I want to make it clear at the outset here that I’m not opposed to cycling coverage being on television. Just in case anyone was wondering. It’s just that I can’t fathom whose brilliant idea it was to show two and a half hours of the U.S. Open Cycling Championships (which would be better called the Virginia Classic or something - the race sounds like it’s putting on airs in its first year) on NBC but only a scant hour of Tour of Flanders coverage on Versus. What in the hell is up with that?

The Virginia race itself wasn’t even four and a half hours long - they really didn’t have to edit out all that much to get it to two and a half hours, did they? And since the beginning of it wasn’t even televise-able due to the horrendous snowy conditions, they might not have edited it at all, for all I know.

Contrast that to one of the best events in the Spring cycling calendar, the Tour of Flanders, which lasted more than seven hours this year and was reduced to less than an hour on Versus. I mean, the coverage aired for an hour, but with all the rider profiles and ads for hockey eating up precious minutes, I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual race was only onscreen for 40 minutes.

If I’d been racing in Virginia on Saturday, I’d be seriously blissed out about the coverage - I get that. And yet I think even the riders who were there over the weekend might acknowledge that two and a half hours of coverage is a little bit much.

Since the husband and I had watched Flanders live on Cycling.tv that morning (well, the last three hours of it, anyway) I didn’t feel completely cheated out of seeing what turned out to be an exciting race. But for the folks who don’t subscribe to Cycling.tv’s Premium Channel, it seems like Versus can do better. I hear Paris-Roubaix’s coverage this coming Sunday is two hours, which is certainly better, but I’m getting quite used to seeing the races live. And as Podium Cafe asked not too long ago, Versus - Why Not Live? Indeed.