I probably first heard about the Tour de France when I was a kid, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it until Greg Lemond won it in the early 80s. I sort of followed it during the Lemond/Hinault/Indurain years, but it didn’t get a whole lot of coverage here in the US. In 1996, one of my co-workers at the time was into it and it was much easier to follow then after the arrival of the internet. Of course, there has been a lot more coverage of the race in the last decade with Lance’s arrival on the scene. I must admit I haven’t been following it as closely this year as I’d like to. I haven’t watched every stage on Versus like in past years, though I still check the results everyday. I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed that Contador and Leipheimer won’t get a chance to defend their podium positions. Especially since about half the Astana team are ex-Discovery. I am, however, enjoying the fact that both American teams, Columbia and Garmin-Chipotle are doing very well (Kirchen rides for Columbia, and Vandevelde rides for Garmin-Chipotle). I hope they keep it up, but things should really get interesting starting tomorrow (the first mountain stage) with its finish at Hautacam. That one, I will watch live.