Road Cycling

The ADD way to keep up with the Tour de France

I admit, my desire to watch the Tour de France this year is rather prosaic. Really, I’ve tried to get excited about watching a bunch of skinny men in Lycra go zipping through the French countryside on a bike that cost enough to cover the orthodontic hardware for both of my daughters.

I just can’t.

Road cycling is not a great spectator sport to me. Give me rodeo any day. That’s probably the only sport I’d rather watch than participate in. Well, that and MMA. I’ve done my share of martial arts tournaments and have enough appreciation for getting my head taken off that I have no desire to step into the ring with another opponent, 180-pound man or 1,500-pound bovine, that would love to see me liquefied into red goo.

When it comes to road racing, I’d rather be on the bike sucking someone’s wheel and feeling the adrenaline rush of taking a corner at high speed with 30 other cyclists compacted within inches of each other like a precision aerial team.

However, with school, work that has spilled over into my non-work time, and family, watching Le Tour has dropped to the bottom of ever-growing list of commitments.

So, how do I stay current?

I’ve subscribed to Chris Carmichael’s daily debriefs of each stage. Carmichael, who was Lance Armstrong’s coach and will remind you of that every five minutes or so, does a fantastic break-down of each day’s race. More important, he explains the strategies and tactics of the teams and what worked, and what didn’t.

If you’re too busy to park in front of the TV for Versus’ two-hour race coverage, do yourself a favor and get the abridged version by signing up for Carmichael’s coverage here.