Universal Sports Gains Rights To Giro d'Italia Cycling Event

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Universal Sports picked up the rights to the Giro d'Italia bicycle race for the next four years. Specific financial terms were not released. Previously, the race had been telecast by Versus, which holds the rights to cycling's biggest event, the Tour de France. The NBC-owned Olympic sports channel will begin coverage tomorrow with a time trial from Lido di Venezia, Italy. The channel also plans to stream its coverage of the race live online, via universalsports.com. Universal Sports is committed to re-airing the race in a two-hour window each night in primetime, from 9:00-11:00pm ET. Archived video also will be available online. This year's race marks the return of American cyclist Lance Armstrong to competitive racing, as he plans to race in the event for the first time.