Nebraska Cycling News

Premiere Sports Network Delivers Live Online Broadcast

On Sunday August 25th, cycling fans the world over will have an opportunity to tune into this year’s Chris Thater Memorial Criterium as the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) debuts its live coverage of the 2007 USA CRITS series from Binghamton, New York’s classic race.

“There’s been very little domestic cycling that’s been on TV in any concerted fashion.” says Emmy award winning producer Kent Gordis. “The idea here is that we’re taking an absolutely world class sport, which is domestic American cycling...specifically represented  by its criteriums...and we’re making it available to television and Internet viewers on a wide basis really for the first time ever.”

Longtime WCSN cycling anchor Steve Schlanger will be joined by nationally known race commentator/announcer Dave Towle to deliver live play-by-play action direct from the race course.

“The really amazing thing about this event is that this will be the first time that an American cycling event will be live that I can ever remember. I really believe that live is important to the sport. People really want to watch their sporting events live because it’s just that much more suspenseful and dramatic.”

Online viewers will also, however, be able to perpetually access streaming coverage of the event from wcsn.com on-demand. Race fans can now also check out an array of online multimedia coverage directly from the usacrits.com website to include USA CRITS podcasts, YouTube videos, and the USA CRITS MySpace page.

The Chris Thater Memorial Criterium has been run since 1984 and has a long legacy within American professional cycling. Founded in memory of Chris Thater, a young cyclist who was killed by a drunk driver, the race will see well over 10,000 spectators line the 1.2 mile course to watch riders compete for the remaining available points in the USA CRITS Series. Promoting a positive and healthy lifestyle along with an awareness of the problems surrounding drunk driving, the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium is a multi-faceted event taking place over an entire weekend.

“We’ve added other sporting events.” says race director Jim May. “(There’s) a national-class 5K run, a three-on-three basketball tournament, a large expo area with all sorts of demonstrations to include stunt mountain bike riders, and then this year we’re adding a high school cross-country meet.”

May immediately accepted USA CRITS founder Gene Dixon’s invitation to include the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium within the framework of the series upon being asked.

“We knew the synergy that could occur if we linked all the key criteriums in America together. Gene Dixon and I have always had the same philosophy about promoting bicycle races. We try to make them festival events that are family oriented. At both of our events, both the Athens Twilight Criterium and here, wherever you turn you’re seeing action, color, and excitement.”

May also shares Dixon’s and WCSN’s vision that regular broadcast coverage of events like the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium will be a vital element of cycling’s future.

“We think that’s a very exciting feature to bike racing in America. We wanted to get in on the ground floor of that (because) we just think that’s going to be very positive for the sport and very positive for the Chris Thater Memorial. And then in a few weeks we’ll have the World Championships being broadcast from Las Vegas as well.”

This year’s USA CRITS Series culminates with the WCSN USA CRITS Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 27th. The event will be hosted at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

For more info about the calendar of events going at the Chris Thater Memorial visit www.gobroomecounty.com/bcstopdwi/StopDWI_Thater.php.

About USA CRITS

USA CRITS National Criterium Series has been developed to feature a brand of cycling unique to the United States, the criterium. Criteriums are historically run on short laps through city streets, they offer spectators the opportunity to watch Olympians, world and national champions up-close as they ride at top speed. This has made the criterium format the most spectator-friendly form of cycling entertainment. Events on the USA CRITS series have the ideals that have made criterium racing an American legacy: Challenging courses that showcase arts and entertainment districts; a large and energized base of spectators; broad community support; and strong marketing opportunities for sponsors. For more information visit www.usacrits.com.

About World Championship Sports Network (WCSN)

World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) is the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, delivering an immersive experience via exclusive live and on demand coverage of world class competitions, interaction with top athletes and in depth access to sports news and information year round.

WCSN offers comprehensive coverage of over 60 sports disciplines, through exclusive long term programming agreements across a number of key International Federations and National Governing Bodies. Major championship events in sports ranging from Track & Field, Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Cycling to Volleyball, Karate and Taekwondo are featured online at www.wcsn.com and on television via WCSN’s 24/7 cable sports network. WCSN also markets Olympic sports in partnership with International Federations, National Governing Bodies, local organizations, clubs, sponsors, and through related websites and publications. For more information, please visit www.wcsn.com.

About Swagger

Recognized as a leading action and adventure sports production company, Swagger offers an array of business services that include branding, creative services, events and athletes, media packaging and production, mobile programs, public relations and communications, relationship leveraging, sales and sponsorship, staffing resources, and strategic marketing. As the country’s leading producer of criterium racing currently producing over forty criterium events, Swagger has over 50 years of combined experience as a sports marketing and event management organization. Swagger has managed America’s premier criterium, the Twilight Criterium in Athens, Georgia for 27 years and has assisted with hundreds of large and small-scale events. For more information visit www.swagger.us.