Are SA stage races too pro-orientated?

[s14phoenix]

What exactly do you mean by argue? I take exception to such remarks, particularly when it's not a Friday (checks watch to confirm).....!

 

It is Friday! - Off tomorrow to go down to Amashova - so today is Friday!

[Hackster]

Most people are interested in who's winning the races and the athletes, not some interview with a guy shoving potatoes into his mouth while trying to breath and attempting his best golfer "I just won the long drive contest" interview at the same time.

 

I'm not sure you can talk for 'most people'. My original point was that so-called amateurs make up the vast majority of entries for most stage races, but they often don't feature in footage at all. And they should. This doesn't mean that the footage will consist of 'a guy shoving potatoes into his mouth...' there are good stories to tell about mid-fielders if you make the effort. I'm not arguing for not featuring the pros at all, I'm arguing for a balance.  

[Bloukrans]

I'm not sure you can talk for 'most people'. My original point was that so-called amateurs make up the vast majority of entries for most stage races, but they often don't feature in footage at all. And they should. This doesn't mean that the footage will consist of 'a guy shoving potatoes into his mouth...' there are good stories to tell about mid-fielders if you make the effort. I'm not arguing for not featuring the pros at all, I'm arguing for a balance.  

"and they should". Why should they feature?

[ajnkzn]

MTB coverage has improved considerably recently yes - agreed

 

Road events not so much. typically a 10min highlight reel on the last S.A.Championships is hardly sufficient coverage especially for our local riders looking for some exposure. I think the problem is that the coverage we get is too little (since it is paid for by the event or organisers at huge amounts) and usually then only has the elite winner in a 20sec interview with flashes of the race due to the cost being so high and trying to cram as much in as possible.

 

No wonder the local guys are all self sponsoring to go race internationally - that's all I am saying.

 

How about broadcasting typically the S.A.Champs road race live? The whole race.

 

You sound like you work for a broadcaster... how about broadcasting an event because people want to see it... not because they bought a media package.

 

Wish I did work in the industry haha.

 

I do find it strange that, with the number of road cyclists, the coverage is so poor.

 

I think it's a factor of the old days where Comrades, Dusi and Argus were all that counted and so the national interest is only for those events and as such the national broadcaster is only keen to show these events.

 

I'm a paddler - every year we have SABC and Supersport coverage of the Dusi - every day of the 3 day event.

 

We just had WORLD MARATHON Canoe Champs in PMB and there was awesome coverage on YouTube but not a sausage on TV - SA Champs in Endurance Sport just doesn't feature. This despite dozens of medals and Hank McGregor winning both the single and double senior men's race...again!

 

What paddling does is that they use an existing annual event, e.g. The Fish or The Drak Challenge as the nominated SA River Champs and then you have the usual interest and coverage as well as the added needle of a National Title on the line.

 

Might be worth it for Cycling SA to look at doing this and then you get a piggy back / synergies effect with well established races, sponsored and supporters running the National Championship and benefitting from the added prestige and the man on the street (or couch) gets to see 30 mins of top notch footage instead of a 10 min feature on Cadence or whatever.

[Fat Boab]

 

What paddling does is that they use an existing annual event, e.g. The Fish or The Drak Challenge as the nominated SA River Champs and then you have the usual interest and coverage as well as the added needle of a National Title on the line.

 

Might be worth it for Cycling SA to look at doing this and then you get a piggy back / synergies effect with well established races, sponsored and supporters running the National Championship and benefitting from the added prestige and the man on the street (or couch) gets to see 30 mins of top notch footage instead of a 10 min feature on Cadence or whatever.

 

Sometime back in this thread I suggested an innovative approach might be required..........and you've just provided one!

 

Alas, your commendable approach is let down by inclusion of......Cycling SA.

[Jewbacca]

I dunno... If I watch motor car racing on telly I want to watch the best motor car racers.

 

Surely the same applies here? It's funny watching a bunch of hacks wobble around for about 2 minutes but after that it just starts looking lame.

 

The thing is, marathon racing is not very TV friendly. You can't film it live so you're always watching old footage with results long gone.

