It will be all Lance all the time on the Versus cable network when the 2009 Tour de France kicks off in Monaco on Saturday.
After a series of 10 one-hour shows on Friday highlighting the all-time best Lance Armstrong stages [beginning 6 p.m. (ET) Friday], Versus will launch its live coverage for Stage 1 at 9:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday.
There will be live coverage in the morning, followed by three two-hour replays throughout the afternoon, followed by a 3-hour “expanded” primetime show in the evening that will be repeated once.
14 hours-plus
That's 14 hours a day for the “routine” stages. Mountain stages could get 17 hours of coverage in a 24-hour period.
I'm sure that's OK with most cycling fans. Although I try to watch as much of the live show as possible in the morning, I'm often hooked in the evening by the primetime show. And those replays help to fill in the gaps that I might have missed.
The coverage for most stages starts at 8:30 a.m., although some of the mountain stages have live coverage starts as early at 6:30 a.m. (ET). See the Versus Tour de France schedule.
Mediapost reports that 33 million viewers watched part of the Tour de France in 2008. That's higher than in any previous year, probably due to more widespread availability of the Versus cable network.
Other TDF options
Of course there are other places to catch up with the Tour de France, in fact probably more this year than ever.
One of the newest is Twitter.com, which was around last year but it's getting a lot more use this year. Check the running Tour de France commentaries by searching #tdf. Also, check out the Danny Hsu blog for all the pro cyclists who are twittering.
Cycling sites
VeloNews.com has a new Tour de France website with plenty of video, such as a staff writer riding the Stage 1 time trial course with Bobby Julich. VeloNews also will have live text coverage with a map interface.
CyclingNews.com reviews the stages at its special Tour de France page; it also has live text coverage.
The official Le Tour website is one of the best places to follow the action. Basically, you're seeing the updates that many of the commentators are using to tell about the race. I especially like the graphic that names who's in the breakaway and where the different leaders are in relation. It's the easiest way for me to see how the whole race is unfolding in a glance.
The Le Tour “news” page tells the stage route and leaders, and the “live” page shows the updates.
Videostreaming
If you're chained to your computer and the text and virtual race representations don't make it for you, I'd check out CyclingFans.com, where you'll find links to all the online Tour de France coverage. The video streams might not always be in English, but it won't take long to figure out who's ahead.
Seattle
I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the Cascade Bicycle Club's Cyclefest on July 21 where a stage of the Tour de France will be shown on a giant outdoor screen. Lots of other bicycling related events and giveaways are scheduled at Warren G. Magnuson Park in Seattle that evening.
2009 Tour de France map
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