Am I the only one that thinks watching cycling on TV is fantastically, amazingly, unbelievably dull?
A daily 10 minutes of TdF/Giro/Vuelta highlights for the crashes, sprints and results and I'm happy. Eurosport is great for this. I have Sky for the Football, Rugby and Cricket.
Mind you, there's nothing wrong with giving that lot (the cyclists) a boat load of cash through sponsorship.
A day of the TdF is just like a day of cricket. The fact that you have endured hours of tedium only sharpens the taste of the brief but crucial moment of excitement.
Watching the peloton thunder past the breakaway that has hung on for 149.75 kilometres only to be cruelly captured in the finishing straight. Seeing the attack after attack on the yellow jersey until he cracks or responds in kind. It might happen once a day if you're lucky or a few times in a grand tour.
"The look" that Armstrong gave to Ullrich lives with me because I spent the day watching and was rewarded with that glorious moment. I didn't need to be told about it, I saw it.
Is watching a succession of wickets and a few boundaries the same as watching a day of test cricket - seeing the batsmen digging in, the tiring bowlers, the field changes seeking an advantage, the vital breakthrough or the flagging spirit.
Track cycling with the power of a sprint or the precision of a team and instant, identifiable results works well on TV and is probably more accessible for the non-aficionado, just as one-day or 20-20 cricket is.
On a more serious note regarding the OP I think well done to Sky for supporting it. The thing I most admire about it is their ambition in stating they want a British rider to win the tour in 5 years. Sport in the UK suffers from a lack of ambition - there is too much feeling that if you've tried your best then that's OK.
Clearly cycling under Dave Brailsford has jettisoned that mentality and many other sports would do well to learn from it, as would sport down to the grass roots level. At youth level in some sports - especially in schools - competitiveness and winning are regarded as dirty words and the rules are laid down not to give everyone an even chance but to handicap the very best.