# Lance is the man! (Or why I hate my local news) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204 "2000-07-11T13:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/1 "2000-07-11T13:17:18Z")
I have been trying to follow the Tour de France (as I try to every year) but I am positively appalled by the coverage on television. I no longer have cable, so I can’t see the ESPN coverage (which was always skimpy at best anyway). All I am left with is the pathetic local news channels for highlights. I read the internet coverage yesterday so I know that Lance Armstrong killed 'em in the mountains, building a four minute lead over his rivals and firmly establishing himsefl as the man to beat again this year. So all I wanted to see was some highlights…nothing much, mind you, Lord knows I certainly don’t expect much. But it would be nice if during the single most important event in all of Cycling, the news stations could at least pretend the race is going on. Sheesh. Anyway, go Lance! I know at least a few Americans out there are following you. Are any of you Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/2 "2000-07-11T15:05:11Z")
Hey, before the internet you had to rely on shortwave radio. Go Lance! ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/3 "2000-07-11T18:00:23Z")
Have you seen the play-by-play where he dropped from 10 1/2 minutes out to less than a minute behind the leader, in just over a half-hour?!?!! Even reading it online was exciting! I’m MTB, not roadie, but Lance is too awesome to ignore. (Besides, he kicks butt on MTB too, for a roadie. ;~) I’ve no cable, so I’ve only seen a few minutes here & there on network TV. You’d think they could at least cover an incredible half-hour sprint. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![\_Hoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/ecae2f/32.png) [@\_Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Hoops)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/4 "2000-07-11T20:35:20Z")
I fully agree. I’ve always tried to follow the TDF, but am unusually busy this year anyway. The lack of coverage is definitely appalling. I read some stuff where some of the other riders were just in awe of the move he made yesterday, moving from 6 minutes back of the lead to over 4 minutes in front of the pack. And he increased his lead some today. He excels in the mountains, and unless somebody makes a move soon, it looks like he’s got a great shot at repeating. Ok… everybody together, Go Lance. ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/5 "2000-07-11T20:42:26Z")
Whoops, I was going to drop in a link to the Tour coverage but I forgot to, so [here it is.](http://www.letour.com/2000/us/) Looks like Lance has held his lead. Woo-hoo! I know there is a lot of race left… Hey, where’s **ColdFire**? Dutch rider Erik Dekker took stage 11, the third time in this tour that a Dutchman has won a satge. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/6 "2000-07-11T20:42:40Z")
You know what the worst part is? Not only does ESPN provide crappy coverage, but I suspect they made a deal so that they’re the only ones allowed to provide TV coverage in the States. I say that because the Outdoor Life Network had kickass coverage of the Giro d’Italia last month, and they have NOTHING about the Tour de France. IIRC, OLN had something like 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evenings dedicated to the Giro d’Italia. ESPN has what… about an hour a day? And bad commentary as well. Yuk! ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/7 "2000-07-11T20:43:56Z")
Geez, I can’t spell today. I meant “stage” ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/8 "2000-07-11T21:19:30Z")
Redtail23 said: > [@](#): > > Have you seen the play-by-play where he dropped from 10 1/2 minutes out to less than a minute behind the leader, in just over a half-hour?!?!! Even reading it online was exciting! Yep, first thing I do in the morning (PDT) is go to the VeloNews tour site, scroll immediately to the bottom of the page, and work my way up. Just reading Stage 10 had me gaping in awe. I guess I’ll have to wait for the video to come out. Am I misremembering, will OLN be doing the Tour next year, or do I have that confused with the Giro coverage? ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/9 "2000-07-11T23:24:15Z")
Yes, the coverage sure does suck ass. I was in Antwerp during the tour last summer and I turned on the hotel TV my first day there and there was live coverage on 4, count them, FOUR channels, in various languages. The only thing I can find on 4 channels in my town is religious programming. Lance is the Man. ---
**Author:** ![\_Hoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/ecae2f/32.png) [@\_Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Hoops)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/10 "2000-07-13T21:03:57Z")
[http://www.letour.com/2000/us/](http://www.letour.com/2000/us/) Results of the latest stage. Lance basically held his entire lead through this stage, though he came in second for the stage. Just to keep this mundane and pointless… umm… ever wonder why none of the Tour de France bikers ever put playing cards in their spokes? I mean, at least it’d liven things up a bit when they make those suck-the-air-outta-your-lungs climbs, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/11 "2000-07-13T21:42:40Z")
Great idea, **'Hoops**. It might make things even more interesting if they had to utilize the suggetions in the [Pee-Wee’s Bicycle](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30685) thread. Sure, it might slow down the action, but it just might finally get American news organizations to pay attention. **Go Lance!** ---
**Author:** ![hflathead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@hflathead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hflathead)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/12 "2000-07-14T12:57:53Z")
/hijack… Yesterday I started a thread askin “Who was the 500,000 poster?” and you won!!! check out [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=576173#post576173](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=576173#post576173) good detective work, so now let’s have your party! later, Tom ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/13 "2000-07-14T14:06:33Z")
Thanks for the hijack, **hflathead** – the party’s over [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30781). Though, sadly, it seems to be just me standing there in an empty room with too much beer. Back to Lance, though. Vicente Garcia-Acosta took the 13th stage…I haven’t seen Lance’s time yet. I’m confident in him, though. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/14 "2000-07-14T15:03:42Z")
L still has yellow, finished in pack led by Zabel. The Velonews website has good info. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-is-the-man-or-why-i-hate-my-local-news/25204/15 "2000-07-17T06:16:15Z")
Ah, so I wasn’t misremembering. Here is a snip from the VeloNews Tour Tech column today: > [@](#): > > Question: I read in one of your posts, and also heard on ESPN2’s coverage that this will be their last TDF TV coverage. Is this true? If so who will take the reigns? I really hope it is, because I think ESPN’s TDF TV coverage leaves a lot to be desired. > Thanks, > Beltus Ambe > Silver Spring, MD > Answer: Outdoor Life Network is signed on to bring Tour coverage next year. If they do it same way as they brought you the Giro d’Italia (and why would they not?) that will mean live coverage of the final two hours of every stage and an evening repeat with a wrap-up. > In the interest of full public disclosure, you should know that VeloNews has signed on as a web partner for OLN’s cycling coverage, including next year’s World Cup, Giro, Tour and Vuelta. That said, as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter to me WHO carries it. I’d be happy if it was the Nashville Network, as long as it was live coverage of the Tour, Paris-Roubaix and the Giro. This doesn’t get us into the world of the evening news, but what an improvement over what we got now!