Le Tour returning to German Television

[RiccoDinko]

Do they actually believe the Tour is clean?

 

[the sceptic]

Do they actually believe the Tour is clean?

lol. What a bunch of hypocrites they are.

Did they already forget everything that happened in 2014?

 

[sniper]

Great reason for ASO/UCI to have nobody test positive at the TdF 2015:

The contract (...) has an escape clause which enables ARD to cancel the contract in case of new doping incidents

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/tv/ard-zeigt-wieder-tour-de-france-a-1011133.html

And how convenient that there were no TdF positives in 2014, whilst Cookson was busy opening up the German market.

 

[Netserk]

What a load of crap clause. In the case that anti-doping is successful and catches cheats, the race will be punished. Dope as much as you want, just don't test positive. Do they really think the sport will get cleaner if no one ever tested positive again?

 

[jens_attacks]

so let's hope the tour gets clean like in the pre puerto days then

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Do they actually believe the Tour is clean?

Probably not, but with ARD broadcasting athletics, cross-country skiing and biathlon, not wanting to give those rights up due to popularity of the sports in Germany and now not being able to pretend those sports are that much better than cycling, they probably figure, as long as cycling doesn't slap itself in the face too much more, they can't really justify the double standard anymore and with the likelihood of German success to help boost ratings, they can stand to risk it.

 

[May0maniac]

They should use Jan and Klöden as experts and commentators

 

[staubsauger]

If not for free of charge HD+ coverage I would rather stay with Eurosport, anyway.

Can't imagine Das Erste has just anybody with the knowledge and insight of Leclerq (and Migels) on board. They'll probably focus a bit more on the cultural and historical attachment of the Tour, again.

I even may've preferred if RTL Germany had secured the Tour rights, because they wouldn't have cared to much about the doping issue and kept the show on focus, at least.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

so Bora, if invited to the tour this or next year, could get a bit of a windfall.
Anyway, agree with LS, reality is slowly starting to kick in.

 

[DirtyWorks]

lol. What a bunch of hypocrites they are.

Did they already forget everything that happened in 2014?

??? The UCI landed a German WT team sponsor, and now the Germany-based team has a very nice advertising vehicle.

Everybody wins! ASO and the UCI building a Pro Sports business.

 

[sniper]

??? The UCI landed a German WT team sponsor, and now the Germany-based team has a very nice advertising vehicle.

Everybody wins! ASO and the UCI building a Pro Sports business.

most f-ing definitely.

and remember the German antidoping law that was recently adopted.
what an amazing coincidence.
three german cyclists were present when it was publicly announced.
(versus zero soccer/tennis players)

Sports and politics have gone hand in hand in Germany for decades.