Some folks may not realise, but Le Tour does not change its starting times just to make it convenient for anyone except the French to watch the coverage. In the US this means that it is on starting at around 6am, finishing before lunch - however in Australia it means coverage starts around 11pm and finishes before breakfast. Not the best if you actually want to sleep at night, have a day job, or want to be remotely coherent for morning meetings. We actually did stay up to watch quite a few of the stages, mainly the mountains but also the finishing time trial. We hated ourselves in the morning, but it was worth it to watch the Schlecks, Contador, Wiggins and Lance battle it out. Our plans include a trip to France at some point to watch it in person, who knows maybe we'll make it before too long.
I will say though, that the tour coverage in Australia is really quite good and the local commentary team does a great job. Full marks to SBS for their work and production style - particularly the Taste of the Tour, worth watching just for the suggestions of food and wine pairings. I'll be checking in to SBS for my coverage fix next year though for sure!
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