Has this years TdF attracted any new fans??

Mark Bom

After the press coverage of Hoogerland and Flecha being knocked off by the press car I was aware of people I work with talking to me about the incident and showing a bit of interest in the Tour.

Obviously a week down the line, they're back to normal and have no interest, but there must be a small percentage of the population that have had their interest sparked by the media coverage of the crash and gone on to follow pro cycling with a bit more interest?

Anyone know of such a person?

LeicesterLad

Mark Bom wrote:

After the press coverage of Hoogerland and Flecha being knocked off by the press car I was aware of people I work with talking to me about the incident and showing a bit of interest in the Tour.

Obviously a week down the line, they're back to normal and have no interest, but there must be a small percentage of the population that have had their interest sparked by the media coverage of the crash and gone on to follow pro cycling with a bit more interest?

Anyone know of such a person?

No, everyone at work still think im a sad git, and so do all of my mates. But nevermind, this is my little hobbie, i'd prefer them not to enjoy it, i like having things to myself sometimes.

Ps. might get a better response for this thread in the pro-race section.

CakeLovinBeast

Not exactly.

I've always considered myself to be a bit of a mountain biker, but I've always been interested in the tour/road cycling in an abstract way. It just so happens that this year's tour also coincided with the C2W scheme of the company that I've just started working for and so I took the opportunity to buy the road bike that I've always considered getting but never gotten around to.

I did notice, however, that quite a lot of the guys in our office were paying attention to the Tour in a generic sports fan kind of way. I think that now I'm riding my new bike to work and they see it parked outside, they're possibly a little more interested...

Bobbinogs

I saw this article posted on another forum and found it very interesting.

One could almost argue that TdF is becoming mainstream and these kind of figures will make the broadcasters sit up and take notice. It also shows evidence of just how successful/mutually beneficial the Boardman/Halfords relationship is.

wheezee

I watched it for the first time this year. And I'll be back next year.

What did it for me was finding the TV coverage on the web, as there's no ITV4 on our telly.

Mark Bom

LeicesterLad wrote:

Mark Bom wrote:

After the press coverage of Hoogerland and Flecha being knocked off by the press car I was aware of people I work with talking to me about the incident and showing a bit of interest in the Tour.

Obviously a week down the line, they're back to normal and have no interest, but there must be a small percentage of the population that have had their interest sparked by the media coverage of the crash and gone on to follow pro cycling with a bit more interest?

Anyone know of such a person?

No, everyone at work still think im a sad git, and so do all of my mates. But nevermind, this is my little hobbie, i'd prefer them not to enjoy it, i like having things to myself sometimes.

Ps. might get a better response for this thread in the pro-race section.

Balls! Thought I had!

outcastjack

as with the guy a few posts above, I watched for the first time this year an entirely using ITV Player and it was great. I will be watching again next year.

lifeform

Good figures for what is essentially a fringe sport, at least in the UK, being shown weekday afternoons.

What I am more surprised by is the shocking viewing figures on Sky Sports for what used to be huge TV spectator sports - Darts especially.

But I suppose it's the power of mainstream TV coverage - I grew up in the 80s when every Saturday afternoon had Speedway on TVS, and consequentially it was large spectator sport than it is now - ask the average member of the public 'what is speedway' today and you'll likely get a 'dunno' in response. Sadly, for Speedway, when the TV coverage went, the money went too and it very nearly died completely

redvee

I read ITV4 had 800,000 viewers for the last stage highlights whereas sky for the darts had 130,000 at the same time.

carl_p

I'm not aware of anyone. I think the trouble is the relative lack of televised events to maintain the interest.

People will also only want to watch the top riders anyway - the likes of Cav appear on our screens only once in a while and it's probably only the TDF where the absolute elite appear together.

In a way I hope it doesn't become mainstream as that will inevitably lead to more races, overstretched and tired riders and probably worse quality because of it. I'm lucky enough to have Sky TV and watch as much cycling as Eurosport can put out. I think this year has been the best year for many years for the quality and excitement of the racing. The Spring classics were simply amazing races.

carl_p

I'm not aware of anyone. I think the trouble is the relative lack of televised events to maintain the interest.

People will also only want to watch the top riders anyway - the likes of Cav appear on our screens only once in a while and it's probably only the TDF where the absolute elite appear together.

In a way I hope it doesn't become mainstream as that will inevitably lead to more races, overstretched and tired riders and probably worse quality because of it. I'm lucky enough to have Sky TV and watch as much cycling as Eurosport can put out. I think this year has been the best year for many years for the quality and excitement of the racing. The Spring classics were simply amazing races.

rodgers73

I've never been into the Tour before but having started cycling last year I resolved to watch it all (well, the highlights at least) from start to finish.

