Le Tour! Le Tour!

I’m giddy with excitement. Le Tour de France starts today! Later this morning! Thankfully OLN will be providing the same outstanding coverage they have for the last several years; live daily coverage along with repeats in several time slots.

Don’t even get me started on how disappointed I am with them for pulling the plug on their daily coverage of the other two Grand Tours. OLN’s cycling coverage is literally the main reason I got (and have kept) cable TV. I fear for the future of cycling coverage in America post-Lance. I can’t bear the thought of going back to the dark days of CBS’s weekly hour of “coverage” which featured maybe 10 minutes of actual bike racing. Who knows, maybe the Discovery Channel will pick up the torch and televise some races. Lord knows they should, with the money they’ve invested.

I can’t wait to watch as Lance and Team Discovery (nee US Postal) attempt to re-write history (again).

Last year on the podium in Paris, Ivan Basso (3rd) was holding his baby (son/daughter… I forget) and it broke my heart; you could see in his eyes that one of Lance’s greatest moments was diminished by the absence of his children; having a rock star girlfriend doesn’t equal sharing a moment like that with your own progeny. This year, though, his kids are reportedly going to be there, in “Daddy’s office”. I so hope I get to see Lance, the boy, and the twins all on the podium in Paris, resplendent in yellow.

I think that this year will be (barring disaster) more or less a repeat of last year. I don’t see him repeating the mistakes that nearly cost him the victory in 2003, I think we are in for another exhibition of LA and team totally controlling and dominating the race. One thing is for sure; I’ll be savoring every moment of it… several times a day!

Allez Lance!!!!