Cyclist
Comment: I’ll dearly miss the free cycling coverage on ITV4
If you sat down to watch the Tour de France on ITV4 throughout the 2010s, your ears will have been immediately blessed with the most upbeat accordion-style jingle that introduced the channel’s daily coverage. For me, this theme tune quickly developed into the theme song of many a summer enthralled in this new world, one that I had been pulled into on the back of the 2012 London Olympics.
Like many cycling journalists, I previously tried my hand at being a rider myself. The Manchester Velodrome was a place I would spend a lot of time in on weekends, my parents sipping travel mugs of coffee at 6am as they watched their daughter pedal in circles for three hours. Having initially been bitten by the track bug thanks to Laura Trott, Dani Rowe and Jo Rowsell’s performances for TeamGB. I was about to develop a case of road fever too.
I can honestly say the reason I am where I am now, writing for Cyclist and with the sport dictating a large aspect of my life, is mostly down to free-to-air cycling coverage that served to blow my initial spark of interest into a raging fire. Having the likes of the Tour de Yorkshire, Critérium du Dauphiné or Tour de France available to watch free of charge, and welcoming the voices of Gary Imlach and Ned Boulting into my living room is something I look back on fondly, a vital part of my teenage years. They brought cycling to life in the corner of Preston where I lived, whether it be showing the explosive exploits of Peter Sagan, covering the Tour de Yorkshire or even broadcasting the chaotic run of Chris Froome up Mont Ventoux.
When Will and I interviewed Ned Boulting for the Cyclist Magazine Podcast on the eve of this year’s Tour de France, I asked him about the biggest changes he’s been privy to witnessing over recent years. Without hesitation, he responded that it was women’s cycling. I worry that free-to-air coverage of cycling in the UK after this year’s Tour will not only be detrimental to getting new viewers into the sport but will shield the younger generation of potential cycling superstars from new role models to emulate. If you can see it, you can be it. The next Marianne Vos could be just a switched channel away.
So now is the time to be as loud as possible about cycling, and to all at ITV4, from Ned and Gary and to all those behind the scenes who have worked so tirelessly over the years: thank you. Thank you for it all. I imagine they’ll not only have a few more eyes on coverage with this being their final lap in the current format, but with TNT Sports quietly introducing adverts too.
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