Tour de France on ITV4

[microphonie]

Good news: ITV have extended their coverage this year to live coverage of all the stages on ITV4 -  press release

 

[Rig of Jarkness]

Good news: ITV have extended their coverage this year to live coverage of all the stages on ITV4 -  press release

 

Fantastic news !  Glad to see Jill Douglas has been signed up to the team but Paul Sherwen's name was conspicuous by its absence.  No Phil & Paul double act this year then ?

[Dinamo]

Great news 
This means I won't have to watch via an internet link with French or Italian commentary .

[saturn]

Thanks for the heads-up. Coverage of prologue from 5pm with a preview from 4pm - looks like most days coverage will be from 2.30pm 

[giropaul]

I just hope the ITV4 signal works - it's the worst reception of any and regularly disappears here. Why does it have to be the one with the cycling on?

[SpaceBadger]

There's a preview programme on ITV4 this Friday at 7pm too.

[JT]

It won't be quite the same for the first two weeks as the excellent Ned Boulting will still be at the World Cup. Jill Douglas is taking his place.

Ned's post-ride interviews and VT pieces are one of the highlights of the ITV programme for me.

[andygates]

Now, which stages are likely to be interesting enough to watch in realtime? 

[saturn]

Depends what floats your boat but I've made a note of the best mountain days (Sat 10, Sun 11, Tues 13, Sun 18, Mon 19, Tues 20, Thurs 22) when I'll pay most attention. On flatter days I'll probably just watch the last 10km.

[Exit Stage Left]

Now, which stages are likely to be interesting enough to watch in realtime? 

Stage 3 has sections of the Paris Roubaix cobbles in the last 30km.
Tour de France 2010 - Stage by stage

[AndyH]

Stage 16 - Bagnères-de-Luchon  Pau on 20th July should be a treat, the climbers will need a good lead after the Aubisque to survive the 60k descent from the last climb to the finish in Pau.

I'm looking forward to the pyrenees, I spent a week there in 1998 and rode this route. That was the year of the big drug scandal, and of course of Marco Pantani, who (whatever he did wrong) will always be a hero of mine.

[AndyH]

Looking at the stage on the TDF site

http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/COURSE/us/1600/etape_par_etape.html

they seem to have missed the Col  Du Soulor, which as I recall is a 1st cat on the way from Argeles Gazost to the Aubisque. Am I missing something ?

[Séamas M.]

Col de Marie Blanque and Col du Solour are on stage 17 which finishes at the Tourmalet summit.

A few days earlier I'll be seeing how far I can get before hitching a ride in the voiture balai. 

[mike]

for those of us without a telly at work, does anyone stream ITV4 live?

[AndyH]

Col de Marie Blanque and Col du Solour are on stage 17 which finishes at the Tourmalet summit.

I must be getting old, (memory fading), I felt sure I climbed it on the way to the Aubisque, or maybe the side I climbed doesn't count  , although it seemed like it should

A few days earlier I'll be seeing how far I can get before hitching a ride in the voiture balai. 

Good luck, it's superb riding around there

[TOBY]

for those of us without a telly at work, does anyone stream ITV4 live?

I think this does it >ITV<

[cyclone]

Oi you bugger Toby! Now there's no chance of doing paperwork as I can watch the Saint!

[SpaceBadger]

I can't wait. Week 3 of the tour has just become a very tactical week off work.

Ride in the morning. TV-cycling fest in the afternoon. Maybe the odd beer and more sociable ride in the evening. 

[Martin109]

Can the newly rejigged get_iplayer be adapted to record ITV4?