The USA Pro Cycling Challenge has signed a new broadcast agreement with the NBC Sports Group that will see NBC and NBC Sports Network televise the race through '14. The race, which debuted in '11 and runs Aug. 20-26 through Colorado, will receive 29 total hours of coverage, including four hours of live coverage on NBC. “The partnership demonstrates how much we believe in the sport,” said NBC Sports President of Programming Jon Miller. Coverage of the race begins on Aug. 19 with a one-hour preview show on NBC Sports Network. The cable channel, which also broadcasts the Tour de France, will air a 30-minute preview show before each stage. The final two stages, held Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 in Boulder and Denver, respectively, will each receive two hours of live coverage on NBC, starting at 2:00pm ET. The four hours of network coverage is the most of any bicycle race. Universal Sports will re-air the final two stages on Aug. 27-29. The coverage is a boost from '11 when Versus broadcast 25 hours of the race. “We took what was a good first year and made it bigger,” said Pro Cycling Challenge CEO Shawn Hunter (Fred Dreier, Correspondent). Hunter said, “The guys are big supporters of the sport and supporters of the event. Very early on in our process, they believed in our vision and supported our vision" (DENVER POST, 6/13).