 

I would way rather watch 3 days of CX racing around a different 1.8km track each day than a bunch of guys smash out 30km of dirt roads and dodge a few trees on the interspersed sections of 'single track'.

 

TV coverage, sponsor banners, crowd friendly, full of spills and excitement, idiots riding on knee beep sand/mud.... over and over again.

 

You guys have no idea how much fun CX racing is. This country, it's cycling fraternity and the sponsors would benefit massively from shedding the miles and introducing some CX lapped smiles

[rudi-h]

i don't really care about the TV coverage and I don't care much whether the pro's are riding either...

 

what i do care about more is the fact that all of these races have adopted the exact same format which IMO is quite unexciting, i.e. string together 3 or more relatively long, hard and non-technical marathon stages and call it a stage race.

 

I'd love to see someone spice it up a little, say a 5 day stage race starting out with a prologue style individual race against the clock followed by a long hard marathon day, throw in an enduro stage for day three followed by maybe another longish marathon day and ending off with a short, steep and punchy technical final day or even maybe a final team relay or practiced downhill(ish) section for something fresh

[solty]

Or something like this:

https://youtu.be/SQprVaay8uk

My mom made me a pair of surfing baggie just like those in about 1988. The lumo period.

[solty]

I've been watching some of the 'Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek presented by Biogen' on this here hub. Its a good illustration of some of the points being raised in this thread. The event name alone...

 

The event footage shows a whole field of little red tents. But the leaderboard only shows 5 teams. Where are all the other guys? Conspiracy theorists? Don't even see them queing for breakfast or to take a dump.

The commentator only talks about the same 6 guys each day. A few of these same guys get interviewed each day and asked the same dull questions which make them come across as anodyne sponsor's billboards. While some of them look like real characters! Come on, where's some back story.

At least the women's race gets coverage and adds some dimension to the show. But similarly to the men's race, if it wasn't for the leaderboard showing 5 teams, I'd think there are only 4 women competing in this race.

No one else gets screen time.

[Patchelicious]

I'm not sure you can talk for 'most people'. My original point was that so-called amateurs make up the vast majority of entries for most stage races, but they often don't feature in footage at all. And they should. This doesn't mean that the footage will consist of 'a guy shoving potatoes into his mouth...' there are good stories to tell about mid-fielders if you make the effort. I'm not arguing for not featuring the pros at all, I'm arguing for a balance.  

 

Well neither can you, so I guess that makes your point as invalid as mine...... well boohoo

 

Edit: Ok, let me be more serious, I owe you that, and this question is meant with all sincerity.... Why do you want to see more of the midfield? Im not saying you are wrong, but maybe if I understand why you would want to, perhaps we could find common ground.

[Fat Boab]

Well neither can you, so I guess that makes your point as invalid as mine...... well boohoo

 

Edit: Ok, let me be more serious, I owe you that, and this question is meant with all sincerity.... Why do you want to see more of the midfield? Im not saying you are wrong, but maybe if I understand why you would want to, perhaps we could find common ground.

 

 

It's always worth keeping this in mind during such discussions.........

 

[Jewbacca]

Seeing the mid packers would be cool if we were Australian and people were funny and were able to take the piss out of themselves and/or others....

 

Interviewing our mid pack would just illicit more answers of far less impressive Watt bomb stats, HR zone 2's and talks about nutrician, 'racing' and sportsing at 110%... 

[Pulse]

I've been watching some of the 'Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek presented by Biogen' on this here hub. Its a good illustration of some of the points being raised in this thread. The event name alone....

What would you suggest wrt naming of the event then?

[solty]

What would you suggest wrt naming of the event then?

Something shorter would leave the commentator / voice over guy with more time to say something interesting. Like telling us what some of the other riders and lesser pros are doing.

[Patchelicious]

Something shorter would leave the commentator / voice over guy with more time to say something interesting. Like telling us what some of the other riders and lesser pros are doing.

I think when it's those very sponsors paying for the commentator to be there, they might want to get mentioned by him ????

[Pulse]

Something shorter would leave the commentator / voice over guy with more time to say something interesting. Like telling us what some of the other riders and lesser pros are doing.

Hmmm... Thats just being silly. So you don't want TITLE sponsors in the Title of the event?

Sponsorship is what it is, without it...