It's going to be easy to figure out which channel to watch beginning Saturday through July 24. The Outdoor Life Network is broadcasting the Tour de France from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. every day.
All the bullriding, bass fishing, and elk hunting has been put on hold. Seven days a week, 18 hours a day, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll once again try to explain European stage bicycle racing strategy to Americans who just want to know if Lance Armstrong has just opened a can of whoop-ass on his rivals.
Armstrong is going for his seventh straight Tour de France championship. He broke the all-time record last year when he won his sixth. This is just icing on the cake.
When the US Postal Service pulled its sponsorship of Armstrong's team last year, it became the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. However, the Discovery Channel doesn't have the contract to broadcast the Tour de France, that's controlled by OLN. which is owned by cable giant Comcast.
Discovery does sponsor Armstrong, though, and will begin airing its “The Science of Lance Armstrong” on Monday (check local listings). Other Discovery Communications networks, such as Traval Channel, FitTV, TLC, and Animal Planet are each scheduled to broadcast specials on different aspects of the Tour de France, according to a corporate press release.
Sirius Radio features short interviews with Armstrong beginning July 2 with “Off the Bike and On the Mic.” The interviews are scheduled at 4 p.m. (ET) every day on Sirius Faction, channel 28, one of its subscription fee radio stations.
Tour de France online
Websites offering Tour de France coverage include:
Tour de France: The official website. This is where to find realtime updates of leading rider positions during the race, routes, schedules, and stage profiles.
VeloNews and CyclingNews: Two bicycle racing sites which offer up-to-the-minute race commentary as well as full results.
Tour de France 2005: A blog website with frequent updates about the Tour.
PezCycling: A racing website with its own Tour de France coverage, including Podium Girls.
The Paceline: Sponsored fan club for Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (free membership).
There are also sponsored sites for all the other teams in the tour, as well as fan club sites or blogs for many of the top riders, such as the Lance Armstrong Fan Club and the Jan Ullrich club.
OLN: In addition to covering the airwaves with Le Tour, the network also features commentary by Liggett, Sherwen, and Roll on its website.
Recent Comments