In the mid-80’s I became aware of La Tour de France. Greg LeMond was the first American to win La Tour so it seemed that it was the first time the news gave any attention to the race. It didn’t seem to matter that La Tour had been happening since 1903, if America wasn’t a winner in it, it didn’t exist. Sort of like soccer.
La Tour was at least on my radar so when Lance Armstrong became the champion of the event, it invigorated my interest and the sports coverage on the TV and in the newspaper. I think I started watching the TV coverage around 2000, on OLN. It would come on early in the morning (I wouldn’t be sleeping anyway) and I loved Paul Sherwen & Phil Liggett commentating the race. The evening coverage/re-cap was done by Bob Roll (Bobke) and although he was good, I liked the romance the Paul and Phil brought to the table. The coverage went to VS channel and this year, it’s on NBC Sports.
I love the TV coverage: the French country-side, the effort that the men put forth, the up-ness of the mountain stages. The crashes are terrifying, the downhill speeds are breathtaking, and amount of energy for each day is monumental. What do they eat at the end of the day? I can’t imaging expending that many calories, refueling, and then doing it again the next day, and the day after that for 3 weeks!
In 2010, there was a showdown between Contador and A. Schleck. They were on this outrageous uphill, wheel to wheel. Schleck had passed Contador. Contador hangs for a minute and then passes Schleck. As he passes, Contador looks back, gives a look of disgust or tisk, and then takes off. Pure strength, beauty and drama.
I know there are the doping scandals calling the legitimacy of the sport into question. I still think it’s an amazing feat and a great sport.
