This year’s 3-week bike race actually began yesterday (Friday), in rainy Copenhagen, Denmark, before the peloton makes it into France for the rest of the race. Will anyone traveling in Europe be including any of the Tour in your sightseeing plans?
I’ve purchased NBC Peacock for the month of July (as I did for a month for the Winter Olympics earlier this year), for TV/laptop computer coverage. Any recollections from any Le Tour fans of past years’ Tours?
I'll flip it on every now and then, but am hardly fan. Both time I switched on last year there were very large crashes and the couple of people not involved seemed conflicted on whether to attack or wait for their teams.
I'll try to watch stage 17 this year as I was in the Pyrennes in June and drove much of that route and stayed at a place right on it.
Enjoy the coverage!
I skipped time trial but have it set to save so I can watch the other stages. It’s hard to watch live as it’s during work hours
I just turned it on--I will watch as I am cycling on my Peloton bike :-)
I was on a bike tour in Provence many years ago and saw the Tour come through in Avignon--all 5 seconds of it--wow what a sight!
We watch the race every year. Attended in 2003 and 2010. Had plans for 2020 (oh well). It’s a lot of fun deciding where to watch each stage and a cool caravan comes thru about an hour before the cyclists with swag! You also get to meet a lot of people as you mingle waiting for the peloton to arrive. Would love to do it again.
The usual TV coverage on regular channels repeated doesn't seem on this year and the Peacock coverage doesn't seem to have our old favorite commentators. WE watch every year and mostly for the fabulous visuals of the country. Little worried we aren't going to get that coverage. A time trial in the rain was not all that swell. (probably not for the riders either)
Peacock seems to have the same commentators with the exception of the motorcycle guy. And I’m hoping the motorcycle rider whoever he has improves over the course of the race because right now that part of the commentary is not good in my opinion
I watched almost every stage last year because it seemed to be repeated later in my day. So far this year it only seems to be on in the a.m.
yeah we could not find the repeat either.
We have Peacock Premium (all year since they have the Dauphine, Paris-Roubaix, La Vuelta, among others) and for yesterday's stage you could replay the USA Network's coverage (Bob and Phil), or the English language international version (Anthony McCrossan). Watching Wimbledon now so I don't know about today's coverage.
My family and I will be in Paris for the final stage. I saw the first 2 stages in Brussels in 2019 and it was awesome! We are staying in the 7th so any advice on where to best position ourselves to watch the laps up and down the Champs-Elysees?
I've been DVRing the daily USA network coverage so I can watch in the evening.
Thanks!
We watched the tour come in back when Lance was still winning it. It was quite thrilling on the Champs because they go by 16 times -- they are so fast that it is hard to get them in a picture and so seeing them 16 times is nice. Unless you get there at the crack of dawn to stake out the front row, you will have to move around and wiggle in to see. I still have the hat I bought. The award ceremony is also shown on giant screens so you can see even if your view of the actual riders is quite distant.
They never show the cheese cars on TV but before the tour comes by the cheese cars -- sponsors with giant cheeses or pretzels or whatever on top of the cars come by -- I still have a gimmee hat from the Dauphine which we watched as it started up Mont Ventou years ago -- the sponsor cars throw out hats and similar souvenirs -- I did not see that on the Champ Elysees with the tour - perhaps they don't do it when they reach that point.
Watching the Dauphine on the hill was great because of course riders are slower coming up hill and you can see better -- still have fabulous pictures of them heading up towards me. Also got knocked into a ditch by a motorcycle clearing the way -- they don't mess around with doofus tourists trying to get a look -- I was at the edge, but not far enough on the edge for the sweepers. LOL. We were staying with friends and could just walk down to the race route -- I would hate to try to drive in to any of the tour sites.
We went when Lance last won as well. We watched them lap at a lookout over the road from the Tuilleries. We hung out at the Tuilleries having coffee and then made our way to the overlook when it started to get crowded. It was perfect--very exciting and we'd never watched the Tour before. Good luck finding a spot!
