Tour de France 2005

[The Shaman]

Stage 5, Chambord - Montargis

Nice place to start a race...

This is how it begins...

Breaking away...

Even more dangerous than it looks...

"I'm the king of the wor...uh, Australian National Champion!"

 

[The Shaman]

So, where can I get good coverage of the Tour? I would like to follow it more, but I'm not sure where to find the best coverage.

Online the two best sites are Cyclingnews.com and VeloNews - both offer live coverage of the race (not streaming video, unfortunately).

On television in the US the race is broadcast live by OLN (Outdoor Life Network) - it's part of our basic cable package. OLN used to have good web coverage as well, but they changed their site this year and it's nowhere near as cool now.

The best thing about watching OLN's coverage is that you can listen to Phil Liggett call the race - what Vin Scully is to baseball, Phil is to cycling. Bob Roll is also on OLN, and he's great as well, but he's only on with Al Trautwig, who's in the running for the worst sports commentator of all time.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Excellent, got the sites bookmarked. Thank you. I'll have to check out OLN's website to see when they might be doing recaps at times I can watch since the race itself mostly happens in the morning and while I'm at work.

 

[johnsemlak]

I've been trying to listen to audio coverage via the internet at www.europsport.com, but the audio doen't work for some reason. Does anyone else know of a site where you can listen to audio stream?

 

[The Shaman]

Excellent, got the sites bookmarked. Thank you.

You're very welcome!

I'll have to check out OLN's website to see when they might be doing recaps at times I can watch since the race itself mostly happens in the morning and while I'm at work.

They rerun the race coverage several times during the day, including 'prime-time' coverage in the evening.

I'm getting up at oh-dark-hundred to watch it live before I leave for work, then tuning in to cyclingnews.com at work for the finish, then catching the recap in the evening. I think I watch more television in July than the entire rest of the year combined!

 

[The Shaman]

I've been trying to listen to audio coverage via the internet at www.europsport.com, but the audio doen't work for some reason. Does anyone else know of a site where you can listen to audio stream?

The OLN site had streaming audio last year - I didn't look to see if they still had it this year after the site redesign.

 

[johnsemlak]

I agree that the flatter course opens up the field a bit.

In the past the steep mountain finishes all came with a map notation that says "LANCE ATTACKS HERE!" This year's edition doesn't offer the same kinds of opportunities as the past Tours. Instead of the Greatest American Sports Moment that Most Americans Never Saw, Lance's attack on l'Alpe d'Huez in Stage 10 of the 2001 Tour where he put some two minutes into Jan Ullrich and set himself up to take the jersey in the Pyrenees a few days later,

This American saw that moment (on TV) .

That was truely awesome. I watched it on Eurosport TV and the commentators were really dwelling on how good Ullrich looked in comparison with Armstrong, though the color analyst did speculate Lance might be bluffing. Ullich team was riding at the front of the peleton controlling the pace. Then suddenly Lance moves from teh back of the peleton and blows past Ullrich. Ullrich's teammates gradually fall off the pace, and he has to chase Lance on his own. Lance dramatcally gives a long look back at Ullrich and just keeps moving away to a dramatic stage victory.

 

[Timothy]

I't's great that a lot of americans are getting more intersted in cycling, the more the merrier!

I only wish you guys wouldn't be so good at it!

 

[johnsemlak]

"I'm the king of the wor...uh, Australian National Champion!"

I can't stand McEwen either. Pretty amazing he disputes the ruling based on that photo above .

For the Green Jersey I've long been partial to Stuart O'Grady, but he just doen't have it for all out sprint finishes. He's got to make some breakaways and steal some stage victories.

 

[The Shaman]

This American saw that moment (on TV) .

Me too. Absolutely unforgettable.