Tour De Lance, I Mean France: Okay, for any of you out there who haven’t been following the Tour De France, now is the time get hooked in. And for anyone who has been lost in the wilderness trying to recreate the Donner Party (see below), this year is a big deal because Texan (and cancer-survivor) Lance Armstrong is going for his 6th victory, which would be a record (something that would annoy the French no end). Plus, for my money the Tour is without question one of the greatest sporting events of the year. It demands grit, cunning, and an ability to tolerate pain that makes Abu Graib look like a picnic. Each stage is a mini-drama and a mini-tragedy. Taken all together they add up to an epic contest, full of winners, losers, heroes and villains. The Tour has been running for almost two weeks, but the stages so far have been the relatively uninteresting flat stages, where the eventual winners do all they can to stay out of trouble, while the young hotheads take off on long breakaways, cause massive skin-scraping pileups, and sprint their guts out for the fleeting glory of a stage win. Yesterday we had the first taste of the mountains, and soon the Tour will hit the Pyrenees and the Alps, where the true drama waits, and Armstrong (who now lies in 6th place with all his main rivals behind him) will make his move. So here is the Wetass guide to following the Tour as it is about to unfold. Get into it. You won’t regret it.

On TV: If your cable carrier has Outdoor Life Network, you can get daily coverage every evening (check your local listings for times). If it doesn’t you should switch because OLN also has more sailing and America’s Cup coverage than any other network (you can get it on DirectTV). OLN has great commentators, who can interpret the complex action, and seeing the faces of the cyclists as they battle each other and their fatigue is absolutely gripping.

On the web: Plenty of sources. My favorites are Cycling News, where you can get live streaming coverage (if you get truly addicted); and Outside Online, which has solid daily coverage. Finally, if you have a taste for great newspaper writing, you have to check in on the New York Times’ Samuel Abt every day. Free registration is required, but Abt is a great sports writer and has been covering the Tour for what seems like decades. He’s wry, he’s insightful, and he’s succinct. What more do you want? Enjoy…



Current Tour Leader Thomas Voeckler: “I know Lance is going to rip this yellow jersey from my back this week, but at least it will be really sweaty and stinky for him…”