It was a bit of a struggle at first but after about Stage 8 I was into it and loved the rest. I've also bought some books on it's history and I'd like to watch some other events, but have no idea whats being shown on TV.

waltho bum gravy

i've always loved the tour personally. perhaps because of it the type of cycling i prefer is touring from a to b over a few days.

anyhow over the years i have built up a small group of friends who are also fans of the tour. we always hook up, email, text or whatever during the tour. this year it was payback for all the times where people have denigrated the event and the sport, perhaps correctly, due to the prevalence of drugs - without really knowing anything of the joy of the event/sport or being bothered to look for it.

this year our number grew by one. i now know 7 people who don't think i'm mental during july. or at least understand why i am.

Jason82

It got me I now have a saxo bank baseball cap because I like the design (still learning about the teams) I have also got a Boardman CX Team for commuting and messing about. Unfortunatly I am now well into lycra and love my new SPD's which I never experienced before. Is there much difference between SPD and SPD-SL?

pottssteve

Bobbinogs,

I liked this bit from the article: "the Tour brings in the valuable ABC1 male audience important to advertisers." At least I'm useful for something!

Back to the question, since getting back from Paris my wife can now identify A. Schleck, Mark Cavendish and Alberto Contador. Cadel Evans possibly. Previously she could only identify Lance Armstrong, due to his "beady eyes"....

the_fuggler

First time watching for nearly 15 years. Loved it. I purchased my first road bike for 20 years when it was on. Loving that too!

SLX01

Grand Tours are a bit like test cricket most people that are not big fans do not understand or have the attention span to get involved, which is why limited over cricket is so popular. Trying to explain why Cavendish is a legend even though he has never won the Tour to a non TDF fan is not that easy. Most people admire the athletic ability in being able to ride 200 km a day up and down mountains for 3 weeks but few will never grasp why after cycling 200km only 5 cyclists bother trying to win the stage.
ITV4 coverage is pretty good but how many more years are we going to have ito endure explanations on the jersey competition, the role of domestiques etc? I have never seen a football match where the role of the goalie has been explained and we contantly get told why his jersey is a different colour. There is a fine line between getting the general public involved in the event and sounding patronising to genuine fans.

squired

A guy joined my company yesterday and started talking about the Tour with me. During his time off between jobs he was apparently gripped by the Tour and watched every minute of the last week in the mountains. Much to my surprise he was reeling off names of cyclists as if he'd been into the sport for years. I did ask him if he followed the sport and he said that this year's Tour was the first time he really followed it, so it was definitely a good introduction.

I think a problem with getting people who liked what they saw in the Tour engaged is the races post-Tour. Someone who watched the last 3 weeks in France might watch the racing in Poland this week, only to find that they've not heard of any of the riders competing. I actually think that the post-Tour period is possibly the most important period of the cycling year in terms of fully drawing in people who liked what they saw in July. Mind you, this only applies to people with Eurosport, as those who watched the coverage on ITV4 won't get anything else to watch for a while.

alwaystoohot

wheezee wrote:

I watched it for the first time this year. And I'll be back next year.
.

+1

Loved every moment of it.

mickyc1

Alwaystoohot wrote:

wheezee wrote:

I watched it for the first time this year. And I'll be back next year.
.

+1

Loved every moment of it.

My first time of watching properly as over the years i just flicked through it not understanding how it worked.
But must admit i am hooked it was great tv.

andrewlwood

pottssteve wrote:

Bobbinogs,

I liked this bit from the article: "the Tour brings in the valuable ABC1 male audience important to advertisers." At least I'm useful for something!

Back to the question, since getting back from Paris my wife can now identify A. Schleck, Mark Cavendish and Alberto Contador. Cadel Evans possibly. Previously she could only identify Lance Armstrong, due to his "beady eyes"....

Is that a listed side effect of EPO? :twisted:

Ben6899

andrewlwood wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

Bobbinogs,

I liked this bit from the article: "the Tour brings in the valuable ABC1 male audience important to advertisers." At least I'm useful for something!

Back to the question, since getting back from Paris my wife can now identify A. Schleck, Mark Cavendish and Alberto Contador. Cadel Evans possibly. Previously she could only identify Lance Armstrong, due to his "beady eyes"....

Is that a listed side effect of EPO? :twisted:

I think it's a listed side effect of being a sociopath. But I'm no expert.