Tour de France

I am giddy with the thought of watching the Prologue on Saturday night!  Bring it on, and thank goodness for OLN!

No you're not the only one. I'm going to finally get a dish for the tv just to watch the tour. Last year we were planning on going to France but then my dog had to hae knee surgery. So my trip to France is in his knees. So therfore, YES! I'm absolutely psyched for the tour. GO LANCE!!

Yes, I am terribly excited. The Tour is about the only darned bike race that is aired on the Outdoor Network up here in Canada. Most of the telecasts are strong man competitions, fireman competitions, logger competitions, and other assorted fishing and curling shows. So, the Tour is the highlight of the season for me because I do not watch any other sports on tv. Well, I do watch a bit of women's tennis and I have been following the Euro 2004 Soccer, but other than that.... I hope that Lance gets his sixth Tour win this year. I am an Eddie Merckx fan but I I still want to see Lance get that elusive number six.

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I'm going!

I am doing the London to Paris bike ride starting 21st July. It arrives in Paris on 24th in time for a big party then it is down to the Champs Elysees to watch the winners complete their final laps and finish the Tour!

I am so excited to be doing this and possibly watch history being made as Lance goes for his 6th win.

I've just got that little cycle ride to do first - wish me luck.

Tina

Tina,
I'm jealous! I was planing on going but the dog had to have knee surgery, so the cash just isn't available. i just ordered a dish and Direct TV in hopes of watching it.
Have a great trip and I expect a report

Don

Tina,
I am green with envy, both about the bike ride and seeing the tour. I hope you have a great ride and celebrate a little extra for those of us watching from home.

Scott

For me the best part of the Tour T.V. coverage is Bob Roll's pronunciation of Tour de France. My wife is not a cycling fan at all. But if you say "Tour Days Fraance" in her presence she knows exactly what you are talking about.
My prediction for the podium:
1. Lance
2. Ulrich
3. Mayo
I don't think Tyler Hamiltons new team will get him close enough to get on that third step of the podium...
My twopenn'orth

Ian

I will stay away from predictions on who wins the Tour or even the top three. I am hoping that Lance takes it, but he will get an awful lot of competion from Ulrich. Tyler will probably break a collar bone or something...as usual.

I must admit that I dislike Bob Roll's coverage; I find him to be a perfectly assinine announcer. And Kirsten Gumball ... she is cute but she sounds so retarded when she tries to discuss cycling????

Thats what makes it for me. He's so bad you have to watch him. Like the guy on American Idol - William Hung? is it.
To blindly persist in his pronunciation of Tour de France against the rest of the world. Its classic.

Ian

Here's an interesting opinion on who won't win the TDF...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/3858759.stm

I just read that article. Lance lacks the "invincibility of other seasons" this year? Didn't he win one year by just 6 seconds? Like 99 or something? It'll be tough for him to win another one, and it was tough for him to win any of em. Favored don't mean its likely he'll win. I like Ulrich though, he waited for Lance after his fall last year - classy.

Lance also waited for Ulrich when he (Ulrich) missed a turned and went over a guard rail. It is a tacit rule among the leaders that they not take advantage of the situation and wait for one another when one of them goes down.

That's one thing that I really like about cycling. If one of the leaders falls or has mechanical problems or has to take a pee break the others will wait for them to catch up before they try any attack.

You can make an argument for any of about 5 or 6 riders to win this years tour. That's why I'm so excited about it. I do think that despite Lance's advancing age that he still has the most things in his favor to win. He has the best team in the race. They are all committed to just one goal and that is getting Lance to the win. He also has the best leader in Johan Bruyneel. He is a master of race strategy. No matter who wins, this has the makings of one of the most competitive tours in many, many years.

i'm pumped for the prologue tomorrow! (it is tomorrow, rite?)

I was thinking the other day, is there any womens version of the TDF?? Granted i dont mind looking at all the guys in tight fitting speed suits, but if they were all incredibly in shape women instead of men... lol, maybe i'm just jelous that its got that one extra level of interest for the ladies... or maybe i'm jsut being an immature 20 year old... but either way.. i'm going to be glued to the tv for the next month...

even if lance loses (crossing my fingers that it wont happen) it will be an amazing tour no matter what

Indeed there is the "Tour femenine" (sp?) I think it runs, or used to anyway, at the same time and over much of the same course as the mens tour. Just shorter stages. At the moment though I can't find a URL for a race website to give you any other details.

Ian

i'm quite excited.

we are also going to be able to watch a stage ... my husband is doing ironman germany on the 11th, and after that we're going to head to auvergne to watch them come through the massif central on the 14th. the bastille day stage ... and the longest stage... with a few decent climbs to boot. hope to position ourselves on one of the climbs so we get to see them working up a hill (and going slower than 30mph).

i dont want to ruin if it anyone hasnt seen it yet...... but i just saw lance get second in the prologue time trial, just about two seconds behind the leader. Ulrich placed 15th...

man i love france in july....

........DON'T DO THAT!!!!! YOU JUST RUINED IT FOR ME. NOW I THINK THAT I WILL NOT LOOK AT THIS FORUM UNTIL THE END OF THE TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Close...it is "le Tour Féminin". I know of it and have known a woman who actually competed in it back in the 70's but I have never seen the actual race anywhere!!!

Well finally it is here. This has the makings of a fantastic tour. My pisck are Hamilton or Ullrich. What does everyone think?

Are there more broken collar bones this year. Is it 3 in the first 3 days? Perhaps I'm just noticing it more as I have one myself. Sure is painful to watch...

Ian

I just think it would be very cool for Lance Armstrong, as an American, to take a 6th Td'F, and do something no one else has ever done. For those non-American's on the forum, please forgive my parochialism, its just a patriotism thing.