DISCLAIMER: Not a native englishspeaker!
I do not post very often, but I visit this forum on average twice per day and has done so for a very very long time. I always pictured myself being the average cycling fan. I watch every race sent on norwegian television and try to stream or follow a livefeed on those that aren't broadcast here. I also read A LOT on cyclingnews, especially when there is a race (not just the one in july!).
I don't have intimate knowledge of the technical aspects of cycling. I never raced, just always rode a bike to school and every now and then out in the woods with dad (which is why I usually leave posting to those more knowledgable). This is where I have drawn a comparison of myself to Football (soccer for you Americans...). The average football fan watchs every game their team plays. They follow news about their team and 95% has never played football beyond recreational. These people are the bulk of the football viewing audience and I thought I was the equivlant in cycling.
Now for cycling I figured the trend would be the same, but this week I realised it is not. I have had a summerjob working at my dads firm. There are about 50 people working here, male and female and ages 20-60. Most of them cycle to work and during lunch the discussion has been the TDF. I am just here to answer the phone, which doesnt ring very often. So I am watching eurosport. Everyone has noticed and turns to me for reports of how stages are developing during lunch.
Yesterday I said something along the lines: "Well Astana has more riders than Saxo, no surprise. It looks like it might favour Contador ont he final climb." The instant reply was: "but Hushovd, can he get any sprint points today? Do you think he can top 10?"
I explain how its not really likely, and try to steer the conversation towards Contador and Andy. In the end we are talking about Hushovd and Lance. Now most of these people seem to think Lance was doped to the gills, but they still admire him (Which is odd cause they seem to loathe Koss and we all suspect he was doped to the sky).
So in conclusion I found myself sitting with 50 people who all watch the last 40-80 km of TDF stage, a couple of classics and some giro stages each year. None of them knew Basso had won the Giro (!!!!). They did not really care about much beyond Thor's green jersey in tdf. Is this really the average fan? My friends, the people I am with when not at work, are diffrent though and definatly have a lot mroe knowledge, but still I find they mainly only know Cav, Hushovd, Pettachi and on the other side Conta, Andy, Basso, Menchov, Lance.
I tried to bring up (with my friends) how i thought Greipl was amazing and response was: "who is this Greipl?". These are people who at least claim to watch every giro stage! I was ridiculed for chosing Tony Martin for my fantasy team last year, solely because they had never heard his name. And two days ago one of them said the following: "wow this Samuel Sanchez guy really came out of nowhere...."
Sorry I am making a wall of text here, my point is: Is this trend I see here, that 95% the audience only watch the screen and tune out unless one of their favorites is mentioned, the norm everywhere? Why would it be like this for cycling, but not for other sports? Do people simply watch the Tour de france for the Tour of French countryside? Is this why we all spend so much time here on cyclingnews, because its the only place we find people who acctually care about other riders than the top 3? I thought Norwegian tv2 had excellent commentary for introducing newcomers to ALL aspects of cycling, but maybe lacked some indepth analysis and solid predictions (except for when Dag Otto Lauritzen is there), but apparantly all the information goes in one ear and out the other, unless its about Hushovd.
So last paragraph I promise. Do you all experience it diffrently? Do you feel like you are watching and experiencing cycling on a diffrent level than those around you (not trying to be elitist)? It frustrates and worries me that on the queen stage, all that 49 people cared for was sprint points for Thor. What will happen to norwegian cycling intrest (which to be fair is centered around the tdf and to a less extent Paris-Roubaix) when he quits? Unless EBH steps up and becomes a new contender to some sort of competition.
What is the average cycling fan like?
I do not post very often, but I visit this forum on average twice per day and has done so for a very very long time. I always pictured myself being the average cycling fan. I watch every race sent on norwegian television and try to stream or follow a livefeed on those that aren't broadcast here. I also read A LOT on cyclingnews, especially when there is a race (not just the one in july!).
I don't have intimate knowledge of the technical aspects of cycling. I never raced, just always rode a bike to school and every now and then out in the woods with dad (which is why I usually leave posting to those more knowledgable). This is where I have drawn a comparison of myself to Football (soccer for you Americans...). The average football fan watchs every game their team plays. They follow news about their team and 95% has never played football beyond recreational. These people are the bulk of the football viewing audience and I thought I was the equivlant in cycling.
Now for cycling I figured the trend would be the same, but this week I realised it is not. I have had a summerjob working at my dads firm. There are about 50 people working here, male and female and ages 20-60. Most of them cycle to work and during lunch the discussion has been the TDF. I am just here to answer the phone, which doesnt ring very often. So I am watching eurosport. Everyone has noticed and turns to me for reports of how stages are developing during lunch.
Yesterday I said something along the lines: "Well Astana has more riders than Saxo, no surprise. It looks like it might favour Contador ont he final climb." The instant reply was: "but Hushovd, can he get any sprint points today? Do you think he can top 10?"
I explain how its not really likely, and try to steer the conversation towards Contador and Andy. In the end we are talking about Hushovd and Lance. Now most of these people seem to think Lance was doped to the gills, but they still admire him (Which is odd cause they seem to loathe Koss and we all suspect he was doped to the sky).
So in conclusion I found myself sitting with 50 people who all watch the last 40-80 km of TDF stage, a couple of classics and some giro stages each year. None of them knew Basso had won the Giro (!!!!). They did not really care about much beyond Thor's green jersey in tdf. Is this really the average fan? My friends, the people I am with when not at work, are diffrent though and definatly have a lot mroe knowledge, but still I find they mainly only know Cav, Hushovd, Pettachi and on the other side Conta, Andy, Basso, Menchov, Lance.
I tried to bring up (with my friends) how i thought Greipl was amazing and response was: "who is this Greipl?". These are people who at least claim to watch every giro stage! I was ridiculed for chosing Tony Martin for my fantasy team last year, solely because they had never heard his name. And two days ago one of them said the following: "wow this Samuel Sanchez guy really came out of nowhere...."
Sorry I am making a wall of text here, my point is: Is this trend I see here, that 95% the audience only watch the screen and tune out unless one of their favorites is mentioned, the norm everywhere? Why would it be like this for cycling, but not for other sports? Do people simply watch the Tour de france for the Tour of French countryside? Is this why we all spend so much time here on cyclingnews, because its the only place we find people who acctually care about other riders than the top 3? I thought Norwegian tv2 had excellent commentary for introducing newcomers to ALL aspects of cycling, but maybe lacked some indepth analysis and solid predictions (except for when Dag Otto Lauritzen is there), but apparantly all the information goes in one ear and out the other, unless its about Hushovd.
So last paragraph I promise. Do you all experience it diffrently? Do you feel like you are watching and experiencing cycling on a diffrent level than those around you (not trying to be elitist)? It frustrates and worries me that on the queen stage, all that 49 people cared for was sprint points for Thor. What will happen to norwegian cycling intrest (which to be fair is centered around the tdf and to a less extent Paris-Roubaix) when he quits? Unless EBH steps up and becomes a new contender to some sort of competition.
What is the average cycling fan like?
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