One of the things I love in July is waking up and putting the Tour de France on. I haven’t been able to watch it live until today. Unfortunately since NBC shut down NBC Sports, the race is no longer broadcast fully on TV in the US. Apparently only a couple stages will be broadcast on NBC this year. For years now, NBC has been funneling cycling fans to streaming to watch a sport that doesn’t fit with American sports TV norms.
Yesterday, I missed Mark Cavendish capturing the record for most TdF stage wins all time, and even Eddy Merckx himself said “Such a nice guy to break my record”. Of course Merckx himself is not diminished by this at all. The sport has changed a lot since his time. Nowadays an outstanding sprint specialist can achieve such a stage win record, while Merckx is know as the greatest all-around rider, winning many full races. This is not to speak ill of Cavendish.