Held spellbound by Le Tour

I am absolutely riveted by the Tour de France, otherwise know as Le Tour.  It’s on live on ITV4 from around 1.0 to 2.0pm till 5.0pm every afternoon, with an evening highlights for an hour between 7.0pm and 8.0pm, from now until Sunday 26th of July. It’s the world’s longest sporting event, lasting three weeks.

It’s not a recent conversion. I was introduced into the joys of Le Tour by a fellow apprentice in my first job years ago. His hero was Jacques Anquetil.

We’ve both have a bicycle, though we haven’t ridden on them for years. I can’t therefore be classed as a cyclist. Also, I’ve no desire to become a ‘mamil‘, that’s a middle-aged man in lycra, even as cycling becomes ever more popular. This week, in homage to the Tour de France I’ve shuffled our bikes around in our garage, dusting off the cobwebs, but quickly replacing the dust sheets.

As with all sporting events, it’s the live action that’s gripping. The commentary team of Paul Sherwen, Phil Liggett, and David Millar make sense of the action, plus the post race review with Chris Boardman.

I’ve got to tell you, the Tour de France is affecting my blog writing ….. and delaying much else besides.