This years Vuelta (Tour of Spain) is finished today with Roberto Haras winning his third Vuelta in the last 5 years. If it had not been for the traitor it would have been his fourth. The Vuelta was not shown this year on OLN upsetting all of the cycling community here.

Because the Vuelta was not going to be shown by OLN TV, an extra expense on top of regular cable, I cancelled my subscription to OLN and sent them several Emails voicing my discontent with their decision not to carry the fall Spanish Tour. I cant tell you how unhappy this has made me and so many of the cycling fans here in California. I have enclosed a copy of my communitcaiton with OLN for your enjoyment:

OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK’S2003 TOUR DE FRANCE COVERAGE ACHIEVES NETWORK’S HIGHEST RATINGS EVEROLN records its highest rating ever with a 1.5 on Saturday July 26thfor its live coverage (9am-11:30am ET )

Amy PhillipsDirector of Public Relations and EventsOutdoor Life NetworkTwo Stamford Plaza281 Tresser BoulevardStamford, CT 06901Email: Amy_phillips@olntv.com

Dear Amy,

You can see the headlines yourself that the coverage of the Tour de France was a terrific success. How do you follow up on this great success? It is certainly not by your coverage of more cycling events!

I am so so disappointed in your coverage decision concerning the Vuelta a Espana tour. This is a disgrace that you have chosen to only cover a summation of the Vuelta this year. I am seriously considering canceling my subscription to OLN network on my cable service because of this. The Cycling events are the only reason that I subscribe to OLN. The other fishing ect events are a bonus for me. I have so many friends that are really upset with this years coverage and we are seeking alternatives.

You need to know that this decision not to cover the Vuelta is a terrible mistake that you may pay for in lost revenue and loyal subscribers.

David Godden

This scathing letter was received and replied to by the higher ups at OLN, or was it a computer generated letter, you be the judge. I did receive a reply in a day or so as follows:

David-

Thank you for your email and your feedback regarding the 2004 Vuelta a Espana. Your opinion is very important to us. As the television home of professional cycling, we are constantly working to bring fans and viewers the top cycling events from around the world. At this time, we will not be televising the 2004 Vuelta a Espana live. We will present a wrap-up program of the race on October 27 at 1pm ET and are currently researching alternative ways to present the race. We are committed to growing cycling popularity both in the U.S. and abroad, and it is our hope that we can increase coverage of the Vuelta in future years.

If you’d like to read more about this decision, please see Gavin Harvey’s interview on Velonews.com.

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/6795.0.html

Again, thank you for your feedback — and your continued support of OLN.

The saga of OLN’s failure goes on. They are more interested in keeping the shooting public happy than following through with their commitment to cycling. Next year I am going to boycott their coverage of the Tour de France and find another way to see the race. There has got to be something on Direct TV or satellite that shows the European cycling races other than this travesty from OLN.

The Vuelta is finished with Heras the winner. This is a great win for him. What follows is the report from VeloNews.

VeloNews Vuetla Report of Heras’s win

Down to the wire: Heras wins his third Vuelta as Perez turns in strong TT
By Andrew HoodVeloNews European correspondent

This report filed September 26, 2004

by AFP
There was never really any doubt about the outcome of the 2004 Vuelta a España.
At least not in the mind of Roberto Heras, who had a 43-second head-start going into Sunday’s 28.2km final time trial through the mean streets of Madrid.
Heras forfeited 13 seconds to the surging Santi Pérez (Phonak) but rode with calculated confidence to claim his record-tying third Vuelta crown in five years. He won the 2000 Vuelta as a member of the Kelme squad, joined U.S. Postal and then lost the 2002 Vuelta in the final time trial to Aitor Gonzalez, came back and won as a Postal rider in 2003 and then joined Liberty-Seguros for his successful defense this season.

by AFP
Perez impressed many at this Vuelta”I started the day confident but you never really know until it’s over,” Heras said after finishing fourth behind stage-winner Pérez. “It’s satisfying to win this Vuelta. After the problems I had earlier this season, it’s good to win. To win three Vueltas is very satisfying.”
Pérez faced the unlikely task of taking nearly two seconds per kilometer if he hoped to erase the gap and grab the overall victory. The young Asturiano rode with class over the slightly rolling course to win his third stage and give Liberty Seguros manager Manolo Saiz some indigestion.
“I said from the first days of the race it would be very difficult to beat Heras, who is the best climber in cycling today,” said Pérez, who finished second overall at 30 seconds back. “To be here is a dream and the Vuelta is something I can look forward to next year.”

by Graham Watson
Perez – Goofy helmet; fast timesRounding out the podium was Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), who scored his first podium of his career. Mancebo easily held off Alejandro Valverde (Valenciana-Kelme), who finished the Vuelta fourth overall after crashing hard in the second week.
“It’s the most beautiful day of my career,” said Mancebo, second on the day at seven seconds slower. “I had some doubts about this race because of my injury to my hand. This podium gives me confidence for the future.”

by Graham Watson
Heras did what he needed to doValenciana-Kelme David Blanco set an early fast time that stood good enough for fifth. Victor Hugo Peña stopped the clock for seventh on the day in what’s likely his last race with U.S. Postal Service. Carlos Sastre (CSC) rode a fine time trial at third at eight seconds slower to bounce into sixth overall ahead of the cooked Isidro Nozal (Liberty Seguros).

by Graham Watson
Zabel kept his points jerseyColombian Félix Cárdenas (Cafes Baque) took his second climber’s jersey and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) held off Valverde to win the point’s jersey. Heras also won the combined classification to go along with his overall title while Valenciana-Kelme won the team classification.
Postal deliveredU.S. Postal Service enjoyed a nice Vuelta – its final grand tour in that venerable team kit – despite coming to the race without a clear contender for the overall title.
The Posties won the opening team time trial and passed the leader’s jersey among Floyd Landis, Manuel Beltrán, Max Van Heeswijk and Benoit Joachim. The boys in blue scored another stage victory after a long solo attack by Dave Zabriskie. Beltrán finished highest at 13th while Tony Cruz was the lone American finisher and was active in several breakaways.

by Graham Watson
Final overall standings1. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 77:42:462. Santiago Perez (Sp), Phonak, at 0:303. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears-Banesto, 2:134. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Kelme, 3:305. Carlos Garcia Quesada (Sp), Kelme, 7:446. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 8:117. Isidro Nozal (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 8:328. Angel Gomez (Sp), Paternina, 13:089. Luis Perez (Sp), Cofidis, 13:2410. David Blanco (Sp), Kelme, 15:15