A Rookie’s Guide to the Tour de France – Where to Follow the Race

Well, this is awkward. I had planned to run a team by team breakdown today, but the teams are not all announced as of yet, which throws a wrench in my plan. Instead, I will briefly run through where you can follow the race, and the team by team breakdown will be up as soon as possible.

First of all, here in the US, the Tour de France will air live on NBC Sports for all stages with the exception of stage 8, which will be on NBC. Stages will be on TV starting at 8 AM ET, and concluding around 11:30 Eastern. Varying lengths of the stages are shown on TV depending on the course, but all the important parts will be shown. Additionally, NBC Sports will air the stage again each evening, with added commentary from NBC studio announcers throuought.

All NBC telecasts will feature the always excellent commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, who do a terrific job of describing the race so that even the newest Tour rookie can understand. Take it from me, watching the race live or on tape delay is the way to go, and it will become the best part of your day for three weeks.

Additionally, you can find analysis of the race on Bicycling.com or at Velonews.com, both of which are excellent sites. Finally, check GCN’s YouTube channel for videos from the race.

All in all, the Tour is a captivating event and is certainly worth your time. If you don’t have NBC Sports, you can find plenty of pirate streams over at Steephill.com, which work well. Good luck following the race!

Other Parts of The Series:
Part 1 – Introduction – Click Here

Part 2 – Races within the Race – Click Here

Part 3 – Basic Bike Race Strategy – Click Here

Part 4 – Types of Stage – Click Here

Part 5 – Types of Rider – Click Here

Part 6 – Yellow Jersey Breakdown – Click Here

Part 7 – Green Jersey Breakdown – Click Here

Part 8 – White Jersey Breakdown – Click Here

Part 9 – Expect the Unexpected – Click Here

Part 10 – Polka Dot Jersey Breakdown – Click Here