Product Details

• Actors: Lance Armstrong
• Directors: Tim Grady
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 6
• Studio: World Cycling Productions
• DVD Release Date: August 11, 2004
• Run Time: 720 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0974393193
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,425 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

In the end, the startling fact wasn't that Lance Armstrong won the 2004 Tour de France. The surprise was how masterfully he did it, casting off the pre-race contenders stage by stage and forcing the millions of French spectators to grant him due respect, and even a healthy dose of affection. He returned the favor on the podium, addressing the throngs in French. He also strongly praised his US Postal Service teammates. The familiar "Blue Train" never looked more formidable and efficient than in this year's Tour, its last under USPS sponsorship. This was one of the most thrilling Tours in years, with suspense building every day as to whether Armstrong would shatter one of the most revered records in cycling. That he accomplished that feat is now an historic fact of immense scope, and the full fabric of the achievement and the many smaller dramas of the 2004 Tour are all contained in this epic DVD. This is truly a "must-have" for any cycling collection! Armstrong not only won both time trials but three other stages as well, in stark contrast to 2003 when he faltered several times and barely beat Jan Ullrich by 61 seconds. This year Ullrich was expected to be an even stronger challenger but finished in fourth place, almost nine minutes behind Lance. Second place went to Ullrich's T-Mobile teammate, Andreas Klöden, who bumped Ivan Basso, an Italian with CSC, to third place in the next to last stage. Basso had been Armstrong's closest contender for most of the race. Other sterling efforts are captured here as well: Richard Virenque won his 7th King of the Mountain title, a record, and Aussie Robbie McEwen won the green points jersey for the second time in three years. It all came to a close on a picture-perfect Paris day. You can't ask for a better finish to an historic event!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Edition, April 24, 2005

By 

N. Lombardo "Cru Jones" (Fightertown, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 2004 Tour de France 12-hour DVD (DVD)

As with the previous Tours I've purchased, this one parallels the same basic format. As some people think showing the mountain stages close to their entirety is a "waste of DVD space", I believe they do this specifically because these stages hold a higher interest to most people. It is in the mountains where the tour is won and lost. They show the highlights of the flat stages, and all of the sprint finishes, however the majority of the time is spent in the mountains. Once again the commentary is done brilliantly by Phil and Paul. If your a Tour fan, you'll definitly enjoy.
Thanks.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tour de Force, September 14, 2005

By 

R. E. Marsh (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 2004 Tour de France 12-hour DVD (DVD)

This is the year of the Tour de France that a NASCAR fan could love - bad weather and crazy scheduling combined to produce a cluster of wild sprints in constant rain at the beginning of the Tour - as a result there were lots of crashes. Because of rule and scheduling changes, it took Lance Armstrong a very long time to reach the yellow jersey - and, when he did, he was totally dominant, with five stage wins in seven races beginning at stage 13, and a spectacular time trial win straight up L'Alpe d'Huez at its most jam-packed with spectators. I have viewed 8-hour, 10-hour, and 12-hour summaries of the TDF, and I like the longer versions better - they show more highlights of an 80-hour race. Rural France is so beautiful, it's not unpleasant to see more of it. I have bought three of these videos, and plan to buy the 2005, which is available now on Amazon at a price which is less than that charged on the production company's (WCP's) own website (although they have better deals/availability on the older Tour videos, say, before 2003). It is worth noting that there are no better announcers in any sport than Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. In 2004, they proved that the commentary is "live" (not dubbed in later in post-production) by incorrectly predicting the winner of just about every sprint during the last 1000m of the sprint finishes. Still, their insights into big-time cycling are worth the price of the DVDs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tour De Lance, September 6, 2005

By 

A. R. Schmidt (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 2004 Tour de France 12-hour DVD (DVD)

Just another great year for Lance and the Tour. The main reason I bought this DVD was for the Alp Dues (stage 16) which is where Lance dominates in an individual time trial. They show most of the event, cutting out some early parts where the crowd was almost impossible to ride through. Because of that it only got 4 stars instead of 5. They cut out what has to be one of the hardest parts of an event like that... all the people in your way... moving at the last second. The did show some of it, but not the whole thing to give you the real perspective on how crazy it was that day!