ITV is to broadcast highlights of the 2012 Vuelta a Espana, following its successful coverage of Bradley Wiggins’ victory in this year’s Tour de France.
Beginning on Saturday, August 18 and continuing until Sunday, September 9, the 67th Tour of Spain will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,300 kilometres.
ITV4 will screen a 60-minute highlights programme from each race day, presented by Gary Imlach, and ITV.com will also simulcast highlights programmes.
British interest in the race should include last year’s second-placed rider Chris Froome, fresh from winning the bronze medal at the Olympics time trial, along with Ian Stannard, Adam Blythe, Ben Swift and Jeremy Hunt.
Froome also finished second in last year’s Vuelta, with his Team Sky colleague Wiggins third. Juan Jose Cobo won the 2011 race and will be back to defend his title in 2012.
ITV’s Director of Sport, Niall Sloane said: “This has been an unprecedented year of success for British cycling, with Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France live on ITV.
“I’m delighted that we are able to offer free-to-air coverage of this year’s Vuelta a Espana.”
ITV4 broadcast live coverage of the event in 2011, which featured Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, but the quality of the Spanish host broadcaster’s live feed was widely criticised by viewers and was thought to have impacted on ratings.
British Eurosport will screen daily live coverage from the 2012 event.
.
