When did you FIRST start following the Tour de France?

[killswitch]

2003 tdf - final ITT and the fall of Jan.

 

[sky forever]

After watching the 2004 Giro, I was hooked right away and haven't looked back!!!

 

[Carols]

From the day I was born (1950), my dad was a USA domestic pro in the 1930s and 40s. Family outings were to velodromes and cycling races I was Raised on a bike!

First one I remember is 1961....

 

[Pantani_lives]

I was born in 1975, and I still remember Hinault's win in 1979, when I was three and a half years old! I knew two names of cyclists: Hinault and Zoetemelk. When Hinault abandoned in 1980, I predicted that Zoetemelk would win, my first correct prediction.

 

[Carols]

I was born in 1975, and I still remember Hinault's win in 1979, when I was three and a half years old! I knew two names of cyclists: Hinault and Zoetemelk. When Hinault abandoned in 1980, I predicted that Zoetemelk would win, my first correct prediction.

Way cool! And yes Pantani Lives! my favorite rider of All Time

 

[Pantani_lives]

Way cool! And yes Pantani Lives! my favorite rider of All Time

Those were the days, my friend.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Not sure if you're being facetious or not, but I have very nostalgic memories of that time, and thought some of those John Tesh packages were great, and wish the sport would put together more of them. Like this one of Team 7-11

OK Alpe, just dredged this vid clip up and it made my day!
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend the morning with Davis and ride for a couple of hours with him...
This clip means a whole lot of history to me and reinforces my love for this sport more than any other sport.

I became aware of Eddy Merckx in 1972, got my first beautiful French 10 speed, I've loved cycling ever since...
In the US cycling on tv was rare, short footage, but in the late 80s was paying alot of attention to P Delgado, Indurain, Lemond...wonderful times.

I've been glued to the tv watching the Tour since 2000...or maybe before..

 

[Task_Force]

I think my first tour de france was the one indurain won in 1992.. Breukink 7th

 

[Granville57]

"When did you FIRST start following the Tour de France?"

1989, when my dad won it.

Post of the decade, right there!

 

[raddone]

1996. The first ever stage was the ITT won by Berzin. Fell in love with the sport on the spot.

 

[Hawkwood]

I have an extremely vague memory of Barry Hoban winning a stage on Bordeaux track in the early 1970s. I saw a few bits of the 1976 Tour on UK TV's World of Sport, and then watched all of their 1977 coverage, `all' meaning three or four ten minute compilations of highlights.

 

[boomcie]

1997.

Stage 20, time trial Disneyland.

I still remember Abraham Olano winning it, I was 11 at the time and was on a holiday somewhere along the Belgian coast. I have no idea why I remember that, but it's one of my first cycling memories (my first one as far as I can tell).

It took until 1999, with VDB winning LBL (and ridiculing Bartoli on La Redoute) to set my cycling heart on fire. 1999 is really pure nostalgia for me.

 

[thirteen]

"When did you FIRST start following the Tour de France?"


Post of the decade, right there!

i agree, lol!

 

[Master50]

1984 or 85. I went to see my first Pro race in 1986. I followed the Coors Classic from SF to Reno. Went to the tour in 1988.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

msut have been TDF 93. Although the first full tour i followed was 94. I was 8 and only knew the big names ofcourse

 

[Anonymous]

The year of Pantani

 

[luckyboy]

Middle of the 2003 Tour.

 

[Tom T.]

1981 when I was a sophomore in high school. Jock Boyer's presence as first American sparked my interest. Greg Lemond only intensified my love of cycling and I've been an addict ever since.

 

[bikonator]

Check it out, here is a video on how to watch the Tour in USA. No cable.. ha ha...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7IK8RGLSiw

Enjoy. Of course come back cyclingnews for the results and pics. Peace.

 

[VeloCity]

I first became aware of the TdF in 1986 - because of Greg getting exposure.
I do NOT remember Roche in 87 or Delgado in 88, however.

But 1989 and every year since I have followed the race day after day

So, who has the earliest memory?

Anybody "watching" during Hinault?
Anybody remember watching Eddy eat people?
In Black & White?

Aw man i miss Winning mag.

First became aware of the Tour in '88 - living in Canada at the time and that was the year Steve Bauer won a stage, wore yellow, and finished 4th overall, so he was in the news quite a bit. But I think the first Tour where I actually fully understood what was going on and knew most of the riders was probably the '91 Tour.

 

[Siriuscat]

74, Merckx's last tour victory was the first time I remember watching on World of Sport, remarkable because it had a stage around Plymouth. Went off my scope for a couple of years, then I remember Hennie Kuiper winning on Alpe D'Huez in 77 the second of Thevenet's wins since then I've tried to see as much as possible, just bike racing in general, not just the tour.

 

[yetanothergreenworld]

My dad is from France and moved to the U.S. in 1983 to work at a health clinic in northern California. In 1987 he figured out that you could watch the TDF on CBS and started taping it. I watched those tapes over and over as a kid and practically memorized them.

We were in France for the entirety of July '86, yet sadly never got to catch that Tour. The first TDF stage I watched was the 2000 Morzine stage; we were on top of the Joux-Plane and got to witness two very rare signts: Armstrong getting dropped by Ullrich, and Pantani having his last ever day in the Tour.

Then in 2009 the Tour of California went right by my house (we live right next to the Howell Mtn KOM on the Davis-to-Santa Rosa stage) and I felt like I'd come full-circle somehow.

 

[fergnago]

1989 for me,caught a tv highlights package of the 89 tour and was mesmorized,fanatic ever since.

 

[greenedge]

2001. Watched the SBS highlights since a very young age

 

[guncha]

With early nineties at the age of 10 (from newspapers at that time because I didn't have Eurosport at home). The first time I saw TDF on Eurosport in 1999.