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Video: The missing TV footage of the final kilometres of the Road World Championships – from aboveBergen 2017 men's road race - missing kilometres.PNG

Video: The missing TV footage of the final kilometres of the Road World Championships – from above

Power cut caused pictures to disappear with just 4 kilometres remaining
by Simon_MacMichael
Mon, Sep 25, 2017 10:21
9

 

If you were watching the men’s elite race at the UCI Road World Championships yesterday, you’ll have been one of the millions of TV viewers worldwide who were left frustrated when the TV feed disappeared with just 4 kilometres remaining – but now, footage posted online that was shot from a helicopter shows you what you missed.

When the pictures were lost, the 267.5-kilometre race was finely poised, with France’s Julian Alaphilippe riding away from fellow attacker Gianni Moscon of Italy (subsequently disqualified for taking an extended tow from his team car after a crash).

With no images from motorbikes or helicopters, the TV picture cut to the fixed cameras within the final kilometre, with viewers having to wait for three minutes or so for the riders to emerge and see who would battle it out for the win – just like being there in person was an observation several people made on Twitter.

The missing four minutes or so ahead of the sprint to the line, where Peter Sagan of Slovakia beat Norway’s Alexander Kristoff to take the race for an unprecedented third time in a row remained a blank until helicopter footage emerged yesterday evening.

Olav Sandnes, head of host broadcaster TV2, said: “It's incredibly sad, and we're really sorry. Fortunately we got the last kilometre, but before that we should have received signals from a very exciting attack.”

http://www.tv2.no/sport/9384804/

He explained that the problem was a power cut on the city’s Mount Fløyen, where a TV mast is located.

"We are very disappointed about it,” he continued. “I feel that our production has worked excellently throughout the World Championship. We’ve had amazing pictures from Bergen.

“We are clearly sorry that we do not succeed with the whole race. We kept going until there were three minutes left, but then we blew up. We’re very sorry.”

Bergen 2017
UCI Road World Championships 2017
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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Kadinkski | 7 years ago
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You can see here that Sagan is actually doing a hell of a lot of work. He's a genius. 

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Canyon48 | 7 years ago
0 likes

I always wonder why they bother with a microphone on the helicopter cameras.

Great race though!

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JohnnyRemo replied to Canyon48 | 7 years ago
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wellsprop wrote:

I always wonder why they bother with a microphone on the helicopter cameras.

Great race though!

I'm sure I read somewhere that the helicopter "mic" is just a sound effect they play so there is no dead air. (or did I dream that?)

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don simon fbpe | 7 years ago
0 likes

Interesting that the cameras don't carry storage cards for recording (except this particular helicopter).

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beezus fufoon | 7 years ago
0 likes

reminiscent of the tour to la Plagne 1987 - half expected Stephen Roche to pop up there at the end

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Mackadoo | 7 years ago
0 likes

Agree with the previous posts, I was on the edge of my seat screaming at the tvcheeky

Enjoyed that aerial footage too-thanks- dunno whether it was the lack of Carlton or the music i was listening too as I watched it but the last few km of that race were a thing of beauty, amazing the power Sagan can throw down after 260km of cruising in the peloton.

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iso2000 | 7 years ago
2 likes

I found the images from the first static camera quite exciting. It was like actually standing on the corner with the anticipation building of when the first riders would appear... here is a motorbike is a rider following? no... here's  another motor bike.... and so on until eventually a rider appears and you wonder who it is. 

Avatar
Grahamd replied to iso2000 | 7 years ago
1 like
iso2000 wrote:

I found the images from the first static camera quite exciting. It was like actually standing on the corner with the anticipation building of when the first riders would appear... here is a motorbike is a rider following? no... here's  another motor bike.... and so on until eventually a rider appears and you wonder who it is. 

Agree, made me wonder how other races could benefit from this, less is more, even if it was unplanned.

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Simon E | 7 years ago
2 likes

Frustrating but it shouldn't overshadow a truly fantastic week of racing. Innsbruck and Yorkshire have really got their work cut out to match Bergen.

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