We all know about the Tour de France but one of the most dangerous and challenging bike races in the world is the Tour de Spain or Vuelta a Espana for those who speak Spanish.
The race coverage starts Saturday morning around 10a.m. and will continue each day for the next three weeks.
Fans can watch the race on Universal Sports which can be seen on NBC4 digital or Comcast cable. They will also provide complete broadband coverage at UniversalSports.com
Here is the coverage details…
Universal Sports will broadcast more than eight hours of the Vuelta each day during the three-week event, totaling more than 152 hours over 25 days. Additionally, UniversalSports.com will provide LIVE coverage of the race with full-length videos, highlights, photos and recaps at UniversalSports.com/cycling. A premium application, RaceTracker, is available online for a fee, providing viewers with live video, commentary, stage profiles, altitude data, real-time rider location and standings.
More on the broadband coverage…
UniversalSports.com will live stream each stage of the race, free-of-charge, starting at 10 a.m. ET, except for Stage 4 on Tuesday, Sept. 1, when coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. ET.
The three-week road cycling stage race, complete with four days in the Netherlands, is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. With seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and Vuelta defending champion Alberto Contador skipping the event, this year’s field is wide open. Spainard Samuel Sanchez is the hometown favorite to win, with top riders Alexander Vinokourov, 2006 Vuelta champion, and Ivan Basso both returning to racing from two-year doping suspensions.
The Vuelta joins the Giro d’Italia in Universal Sports’ cycling schedule, giving the network two of the three Grand Tours and firmly establishing Universal Sports as the cable leader in cycling coverage. Coverage is led by David Michaels, executive producer of Universal Sports, who brings more than 30 years of experience in producing international cycling events. Michaels produced Universal’s highly acclaimed coverage of the 2009 Giro d’Italia this past May. The race will last 25 days, with two days of rest on Wednesday, September 2, and Thursday, September 10.
Additional cycling events on Universal Sports include the Tour of the Basque Country, the Road Cycling and Track Cycling World Championships, other UCI Road and Track events, BMX World Championships, Mountain Bike, Cyclocross and more.
