For anyone who's not really into "The Tour"....

….now's your chance.

A few years ago I thought the Tour de France was an interesting little event that warranted a brief mention at the end of Sportscenter every few nights (when something interesting happened). I didn't bother watching it, and aside from Armstrong and Ulrich I didn't really know any of the big names in the comp.

Then a couple of my friends started talking about it a lot (they'd followed it for years but just found out that each other were big fans) so I thought I'd give it a try.

I started leaving the TV on the coverage while I worked and I came to the realization that once I started to understand the nuances and subtleties of the race, from the various stages, to the team dynamics, the Tour is one of the most interesting and Dramatic sports events in the world!

I may be the first person to compare the tour to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but if you like watching the battle for Lord Stanley as much for the drama as you do for the games themself, then maybe the Tour is for you! It's certainly one of the only team events that is more physical than playoff hockey.

Basically, this rambling post is to recommend to anyone that isn't into the Tour, to give it a try now, while it's just starting. Just have it on in the background (though the finishing sprints are always awesome) and I promise you're grow to love it.

Side note #1: Is the tour broadcast in HD anywhere? the spectacular footage would be awesome in HD!

Side note #2: Is Robbie Mcewan human?

Side note #2: Is Robbie Mcewan human?

Yes, he just takes better drugs.

safety , wait until they get into the mountains , and you find yourself sitting on the edge of your chair with an elevated heart rate , like you were actually part of it .

i'm really looking forward to this years' tour , as the field is so wide open . sure hope cancellara is able to put in a good performance after todays crash , but he sure didn't look good coming across the line with his arm crook'd up like that .

(threadjack) 'monkey , i don't particularly care if they are doped or not , i just assume they all have an equal opportunity to ride clean or cheat themselves by doping . at that level of competition everyone one is doing whatever they can , legal or not , to maximize performance . (threadjack ended )

Oh man…have not watched TV in months…I may turn it on again for this…I was just thinking about the tour today…hmm…must see if there is coverage on the satalite.

I've been following the tour for about 5 years … yah, I admit it, I got hooked into it because of the hype around Lance. But, now that I'm hooked, I've actually find it much more interesting since Lance retired!

Kn.

safety , wait until they get into the mountains , and you find yourself sitting on the edge of your chair with an elevated heart rate , like you were actually part of it .

Yeah, I find the mountain stages as awesome as I do frustrating.

GET OFF THE FREAKING COURSE!!!!!!

Not much in professional sports compares to some of those mountain downhills.

I'm totally hooked! Never miss it.
One peice of advice tho, tape the morning coverage. The evening re-broadcast cuts to Bob Roll and Al Trautwig for large sections of race play-by-play instead of staying with Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen. I can't listen to Trautwig speak. Ever. About anything.

My greatest regret is not having watched/taped the TV coverage during Lance's first 2-3 wins. That must have been a shocker at the time.

missed the weekend stages but turned it on today just when Schleck was picking himself up off the deck. got him in my pool so glad he caught back up.

Then I had this conversation with a buddy later this morning.

me - ride this weekend?

him - no. i'll be away.

where ya going?

I'll be in Switzerland. Actually I'm just landing in Geneva then going to France.

I just turned and walked away because I knew what was coming next. 2 years ago he was in one of the Mavic support cars for a stage and I didn't want to know if he was doing it again.

My greatest regret is not having watched/taped the TV coverage during Lance's first 2-3 wins. That must have been a shocker at the time.

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^^^Thanks Brian. But 10 hours is too short for me. I want to see the full 3+hours/day TV coverage. But mostly the mountain stages in all their glory.

The Tour is probably the most intense overall sporting event, period. I want to watch it, but I am too sick of hearing about all the scandals and the power-struggle with the governing bodies. I guess I just get pissed when one of the greatest sports in the world is systematically destroying itself. All they need is Gary Bettman and it's a done deal.

All the same, I'll probably watch a mountain stage or two if I'm not riding, which I'll likely be doing.

We cancelled our cable last winter and I knew then that this would be one of the only programs that I'd really miss. :( First time since '98.

The Tour is probably the most intense overall sporting event, period. I want to watch it, but I am too sick of hearing about all the scandals and the power-struggle with the governing bodies. I guess I just get pissed when one of the greatest sports in the world is systematically destroying itself. All they need is Gary Bettman and it's a done deal.

All the same, I'll probably watch a mountain stage or two if I'm not riding, which I'll likely be doing.

maybe. but what is baseball or any other major sport doing about drug use in it's sport. 50 games for a first time offence? In a 180+ game season not much of a deterrent.