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Tour de France 2005

Lance Armstrong hopes to win a seventh Tour de France. It all gets underway this weekend. The TDF Blog, The BBC, CBS Sportsline, ESPN, Newsweek, Outdoor Life, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Cycling News, Daily Pelotron, Roadcycling have the latest. Sirius Satellite Radio has daily Podcasts.

Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service Team has switched sponsors this year. It is now the Discovery Channel Team. T-Mobile is a big sponsor of the race.

The Outdoor Life Network will have all-day coverage starting today through the finish, July 24th, in Paris.

The race will stretch over three weeks over the entire country. It is also one of the most challenging events to cover. Sporting Life details the not-to-be-missed stages.

STAGE ONE, July 2 - Fromentine to Noirmoutier:
Armstrong’s Tour wins have been based on building a lead in the time-trials and defending them in the mountains. This longer-than-usual opening ‘contre le montre’ gives him the perfect opportunity to make a strong start.
STAGE 4, July 5 - Tours to Blois:
The team time-trial is another chance for Armstrong to gain advantage on his rivals. Watch out for sharp performances from the Texan’s Discovery team, T-Mobile, Team CSC and Phonak.
STAGE 10, July 12 - Grenoble to Courchevel:
The first Alpine stage and a gruelling 192.5 kilometres to the first summit finish at Courchevel. Expect fireworks if any of Armstrong’s rivals try to steal a march on the Texan.
STAGE 11, July 13 - Courchevel to Briancon:
Taking in three classic Tour climbs - the Madeleine, Telegraphe and Galibier - this could be the stage on which the whole race turns. If Armstrong is feeling strong he may attack here. If not he could be vulnerable.
STAGE 15, July 17 - Lezat Sur Leze to St Lary Soulan:
The most testing of the Pyrenees stages covering six mountains, all of them with an average gradient between 7% and 8.5%, in 205.5km. The toughest day in three weeks of tough days.
STAGE 20, July 23 - St Etienne:
Another individual time-trial, the penultimate day of the Tour could be the most dramatic if the standings in the general classification are close. Jan Ullrich might have won the 2003 Tour if he had not fallen on a similar stage.

Google Earth has satellite shots, while Google Video Viewer and AOL Video enable you to search for and play back thousands of free video clips. Similar video search products are available from Yahoo, MSN, Blinkx.tv and others. You can Browse and Search CNN Video for free, too.

GlobeCast will transmit live footage for France Televisions and the EBU (European Broadcasting Union). At each stage, nine mobile satellite and microwave stations will bring up to 22 simultaneous video signals to a reception station at the finish line. Last year France Telecom used Aperto’s PacketWave “pre-WiMax” gear. The 3.5 GHz system is capable of delivering 14 Mbps to base stations along the route.

For each new stage of the 2005 Tour de France, France Telecom and Orange installed Alvarion WiMax gear overnight at each of the new venues. WiMAX brings portability and fast installation (within 1 hour) without disruptive laying of cables saving a lot of time for the technical staff.

Austin, Texas is the hometown of Lance Armstrong. The Austin Podcasting Network will host TourWatch 2005. It features live broadcasts from the Tour de France. You can also learn to podcast, meet special guests, hear live music and get the inside scoop on the Tour, cycling, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.