FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 11th, 2017

TONIGHT’S TOUR DE FRANCE “TOUR PRIMETIME” FEATURES EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH YELLOW JERSEY HOLDER CHRIS FROOME, MARCEL KITTEL & MORE AT 8 PM ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group’s Tour de France “Tour Pass” – July 11

“It’s another bad, spineless decision by the jury. Bouhanni should be kicked out of the race.” – Bob Roll on Nacer Bouhanni’s penalty for hitting another rider in Stage 10

“Bouhanni has a history of doing this…If you have to question all of the riders in front of you, that they might throw a punch at you, that’s not bike racing anymore, that’s cage-match wrestling.” – Christian Vande Velde

Live Tour de France Coverage Continues Tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN

Live, Commercial-Free Coverage Of Every Stage from Start to Finish – 30+ Bonus Hours of Coverage – and Exclusive Features Available with NBC Sports Gold ‘s “Cycling Pass”

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 11, 2017 – NBC Sports Group’s more than 280 hours of live, primetime, and encore coverage of the 104th Tour de France continues tonight at 8 p.m. ET with Tour Primetime on NBCSN. Tour Primetime airs each weeknight during the Tour de France and features a look at the day’s most compelling action with new analysis, interviews, and updates.

Tonight’s Tour Primetime will feature coverage of Stage 10 from Périgueux to Bergerac, and includes commentary from former professional cyclist and analyst Christian Vande Velde and analyst Bob Roll on Nacer Bouhanni’s undisclosed fine and deduction of one minute in the Tour de France’s general classification standings as it was ruled that video footage showed him hitting another rider during Stage 10. A preview of the discussion, including footage of the incident, can be found here.

Following are quotes from Vande Velde and Roll from tonight’s Tour Primetime on the incident:

Bob Roll: “Clearly a meaningless penalty that had absolutely no bearing on Nacer Bouhanni’s Tour de France. A minute in the overall standings, he’s not going for the [general classification], he’s already over an hour behind in the overall standings. It’s another bad, and really in my estimation, a spineless decision by the jury. Bouhanni should be kicked out of the race. If you’re going to accuse Peter Sagan of reckless endangerment for no contact, except that initiated by Mark Cavendish, then you’ve got to kick Bouhanni out of this bike race.”

Christian Vande Velde: “I think this is more just because Peter Sagan’s call was so bad, when the jury decided to throw him out, it makes this call look even worse than it really is. Bouhanni has a history of doing this in the past, that makes it easier for some to say this should warrant a bigger penalty. Give me a break – a one-minute penalty for someone that doesn’t [compete] in [general classification], he’s a sprinter? No fine for the points jersey as well? It’s a ridiculous penalty. It’s even worse, though, on the heels of a horrible penalty being thrown out on Peter Sagan.”

Roll: “He targeted Fabio Sabatini, the lead-out man of Marcel Kittel with less than a kilometer to go. Twice! That could have been incredibly bad. The repercussions of that, if Sabatini had gone down, would have been all of the riders right behind him, and that would have been a disaster for the Tour de France. It would have made the crash with Cavendish and Sagan – which was horrible – maybe pale in comparison.”

 

Vande Velde: “If you have to question all of the riders in front of you, that they might throw you a hook or throw a punch at you, that’s not bike racing anymore, that’s cage-match wrestling. That’s something that is not warranted at all. Especially in an already dangerous field sprint.”

***

The program will also include interviews with stage winner Marcel Kittel, Yellow Jersey holder Chris Froome, who is looking to win his third consecutive and fourth career Tour de France, Alexander Kristoff, who finished fifth in Stage 10, and Lotto Soudal Team Director Marc Sergeant. In addition, Orica-Scott Team Director Matt White joins the studio. Paul Burmeister hosts primetime studio coverage.

Live coverage of the Tour de France continues tomorrow, Wednesday, July 12, at 7:30 a.m. ET with Stage 11 from Eymet to Pau. Live streaming coverage of Stage 11 will begins tomorrow at 6:55 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold.

Date Time Stage Network
Tues., July 11 8 p.m. Stage 10: Périgueux – Bergerac NBCSN
Tues., July 11 Midnight Stage 10: Périgueux – Bergerac NBCSN
Wed., July 12 6:55 a.m. Stage 11: Eymet – Pau (LIVE) NBC Sports Gold
Wed., July 12 7:30 a.m. Tour de France Pre-Race Show NBCSN
Wed., July 12 8 a.m. Stage 11: Eymet – Pau (LIVE) NBCSN
Wed., July 12 12:30 p.m. Stage 11: Eymet – Pau NBCSN
Wed., July 12 2:30 p.m. Stage 11: Eymet – Pau NBCSN
Wed., July 12 8 p.m. Stage 11: Eymet – Pau NBCSN
Wed., July 12 Midnight Stage 11: Eymet – Pau NBCSN

 

Phil Liggett (play-by-play) and Paul Sherwen (analyst), the voices of cycling, call the race action for NBC Sports Group’s coverage. The 104th Tour de France marks Liggett and Sherwen’s 32nd year calling the race together. Liggett and Sherwen will be joined in France by former professional cyclist and analyst Jens Voigt. Voigt won the Critérium International a record five times, and has two Tour de France stage wins. Paul Burmeister will host daily pre-race and primetime studio coverage, along with former professional cyclist and analyst Christian Vande Velde and analyst Bob Roll. Steve Schlanger and Steve Porino (‘Inside-the-Race’) will serve as reporters.

For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall Tour de France coverage, click here.

DIGITAL COVERAGE

In addition to live linear coverage of the Tour de France, NBC Sports Group will once again provide extensive digital coverage of all 21 stages of the race.

NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product – will present expanded coverage of the 2017 Tour de France with its 2017-18 “Cycling Pass,” offering every stage from start to finish for the first time ever, including more than 30 hours of exclusive HD bonus coverage, live and commercial-free. NBC Sports Gold’s presentation marks the first time ever that U.S. video coverage of the event begins prior to 6 a.m. ET, as the “Cycling Pass” start times are as early as 4:50 a.m. ET.

The “Cycling Pass,” which gives fans in the U.S. access to more than 25 races from July 2017 through June 2018, can be purchased in advance of the 2017 Tour de France for $39.99 by visiting NBCSportsGold.com.

With the “Cycling Pass,” fans will be able to catch every moment from the first pedal to the last.

While streaming live coverage, viewers will also have access to a live GPS tracking map to follow the riders’ progress, an enhanced interactive map for each stage, full stage video replay, highlights, short­‐form video clips, and the ability to pause the video.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–