Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Nation Wonders: who is this Ryder Hesjedal?




Is Ryder Hesjedal going to get any coverage from Globe & Mail Sports? Or CBC Sports? Or even CanWest?

Ryder Hesjedal is the lone Canadian (and first in a decade) on the Tour de France. Through the big climbs in the Alps, he has become the most reliable support rider of the Garmin-Chipotle team (one of the few strongly anti-drug teams on the Tour). He's the team's leading rider behind top-ten competitor Christian Vande Velde, and he's moving up steadily in the standings.

Outdoor Life Network, which broadcasts the Tour in Canada, gets its coverage from the American Versus network, which reports every 145th place American but does nothing for its Canadian viewers. The Globe picks up AP wire copy.

Will he have to go to Beijing (he's selected for the Canadian Olympic team) to get any attention from Canadian media?

Photo from the Garmin Chipotle team website: Hesjedal leading Vande Velde (at left) in the Alps.
 
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