Thanks guys, for all the input!

Y'know as the stage climbed on yesterday, I felt more and more regretful of my comment. I think my dissatisfaction with the coverage was more weighted towards the beginning of the stage. Things seemed clearer as they got within 20km of the summit. I've gotta say I love watching the mountain stages.

I suppose though, what I found most disorienting was:

1. starting the coverage several km into the stage
2. the general ignoring of the guys leading the stage in favor the guys who are leading the tour - I often couldn't figure out how close they were
3. a lot of separation between commentary and picture, but I suppose that is just becoming more familiar with what each rider looks like; i.e. they would switch from shot to shot of these different clumps of guys, and I couldn't tell where in the chase they were oriented, since I can only recognize maybe 6-10 riders.

Thanks for the tips, fellas.

I wonder if Team Radio Shack is going to ask for Lance's phone number...

Gee, that's what Versus does with their recaps of the smaller tours, like the Tour de Suisse. 15 minutes of stuff like this covering the six previous stages, just so we can watch an hour and three quarters of the ceremonial last stage parade to the finish. Lovely.

And while I'll take Phil and Paul's commentary over just about anyone else's, compared to the past it seems they aren't quite as on top of things as they used to be. They seem to get too caught up in the storyline they're attempting to tell, and they miss what's actually going on in the race.

For an example, on the climb of the Columbiere, as the main leaders are making the descent, they remark about how Nibali has caught back up to the leaders. Only problem was, if you'd been watching, you would have seen Nibali clawing his way back up to the back of the leaders just before they reached the summit, like five or ten minutes previously. Something you would have thought they would notice and have commented on.

This bugged me a bit too. You might get one quick rundown of who was in the break, but most of the graphics would show 'Break' and then 'Peloton xx behind', over and over. Once in a while they'd show a listing of the riders in the break, but I think they needed to do this more often.

I have really enjoyed the tour coverage and I personally thought it was excellent. There was no coverage in the late 60's when I started riding. This is the first time I have watched 90% of the action and I thought it was great.

She just reflects GM's attitude......This is the main reason GM is in the situation that they are in today and I don't see it getting any better.

Something to remember is, all the shots are taken by French television cameras. VS. has no control over what is being shot. They probably get a live feed from a few different cameras and have a choice of which to use as they go along, but they cannot dictate what is coming in from the road.

I hate that!
I had the Verses coverage up on the big screen at my big-box sports ghetto workplace. Actually had people stop and watch, but they always asked :Where is Lance?".
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My confusion and complaints aside, I should take a moment to thank the technological state of the union, that a schmo like me was able to watch that beautiful camera work tracking with Cavendish on his final sprint: colorful, crisp, loud, and all while in my underwear on the sofa. Very memorable. That acceleration is beyond my comprehension!

Stunning photos ... thanks

That last shot is just perfect...Hell, they all are. Thanx for sharing...I watched the entire tour commercial free on the live feed and enjoyed every second. Thanx versus.

Careful there....CSC pays somebody's bills on this forum. (Not me)

We just bought a Specialized today for eldest daughter. It had a "WOW" sale sticker on it.

I loved the coverage, but like many, recorded the morning broadcast and watched sans commercials leter in the day. Once or twice I had technical difficulties and had to watch the end of the evening broadcast, and much prefer Paul and Phil. Even both daughters (12 and 21) watched a good bit of the races with me. Both commented that we need to take a vacation to France.

I haven't been able to watch since the early '90s when UScoverage moved from EPSN (I think) to OLN. We just got digital HD this last fall, which included VS. I didn't realize it was on VS until just a day before hte race started. I was ecstatic to find that I'd again get to watch, and wasn't disappointed.

Team CSC is no more. The remnants are now Team Saxo Bank.

Versus is using the feed from the French tv; they have no control over the pictures. In the live version, it can be a bit confusing if you're not used to it. Not so much coverage of the breakaway if they are nobodys; especially if they are going to get caught or have no French riders in the bunch. The later, edited version has everything sorted out. Watch the time gaps at the bottom of the screen.

Did you notice the GC contender teams rarely had riders in the breakaway? They need those riders to set tempo up front and control the peloton. Sometimes they do send a rider in the breakaway to be available up the road for a later attack by their gc rider. Or when the Yellow Jersey team is content to let the breakaway succeed; if they have a rider up front they won't chase him down. This tactic is used sometimes to get other teams to do some work up front. AG2R was too weak to do much work up front and left it to Astana; who did the work to protect Alberto, Lance, Kloden and Leipheimer's gc times. After Cavendish demolished the sprint finishes a couple of times, Columbia had a hard time getting help up front so on one stage they did a mass attack and split the peloton. Once Alberto got the Yellow jersey, Astana would keep a high tempo in the mountains to discourage attacks. Saxo Bank had to drive their riders up front into the ground to try and string out the peloton and put the hurt on the gc riders before the Schlecks launched their attacks. Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov were out of the running before they even got started. Vandevelde had trouble. Only a few could follow and only one could really inflict damage on Andy Schleck and that was Alberto.

You'll get better at recognizing the riders and will know when it's the breakaway or the back of the peloton.

Since Lance is the head of Team RadioShack, they already have his number. But will they be calling Alberto?

Johan Bruyneel will be the DS for Team RadioShack and most of Team Astana will move over. Bruyneel did not want to lead a Vinokourov team and Astana sponsors were playing games with paying the riders.

No.

I thought that Lance was being a little too tight-lipped. Then I realized that nearly every question was geared towards uncovering team strategy or status. Can't blame him for trying not to answer those questions and give ammunition to the other teams.

Yeppers... I'd like to have me one of those. And a Cadillac too!

This was the first time I have watched a bicycle race, either in person or on TV. A couple of questions/observations from a total newbie:

1) Maybe it was just the camera angle, but it seemed as though there were many spectators running out into the course among the bikers. The last thing I would want to see while tooling along at 30 mph or better is some idiot running out in front of me.

2) I know vert little about professional bikes like that. What are they made of, what size tires do they use, and how much does a typical one weigh?

You are correct. There are lots of idiots running alongside and in front on the course. Mostly on the climbs where they can actually stay up with the riders for a short period. So not quite 30 MPH there. Some make a career of it...the devil guy comes to mind, but he is rather well behaved in comparison and is well known. It seems to me it is becoming a contest as to how bizarre an outfit they can wear and get TV time. Saw one idiot get pushed away in one stage and thought, "All right. About time."

Formidable!!! Encore je puis dit que j'aime les phots!! Merci!!!

Lance is probably the only pro cyclist they know.

I liked the old Bobke. The one who pronounced it "TOOR DAY FRANTS". He seemed tamed way down this year....

Didi Senft

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didi_Senft



There is a lot more to him than just being the "Devil Guy".

All the bikes you see during the Tour de France have a carbon fiber frame.

The tires they ride on are typically 700c tubulars. Probably 20 or 21 mm wide.

All those bikes weigh just a few ounces over the UCI minimum of 15 lbs.

Whoah!! I thought there were only the four pics...I just checked the original link and now have an awesome slideshow screensaver...MANY thanks there, Old Fat Guy!!

This is a common problem. Most folks think the walls at Nascar race tracks are to keep the cars on the track. WRONG!!! The walls and fence are to keep the spectators in the chicken bone section from running onto the track. (Wow, that would be a mess.)

Ah, first day without waking up to the Tour. Maybe I'll actually go out for a bicycle ride. Any predictions on Team Radioshack riders?