For cycling fanatics who would be able to connect to the official French channel (France TV) which broadcasts the Tour de France live.
It is at this address:
https://www.france.tv/sport/cyclisme/tour-de-france/
I guess you have to go through a VPN to access it from US.
The entire stage is broadcast live and you can select live video and sound streaming from any of the 5 cameras broadcasting from the motorcycles or from the camera installed at the finish line (but not those of the helicopters)
and the final live broadcast on the channel
We will drive Mont Ventoux and the Col de la Madeleine while in Provence and then will be in the grandstands on the last day in Paris on the 24th! Can't wait!
Hi-for those who really want to see the Tour, with convenient replays, GCN+ combined with a VPN (I go from London) is the best way I've found. Comes on live at 3 AM our time or what have you, and I can watch a replay any time if I slept in, and pause and rewind the live show.
There also many other races regularly-other three week tours include The Giro d'Italia and The Vuelta Espana, and a ton of other stuff and smaller races from around the world, mostly Europe, lots from Belgium.
I will look at the French source posted by JoLui
Edit to add: France TV! Tremendous. Don't understand a word they're saying, but same scenery, I can see what's going on, and it's very French!
Thanks, JoLui
Cycling FAN here ... love the Tour. Peacock coverage is ok and I agree about Robbie Hunter we miss the guy from last year. If you don't have Peacock you can find the US replays on YouTube. My goal is to attend a grand tour. May 2023 we will be in Slovenia. Waiting to decide if we order Roglic or Pogacar
I was delighted to learn there's a highlight show every night on Youtube from NBC so it's official, surprisingly with no ads, it's about 40 minutes long. A good summary of the day's action, and I was surprised the other night when the British announce guy said hey we know a lot of you are just watching for the scenery (because that is me).
Thanks, phred for the heads up about YouTube. I didn’t even think about that option. I tuned in late this a.m. after the race had stopped for the protesters. Now I can check out what I missed. Mt. Blanc was showing off today!
I still don’t completely understand how the race works, but can appreciate the athletic effort, especially during the climbs. Today’s finish was pretty exciting.
Today, 07/13, the real fun begins in the mountains of the Alps.
Description, maps, timetables, here: (in English version)
https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-11
The worst is yet to come tomorrow (the day of the French National Day) with the climb of the mythical summit of Alpe d'Huez
Again, the live streamings (from 7 cameras) for the clever ones who have a VPN: (It is necessary to create an account, it's free)
https://www.france.tv/sport/cyclisme/tour-de-france/tous-les-directs/
Just in case if you do not know about this. For all those who enjoyed many of the 33 years of Paul Sherwen’s commentary with Phil Liggett you may wish to look up www.paulsherwenproject.com A good cause.
I am enjoying the broadcast. Had hopes for my fellow sandgroper, Ben O’Connor. (A bit younger than me). But not this year.
Regards
Ron
The girls are into the 3rd day of their 8-day tour. In the Champagne region today about 50km to go till finish in Epernay. Cloudy day with some great helicopter coverage. May be worthwhile tuning into replay coverage. Cannot remember the boys riding through this region in the last couple of years.
Reporting from the couch peloton.
Regards Ron
Great Tour this year -always sad when it ends but glad to have the women's race to watch now.
I just read that the people in the city of Copenhagen have thrown a huge celebration honoring Jonas Vingegaard, the Danish champion of this year’s men’s Tour. I wonder if Magnus Cort, his countryman who’d been a major presence in the early days of the Tour before he left it after testing positive for Covid, got recognition, too? It was said Cort was the sports hero of Denmark for those early days.
For the women’s tour, the Netherlands have had a lot to cheer.
It looks really good for Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten who has now the yellow jersey. With a time difference of 00h 03’26” she is well ahead of her closest opponent Demi Vollering, also a Dutch cyclist. Knowing that van Vleuten will celebrate her 40th birthday within a few months, we can speak of a real “tour de force”.
The Dutch lead all four, individual (yellow jersey), points, climbing and youth rankings, so without serious changes there will be indeed a lot to cheer for us. Holadijee!!
