Here are the Fly to the Finish Sweepstakes key words for today:
bobke (not a misspelling -- refers to one of the beloved commentators, Bob Roll, affectionately known as Bobke)
gear
cervelo
Enter here.
I realize most Americans don't have too much interest in the Tour de France. But if you want to get a quick glimpse into what a phenomenon this event is in Europe -- you can do this sometime in the coming week, the last week of the Tour.
Why? Because the Tour heads into the Alps in southern France -- and the peaks chosen for this year's Tour are said to be particularly brutal. But here's the cultural part: people come from all over Europe -- they are there now -- a week or more ahead of time to get a spot on the high mountain roads. They park their campers and cars on the edge of the mountains, or walk to the top and pitch a tent. They buy supplies in the mountain villages and eat, drink, paint the roads with their favorite riders' names, paint themselves, put on costumes -- all for the opportunity for a few minutes of seeing the riders pass by. The crowds fill the roads leaving only enough room for the lead motorcycles to get through, and even less room for the single file ant-trail of bike riders as they labor up the sides of these huge mountain. They wave flags, scream at the top of their lungs, and seem to use the event as an annual opportunity to go completely nuts. The Alps stages of the Tour are totally different from the flatter stages which can be rather boring as the riders race at high speeds over flat roads and then sprint for the finish line -- four hours of boredom concluded by 30 seconds of pandemonium at the end.
American has no sporting event to compare with the Alps stages of the Tour de France. You don't need to watch all three weeks of the Tour -- but you should watch one of the mountain days this coming week just to experience this cultural event.
Here's how:
As I've mentioned, the Tour is carried in America only on the Versus network. Go to the Versus homepage and enter your ZIP code and you'll be told what channel(s) on which TV systems carry Versus in your area. (For instance, on Time Warner Cable in Charlotte it's channel 74.) The live broadcast starts early every morning -- so that's out since folks are at work. But it's replayed every evening on Versus at 8:00 p.m. So you can grab a chance to see a day in the Alps one night this coming week. (Except for Monday night -- Monday is a rest day in the Tour, so no racing on Monday.)
I hope I'm not disappointed, and hope you won't be. All my experience with the Tour has been during the years when Lance Armstrong was the reigning champion for seven years in a row. And the Europeans loved to hate this American -- so the crowds in the Alps (where Armstrong was at his best) were particularly boisterous when he rode. But there's a tight three-way competition going for the lead in the tour this year, including one American rider, so perhaps the loonies will be out in good form despite the absence of Lance Armstrong.
bobke (not a misspelling -- refers to one of the beloved commentators, Bob Roll, affectionately known as Bobke)
gear
cervelo
Enter here.
I realize most Americans don't have too much interest in the Tour de France. But if you want to get a quick glimpse into what a phenomenon this event is in Europe -- you can do this sometime in the coming week, the last week of the Tour.
Why? Because the Tour heads into the Alps in southern France -- and the peaks chosen for this year's Tour are said to be particularly brutal. But here's the cultural part: people come from all over Europe -- they are there now -- a week or more ahead of time to get a spot on the high mountain roads. They park their campers and cars on the edge of the mountains, or walk to the top and pitch a tent. They buy supplies in the mountain villages and eat, drink, paint the roads with their favorite riders' names, paint themselves, put on costumes -- all for the opportunity for a few minutes of seeing the riders pass by. The crowds fill the roads leaving only enough room for the lead motorcycles to get through, and even less room for the single file ant-trail of bike riders as they labor up the sides of these huge mountain. They wave flags, scream at the top of their lungs, and seem to use the event as an annual opportunity to go completely nuts. The Alps stages of the Tour are totally different from the flatter stages which can be rather boring as the riders race at high speeds over flat roads and then sprint for the finish line -- four hours of boredom concluded by 30 seconds of pandemonium at the end.
American has no sporting event to compare with the Alps stages of the Tour de France. You don't need to watch all three weeks of the Tour -- but you should watch one of the mountain days this coming week just to experience this cultural event.
Here's how:
As I've mentioned, the Tour is carried in America only on the Versus network. Go to the Versus homepage and enter your ZIP code and you'll be told what channel(s) on which TV systems carry Versus in your area. (For instance, on Time Warner Cable in Charlotte it's channel 74.) The live broadcast starts early every morning -- so that's out since folks are at work. But it's replayed every evening on Versus at 8:00 p.m. So you can grab a chance to see a day in the Alps one night this coming week. (Except for Monday night -- Monday is a rest day in the Tour, so no racing on Monday.)
I hope I'm not disappointed, and hope you won't be. All my experience with the Tour has been during the years when Lance Armstrong was the reigning champion for seven years in a row. And the Europeans loved to hate this American -- so the crowds in the Alps (where Armstrong was at his best) were particularly boisterous when he rode. But there's a tight three-way competition going for the lead in the tour this year, including one American rider, so perhaps the loonies will be out in good form despite the absence of Lance Armstrong.
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