TOUR DE FRANCE

Lance Armstrong: One of a Few Reasons to Watch

 

There are a few reasons that watching the Tour de France is more exciting than it is most years (see below for a link to the Tour TV schedule).

 

For one, there’s a sense the cycling world has truly become serious about ridding the sport of the doping scandals that have rocked it the past few years, including in last year’s Tour.

 

Teams have formed specifically positioning themselves as non-doping teams.

 

Versus, the cable network that’s airing Tour coverage all month, has done a great job the past few years addressing the doping issues head on.

 

Of course, a second reason for watching this year is Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour winner who’s back after retiring from the sport a few years ago.

 

So far, early on, Armstrong is in tenth place.

 

Which brings up a confession: Half the time I watch the Tour I have no idea what’s going on.

 

Armstrong’s standing early into the nearly month-long race, from what I gather, isn’t great but certainly doesn’t diminish his chances of winning.

 

I’m not a race fan beyond watching the Tour de France. So, much of what goes on is murky: there are teams, but only person from the team wins. Each day, there’s a race that somehow counts toward the ultimate win, or not.

 

Which brings me to the third reason to watch the Tour de France and, for me, the primary reason for watching: the scenery.

 

Over the weekend, the Tour de France began in Monaco and then, yesterday, zipped through the French countryside.

 

Watching dozens of bikers zip at high speed through tiny streets in tiny French towns is breathtaking, particularly when these are shots presumably filmed in a helicopter.

 

The racing is amazing, but the setting is beautiful – it’s easy to sit back and watch Versus’ exceptional Tour coverage and just get the sense that you’re in Europe on vacation, far, far from everyday worries.

 

For a complete schedule of Tour de France coverage on Versus, click here: http://www.versus.com/tdf/article/view/758/?ss=tv&tf=body_tdf_schedule.tpl

 

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 1:14 pm and is filed under blogO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.