In NBC's defense, the event I watched was not competitive with the leader out ahead by up to 2 minutes from the rest of the riders, but I listened for about 45 minutes to the coverage team just repeat themselves endlessly about the position of the riders in the race and not much else. It was clear they didn't have a lot of material to work with, which is probably what should be expected for a minor sport like mountain biking.

But I got to thinking about what would have made the event more interesting, and I thought they could have discussed more of the technical aspects of the event. Most olympic viewers are only watching these sports once every four years. They really don't understand the nuances of the sports or events they are watching.

Let's see more in-depth descriptions of how the athletes do the things they do. What techniques work best and why. Let's see some graphics of what muscle groups are used and how athletes get the most out of their training.

Instead of another story about an all-american girl that goes to high school like everyone else, or a Dad that died from cancer, let's see a breakdown of training routines in the background videos. How many calories a day does the athlete eat, and how do they manage it? Stuff like that.

To me it seems like NBC is just going through the motions and not really putting a lot of effort into their coverage.