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Cycling on ABC
GenreBicycle racing
Directed byLarry Kamm
Joel Feld[2]
StarringJohn Eustice
Terry Gannon
Frank Gifford
Adrian Karsten
Jim Lampley
Phil Liggett
Diana Nyad
Sam Posey
Robin Roberts
Beth Ruyak
Pierre Salinger
Paul Sherwen
Al Trautwig
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons12
Production
Executive producersRoone Arledge[3]
Jack O'Hara[4]
Howard Katz
ProducersLarry Kamm
Dennis Lewin
Amy Sacks[5]
Jim Carr[6]
Production locationsFrance and other countries
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time90 minutes
Production companyABC Sports
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseJuly 1, 1989 (1989-07-01)[1] –
July 22, 2000 (2000-07-22)
Related
Wide World of Sports
Olympics on ABC
Cycling on ESPN

Cycling on ABC is the de facto name for broadcasts of bicycle races produced by ABC Sports, the sports division of the American Broadcasting Company television network.[7]

Overview

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Race Across America

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In 1982, Wide World of Sports[8] devoted the April 17 and 23 editions to coverage of the Race Across America, which was then known as the Great American Bike Race. Jim Lampley[9] anchored ABC's coverage of the inaugural race[10] alongside Diana Nyad.[11] ABC's coverage of the 1982 Great American Bicycle Race wound up garnering an Emmy[12] for the Best Sports Documentary.

In total, ABC would cover the first five[13] installments of the Race Across America. From 1983-1985, ABC aired the Race Across America in two one hour segments on Wide World of Sports.[14] For their final year of covering the event (1986), ABC aired the Race Across America on Wide World of Sports as a single two-hour program.

Tour de France coverage

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Further information: Tour_de_France § Broadcasting, and List of events broadcast on Wide World of Sports (American TV program)

On July 26, 1976, Wide World or Sports[15] provided coverage of the Tour de France for the very first time.

ABC[16] later covered the Tour de France[17] from 1989–2000,[18] succeeding CBS in that capacity. ABC agreed to pay $1 million a year for the television rights to the Tour de France. ABC also carried Paris–Roubaix in this time frame under the Wide World of Sports[19] umbrella.[20]

In 1989, Sam Posey was brought in as part of the ABC Sports broadcast team covering the Tour de France.[21] Many people were surprised by Posey's knowledge and genuine enthusiasm for the sport. ABC would bring him back as the lead anchor for the 1990 and 1991 races.

ABC's standard format[22] for broadcasting the Tour de France consisted of a 12-minute report on behalf of Wide World of Sports on Saturdays and then, 1+1⁄2 hours worth of coverage the following afternoon. In total, ABC would present approximately eight same day telecasts. Four of them would be scheduled for broadcast on Wide World of Sports while the other four would be classified as special Sunday broadcasts.

ABC's coverage of the 1996 Tour de France was nominated[23] for an Emmy for Outstanding Live Event Turnaround.

In 2001, ABC as well as their sister network,[24] ESPN,[25] would be supplanted[26] by the Outdoor Life Network[27] in broadcasting the Tour de France.

Summer Olympic coverage

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Main articles: ABC Olympic broadcasts and Olympics on ABC commentators

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Al Michaels[28] provided the play-by-play commentary for the road cycling[29] events alongside Greg LeMond and Eric Heiden.[30] For the track events, Bill Flemming[31] had the play-by-play duties alongside Eric Heiden.[32]

Commentators

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See also: List_of_sports_announcers § Cycling, and List of Wide World of Sports (American TV series) announcers

