Ways to watch

Since so many people seem to be unaware there there are more resources out there for cycling coverage in the United States then Versus and Universal, I thought I would share some of the channels through which I feed the monkey.

Internet Stream

First off there are live internet streams, which work well for all of us out on the West Coast. The reason is that, because of the time difference, most of the European races are approaching their 20-30K to go when I am just getting out of a bed and pouring the first cup of french press. I usually don't wake-up early just to watch the races, as some would believe, but it is just convenient that I am a natural born early riser.

The best place to find feeds are from one of two sites www.steephill.tv or www.cyclingfans.com. Both sites are equally good in my mind and both generally have the same info, but for whatever reason, I end-up at Steephill. Many times you will have to try a few of the feed links before you find the best feed.

For some of the more obscure races, there will only be foriegn language feeds, like the ones in Flemish which my girl friend call the farting language, but I think sounds like somone is playing a record backwards. You can always get creative by watching the video feed while reading Cyclingnew's twitter updates too.

Torrents

For those of you who are not such early risers or can't stand Flemish, I implore you to check out http://cyclingtorrents.nl/. This site is by far one of my favorite cycling resources in the world. They have a database featuring nearly every race you have ever wanted to watch. (Start stockpiling now for your trainer time during the winter months.) And many races are posted on the site mere hours after they are finished airing. Did I mention they occasionally have HD videos?

Torrenting has something of a seedy reputation, mainly because of sites which torrent software, music, and movies. Reputation aside, it is a pretty awesome way to share large amounts of information quickly - whether it is legal to share said information is another story . Cyclingtorrents.nl is pretty legit though. They only offer race coverage. Not cycling documentaries or hollywood movies. Though the video coverage may be copyrighted somewhere, it really serves as a way for people who love to watch cycling to have access to do so.

To use cyclingtorrents.nl, you have to set up an account which tracks download v. upload statistics. (The more you upload, the faster you can download.) After you have an account, select the browse tap and explore all the torrents there are available. You can search by race names, type of race (mtb, road, x-cross, etc), and language. (NOTE: for those of you in cyclocross mode already, tons and tons of cyclocross footage that you will never be able to find anywhere else in the states.) To download a race, you will need some torrent client. If you are just getting started with torrenting, check out Miro. Miro makes getting and watching the races as easy and clicking the torrent link (e.g., tob2010_stage3.avi.torrent for Tour of Britain 2010, Stage 3) and waiting for the download.

When the download is complete, you can play the file straight from Miro.

Once you get the hang of Miro, you might want to consider torrent programs like Transmission. Many are highly customizable, which helps if you trying to improve your upload stats so you can download faster.

If you have any other ways of getting race coverage (other than Universal and Versus) please pass them along. And if you have any questions on how to go about any of this, send them my way and I'll try to help.

Don't forget, road season is not over

The sledge hammer that is cross is winding up and about to be in full swing, but before that hammer comes crashing down, people need to remember that there is some excellent road racing left. Testament to that was this past weekend where I saw some of the best racing I have seen all year.

Canada's Pro Tour double-header - Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec and Montreal - went off fabously. GP Quebec saw Frenchman Thomas Voeckler win with a closing kilometer move that even he had trouble believing stuck.

And in GP Montreal, it was non stop action. There was a late break which contained one of my all time favorite American riders, Chris Horner, his Radioshack teammate, Machado, Saxo's Sorensen, and Liquigas's Danial Oss. The four looked good, but it drew out some of the big guns in the peloton to lead a hard chase. Garmin, Sky, and Rabobank all put some muscles on the front while Radioshack's Leipenheimer looks poised for the counter. In the end, it was Gesink who got a jump on the peloton and held an impressive 10k solo to the finish line.

Gesink had what it took, but was clearly assisted by the chasers' hesitation to willing pull Sagen and Boasson-Hagen to the line. (Rightly so, but I would have loved to Gesink and Hesjedal go head-to-head.) The finish was Gesink, Sagen, Hesjedal. That's right, Canada's own Hesjedal got a hard fought 3rd. For a minute there, according to Vaughter's Tweet, "Hesjedal was bigger than hockey in Canada." I think the general consensus is that this is a Pro Tour race that will be around for a while.

In addition to these two great races, there also an ongoing battle for the Vuelta GC, which is one of the hottest we have seen all year. Everything I have seen from this race, I have loved. Right now, I am putting this Grand Tour on the same pistole I place the Giro on. The reason is simple - both races have focused RACING and less on politics, gossip, rivalries, etc. Whether that has to do the fans, media, or promoters, I don't know. What are your thoughts? Which Grand Tour do you like the most and why?

After the final GC contenders get done slugging it out, the next race on everyone's mind has to be Worlds. Personally I can't wait for this race. With countries final team selections coming in, it seems like it is going to be a excellent race. Many are calling this a sprinters course with some hard climbs. Names that come to mind are Freire, Hushovd, Pozzato, and even Evans for the double. Who knows? there is always a chance that Farrar and Cavendish could make it with the group, and if they do, we might see a flurry of late moves trying to trying to get away from a bunch sprint - there is only one jersey after all. 2nd and 3rd just don't apply in this race. Who is on your radar for the win? What countries lock poised to dominate?