Cycling World Championships Canceled; Paolo Viberti Furious at RAI

Controversy is mounting after the World Cycling Championships broadcast on Rai2 was interrupted to make way for the TG2 news on Sunday evening. The live broadcast was suspended 38 kilometers from the finish line, just as the men’s road race was reaching its most intense phase, with a series of attacks and counterattacks by the favorites for the win.

RaiSport was broadcasting a Serie C soccer match, and for over half an hour, the World Championships were only available via streaming—and not even for everyone, due to technical issues. The live broadcast resumed just 15 kilometers from the finish line, by which point the winner had already been decided (McNulty had found the right breakaway).

On social media, users, fans, and industry insiders vented their frustration. Among them was Paolo Viberti, a longtime correspondent for Tuttosport and veteran journalist, who didn’t hold back in his criticism of the public broadcaster: “The professional cycling world championship was won by an American from the UAE, Brandon McNulty, in his first victory of the season, but Rai lost it in spectacular fashion, suspending the live broadcast during the race’s crucial moments to air the state-run news program, which lasts 40 minutes on Rai2!”

“And so, when the broadcast returned to Canada (in the meantime, it had been impossible for fans to tune in to RaiPlay 3, as announced during the coverage), the race had already been decided, because there were only 15 km left to the finish! Long live public service broadcasting and the TV license fee! In the last fifty years, the men’s professional cycling world championship has never been so mistreated by state television! Shame on them!”