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ABC Sports - Wide World of Sports - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ "And Now...Heeeere's Heidi!". Sports Illustrated. December 23, 1985.
  3. ^ Carmody, John (August 14, 1986). "The TV Column". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ Herbstreit, Kirk (17 August 2021). Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood, and College GameDay Saturdays. Simon and Schuster. p. 201. ISBN 9781982171018.
  5. ^ Goodwin, Michael (March 4, 1986). "TV Sports; Shower of Events in March". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Pinckney, Barbara (September 30, 2002). "Producers carve niche covering smaller sporting events". American City Business Journal.
  7. ^ "ABC exec O'Hara dies in TWA crash". UPI. July 18, 1996. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "The 1982 Great American Bicycle Race". The Bicycle Story. October 6, 2011.
  9. ^ "Michael Shermer — The Man Of Many Miles". Road Bike Action. 10 April 2020.
  10. ^ Teaford, Elliott (July 27, 1991). "He Has His Foot on the Pedal of the Race Across America : Bicycling: Marino started the event, rode in it the first three years and has organized and directed it the past seven". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Litsky, Frank (April 19, 1983). "TV Sports; Camera Tracks Bike Odyssey". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Fraser, Christa (October 21, 2009). "Flashback: Red Lining On the Anguish Index: The Velodramatic History of the Race Across America". Adventure Sports Journal.
  13. ^ Chew, Danny. "History of RAAM Team Divisions". Danny's Team RAAM Rider.
  14. ^ "You Can't Be Sure of Anything If It's on Group W Cable". Los Angeles Times. February 28, 1986.
  15. ^ "Wide World "Constant Variety" Milestones and Highlights". ESPN.com.
  16. ^ Jemison, Marty (September 14, 2020). "Marty Jemison's 1997 Tour de France Diary".
  17. ^ "Broadcasting Rights International Corp. v. Societe du Tour de France". Casetext.
  18. ^ "Tour de France 2000 Television schedule". ESPN. July 17, 2000.
  19. ^ Williams, Jennifer (July 3, 1992). "Cycling Coming to ESPN". Daily Press.
  20. ^ Finn, Chad (April 25, 2021). "ABC's 'Wide World of Sports' debut 60 years ago. It would go on to change sports television as we know it". Boston.
  21. ^ Stewart, Larry (June 30, 1989). "Baseball Fans Will Get a Dutch Treat on All-Star Telecast". Los Angeles Times.
  22. ^ Stewart, Larry (July 19, 1991). "Cycling Coverage on ABC Has Been a Real Tour de Force". Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^ "Emmy awards for sports". CNN. March 26, 1997.
  24. ^ Wasko, Janet (7 June 2013). Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0745669045.
  25. ^ Katz, Richard (July 30, 1999). "Outdoor Life rides on Tour". Variety.
  26. ^ Sayre, Evan (July 1, 2001). "Watch It With Us" (PDF). Queen City Wheels. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2021.
  27. ^ Kunz, William M. (23 April 2020). The Political Economy of Sports Television. Routledge. ISBN 9781000060447.
  28. ^ "Games of the XXIII Olympiad, the {1984 Los Angeles Olympics} {1984/07/29}, Part 3: Cycling (Women) (TV)". The Paley Center for Media.
  29. ^ "Michaels to Host NBC's 2010 Vancouver Daytime Coverage". Around The Rings. July 12, 2021.
  30. ^ "Games of the XXIII Olympiad, the {1984 Los Angeles Olympics} {1984/07/29}, Part 9: Swimming (Men/Women) (TV)". The Paley Center for Media.
  31. ^ "Games of the XXIII Olympiad, the {1984 Los Angeles Olympics} {1984/08/02}, Part 7: Cycling (Men) (TV)". The Paley Center of Media.
  32. ^ "Games of the XXIII Olympiad, the {1984 Los Angeles Olympics} {1984/08/02}, Part 6: Modern Pentathlon (Men) (TV)". The Paley Center for Media.
  33. ^ "John Eustice". Time.
  34. ^ "Chat wrap: ABC's Terry Gannon". ABC Sports - Wide World of Sports - ESPN.
  35. ^ Lindsey, Joe (January 2, 2020). "Why We All Need to Stop Stealing Race Coverage". Bicyling.
  36. ^ "ABC Sports: 1999 Tour De France (TV)". The Paley Center for Media.
  37. ^ Thomas, Welsch, Schachter, George, Jeff, Steven (30 March 2012). Going the Distance: The George Thomas Story. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781613211762.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ Costa, Brandon (December 5, 2017). "Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Brent Musburger, An Iconic Voice Always Up to the Big Moment". Sports Video Group.
  39. ^ Nidetz, Steve (July 20, 1990). "Tour De France Task Gives Posey, ABC Crew Little Time to Coast". Chicago Tribune.
  40. ^ Kent, Milton (January 11, 1996). "Roberts realizes lifetime dream as host of Wide World of Sports". The Baltimore Sun.
  41. ^ "An evening with Phil Liggett & Paul Sherwen". Brown Paper Tickets.
  42. ^ Jackman, Phil (July 21, 1990). "Thanks to LeMond, ABC Will Have No Trouble Peddling Tour". Los Angeles Times.
  43. ^ "Beth Ruyak". capradio.org.
  44. ^ "Sports People: Broadcasting; Trautwig to Leave ABC". The New York Times. August 8, 1989.
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