Okay ... Some of you will know what the acronym for tdef stands for... It has a Mellow Johnny or Maillot Jaune as the premium prize. It is July and if I were independently wealthy. I would traipsing around France on a bicycle cheering on the Tour de France. Instead, my life is full of 5 men and a tv station call VS. or Versus. My nights are spent drifting off to sleep to the sounds of Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwin, Bob Roll, and the unnecessary Al Troutwig. While my husband controls the volume and remote. I personally am beginning to hate the DVR. We now have the 4 + hour coverage from during the day rather than the 2+ hour coverage at night. It is saving me from hearing the lovable putz Bob Roll from saying TOUR DAY France every two minutes. The past seven years I have stood in the kitchen making dinner listening to that. Bob should be grateful of two things... I think he is a lovable soul and if he were a dog he would be a yellow lab and I haven't been able to reach him with the Knife that is in my grasp making a salad.
Then there is Phil Liggitt. He can only be described as a "cheeky fellow" and "crusty Brit". This year I have been walking around the kitchen exclaiming.. "Oh no... Stuie O'Grady seems to be in a Spot of Bother!" I love that. Those Brits and their infinite way of making serious problems sound like you just spilled tea.
Paul Sherwin has a steady tone. One of my friends that is willing forced to watch it as well says he puts her to sleep. This is so extreme with her that if she is having issues sleeping at any point in the year she plops in an old tour dvd. Okay - This is another question the non cycling population is asking ... Yes, we all spend the entire month of July plastered to the TV watching it.... only to by the 12 hour dvd set for our husbands for Christmas. So they can sit in the basement or cycling room (you have a playroom we have a cycling room) and watch stages while the pedal away the winter doldrums on a trainer. Personally, I would rather tape and watch Oprah.. But that is another entry.
Al Troutwig for me is the un comic comic relief. This guy has covered the tour for the past oh... 4-5 years and still asks the stupidest questions. But that is his "job" to make sure the "Freddie's" or newbies to the Tour understand the sport cause we Americans are slow on anything that doesn't have a stick or a ball involved.
The best part of the coverage beyond the racing, sprints, incredible mountain stages is the pure beauty of the countryside. This year from London to Paris, we will see an amazing amount of great scenery and European history. The mountain top lakes in the Alps and the Cote D'Azur in Marseille bring tears. Beyond this, realize this is a 20+ day super bowl of cycling and it is free to all that want to attend. Sure you can pay for a "tour and guide" or you can simply walk out of your house and watch the best athletes in the world battle against the clock, themselves and the other elite riders... not to mention the pavement and those spectators that can c
ause you to crash and abandon the race you train for all year. Just see how close they are to this T-Mobile rider. Understand he has been riding up hill for MILES. I can barely make it up to Ridge Road. When I did it on Tuesday, I thought my heart was going to explode!!
ause you to crash and abandon the race you train for all year. Just see how close they are to this T-Mobile rider. Understand he has been riding up hill for MILES. I can barely make it up to Ridge Road. When I did it on Tuesday, I thought my heart was going to explode!! Photo - Copyright A.S.O. / Amaury Sport Organisation
For all I complain about the TV set being dominated by the boys of July, I wouldn't change it. I get to see the best sporting event and the rest of the world gets re-runs. I am also not quite sure about all this press around the "doping" in the sport. If this were American Football, Basketball, Baseball or Wrestling... Would the we care? I guess not because if Floyd Landis or Tyler Hamilton were Barry Bonds they would be in Southern France on a bike screaming through the countryside and not spending their life fortune defending themselves on very questionable evidence that would have been thrown out in an American criminal court for procedural error.
Vive La France - Vive La Tour.... Go Hinacapie!!!
