and road bikes and within those categories there isn't really much difference from one bike to the next, except to a real bike nerd.

Secondly, Top Gear isn't really about cars, it's about men refusing to grow up. I think there's less scope for mucking about with bikes (as a TV spectacle).

However, if you were going to do it in a Top Gear style, here's a proposed presenter line-up: Ned Boulting, Boris Johnson and Jens Voigt.

rick_chasey

Top Gear works because cars mix well with what is ultimately public school boy playground banter and silliness.

The cars allow them to really exagerate it.

Bikes don't.

Bikes will end up exagerating the tree-hugging/performance athlete/poser characters, which are both incompatible, and not suitable for TV.

jimmythecuckoo

imagine some of that brilliant filtered filming of a blinged up road bike being pedalled up the Stelvio instead of a carbon fibre car...


I would go for it.

DaveyL

I dunno. I think Robbie Hunter wouild be a good presenter. It wouldn't be dull.

rick_chasey

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

imagine some of that brilliant filtered filming of a blinged up road bike being pedalled up the Stelvio instead of a carbon fibre car...


I would go for it.

The sound of that roaring engi...

of someone breathing very heavily...

jimmythecuckoo

could work !

Meds1962

I think it would be too general to try to please everyone - road, commuting, cross, bmx, moutain and all the sub categories of mbk etc.

I guess most people would only really be interested in particular things.

Not a bad idea though, it might encourage more beginners and enable them to know the difference between orb's and decent entry level bikes.

rick_chasey

I'd also venture the differences between bikes are smaller than the differences between cars.

No_Ta_Doctor

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

could work !

You just live for the day you get a heavy breather phone call, don't you? :-)


Some Top Gear features could work reasonably well though - Star on a reasonably priced bike could be quite entertaining.

Some cross-discipline challenges - put a pro-racer on a BMX course and vice versa.

They could have a series long race, where each presenter had his own team, but had to compete across various disciplines (please, please, please end it with a TT up the Alp d'Huez!)

After that the format breaks down a bit, but a weekly "famous victories" section would be good, gadgets and gizmos is a natural, and "classic routes" would add a bit of depth.

Easily enough for an hour long slot, but is there a market?

pb21

Also have ‘star on a reasonably priced bike’ feature too.

bigmat

Look at Cycling Plus -they struggle to find enough material for a monthly magazine never mind a weekly(?) TV show. I'd probably watch it, but it would be one for cycling enthusiasts only I reckon and probably not a viable commercial proposition.

No_Ta_Doctor

Meds1962 wrote:

I think it would be too general to try to please everyone - road, commuting, cross, bmx, moutain and all the sub categories of mbk etc.

I guess most people would only really be interested in particular things.

The trick would be to play up the rivalries, racers saying "BMX? How hard can it be?", MBKers put into a velodrome etc.... That gives the scope for a bit of banter and an interest in seeing what happens in other disciplines.

As a cross between Top Gear and Superstars with a bit of history, gadgets etc thrown in it could work.

The Jack

I would watch it with pleasure.

Meds1962

TT up alpe d'huez on a BMX.

DavMartinR

Top Gear is probably the wrong model to follow. They'd have to do something like Ski sunday have done, with Martin Bell and the other bloke. One skiing and the other snowboarding.

But on the bike show it wold be one on off road routes and one on road routes in different countries. In other words where to cycle rather that about the bike.

You could have a star time trial or a downhill decent in the show as well.

Gazzaputt

Really think you'd getting viewing figures over half a million?

Maybe a late night show on Discovery channel.

prawny

Gazzaputt wrote:

Really think you'd getting viewing figures over half a million?

Maybe a late night show on Discovery channel.

Daytime on eurosport surely.

I'd series link it though, especially if they filmed stuff over the summer and put it on in the winter when there's no cycling on TV.

Would be nice to see some cross racing on tv again too.

afx237vi

Sky Sports have loads of magazine-type programmes about niche sports... just looking at the TV guide now, I see Mountainbike World, Watersports World, Athletix Weekly, NRL Fulltime, ATP Tour Uncovered and so on.

Something like that for cycling, I'd watch. Maybe a weekly half hour of pro cycling news and interviews with a few cyclists.

Top Gear style stupidness I would skip.

jimmythecuckoo

Didn't cycling.tv have a 'magazine' type programme on their site a while back?

Went a bit like a shopping channel eventually I seem to remember.

Monty Zoncolan

Frankly I'd watch half an hour of just pictures of bikes so it's a no-brainer. The question would have to be put to a wider audience to gauge its viability.

paulcuthbert

No. It already sounds like it'd be full of the types of people I hate already. Middle class wankers who are too precious about themselves to have a grasp of the real world.

I'll stick to watching things that aren't "real life". I can go and ride my bike, but I can't stop Russian terrorists from trying to kill the U.S. President

secretsqirrel

I have given it some thought.

The Stig is one who never shows his face right? Could be a good career move for Stefan Schumacher? Time triallist, wouldn't matter if he was juiced up as no-one is supposed to beat him, or look at his face. He could set a target lap time on a Pashley Princess, and celebs could try and beat it.

Actually test rides of the latest models and innovations could be quite interesting. Throw in some race/sport news, politics, campaigns, fashion, training, health, safety, a degree of silliness, retrospecitves and nostalgia. Content is not an issue, but style could be the challenge. I see it as BBC3 or 4, not trying to be all things to all people.

prawny

SecretSqirrel wrote:

Actually test rides of the latest models and innovations could be quite interesting. Throw in some race/sport news, politics, campaigns, fashion, training, health, safety, a degree of silliness, retrospecitves and nostalgia. Content is not an issue, but style could be the challenge. I see it as BBC3 or 4, not trying to be all things to all people.

I'd worry about the budget too, too much stuff in addition to racing and it could look shite, ever seen The Fast Lane on motors TV? Eugh!

kona_matt

DavMartinR wrote:

Top Gear is probably the wrong model to follow. They'd have to do something like Ski sunday have done, with Martin Bell and the other bloke. One skiing and the other snowboarding.

But on the bike show it wold be one on off road routes and one on road routes in different countries. In other words where to cycle rather that about the bike.

You could have a star time trial or a downhill decent in the show as well.

+1

can't see a top gear format working but something similar to ski sunday would be fantastic. some racing footage from all disciplines with some cross discipline challenge type features.

the snowboarder's name is ed leigh by the way.

masterchef

id defiently watch this... i hope this happens:D, probs wont thou:(

magliaceleste

No - It would be terrible. A TV version of Cycling plus (shudder)

Rodrego Hernandez

Wouldn't watch.

Give me ideas to fill 2 shows and I'l show you why no one will watch it. It's bad enough listening to those clowns at eurosport (Kelly and Smith excepted)

secretsqirrel

Cross Pollination
Courtesy of Vino4Ever


Vino tests the new team TT support car.

RichN95.

^^^^^ At first glance I thought that was Johnny Herbert in the car.