Starting on Sunday, Versus gets back into cycling with coverage of the Tour of California. The weeklong event covers the Golden State and will be called by the illustrious Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. Versus will have live coverage and also showcase highlights during each of the 8 nights of competition. We have details from Versus on the Tour of California.
VERSUS TO AIR EXTENSIVE LIVE DAILY COVERAGE OF TOUR OF CALIFORNIA – AMERICA’S PREMIER CYCLING EVENT – MAY 15-22
NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 11, 2011)—VERSUS will once again provide live daily coverage of the Tour of California road race, the premier U.S.-based cycling event featuring some of the world’s top professional cyclists, starting this Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. The network will provide live HD coverage of each stage of the Tour, from May 15-22, including the first-ever mountain top stage finish with the ascent up Mt. Baldy during Stage 7 on Sat., May 21, at 7 p.m. ET. Additionally, the network will air highlights of the stages each night during the eight-day competition.
VERSUS will give viewers unprecedented access to the competition with in-depth profiles on the race’s top riders, including American cyclist and three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer, two-time Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck, three-time Tour of California runner-up Dave Zabriskie and Green Jersey winner at the Tour de France Thor Hushovd. The network will also create unique, animated cycling segments to provide viewers with a better understanding of the sport’s terminology and flow of the race. Other enhancements include a pointer feature which will easily identify and focus on specific riders in the 140-plus peloton.
Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the undisputed voices of cycling, will be on site in California to provide commentary and insight for each day of the network’s coverage with Bob Roll returning as the in-race reporter.
NBCSports.com will be the premier destination for cycling fans throughout the entire competition with expert predictions from Phil, Paul and Bob along with daily standings and results, video recaps of each stage, exclusive fan videos and interviews from some of the best riders in the world.
Since VERSUS started airing coverage of the Tour of California in 2007, the network has seen average viewership growth of 46 percent. Last year’s race saw the number of viewers tuning in to the network’s daily coverage double from 2007 (3 million vs. 1.5 million).
VERSUS’ live schedule for the 2011 Tour of California follows (all times ET, subject to change):
Stage 1: Sunday, May 15 – South Lake Tahoe to North Lake Tahoe-Northstar at Tahoe Resort 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 2: Monday, May 16 – North Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley to Sacramento 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 3: Tuesday, May 17 – Auburn to Modesto 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 4: Wednesday, May 18 – Livermore to San Jose 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 5: Thursday, May 19 – Seaside to Paso Robles 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 6: Friday, May 20 – Solvang Individual Time Trial 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Stage 7: Saturday, May 21 – Claremont to Mt. Baldy 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Stage 8: Sunday, May 22 – Santa Clarita to Thousand Oaks 6:30-9:00 p.m.
That’s all.
