Product Details

• Actors: Lance Armstrong
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 6
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: World Cycling
• DVD Release Date: October 11, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000AV2GJ2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,363 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

That force of nature called Lance Armstrong concluded his unique reign as the King of the Tour de France in a manner that in hindsight seems inevitable, though there were moments when the ending of this tale of fortitude and determination could not be foretold with certainty. The Tour itself, of course, will continue in all its glory. As Lance put it on the podium in Paris, "Vive le Tour. Forever!" But the cyclist who set a new standard of six consecutive wins last year and topped it with number seven in 2005 has retired from the world’s most popular sport. What a way to go! Featuring extended coverage of the critical mountain stages, World Cycling Production’s two DVD editions – four hours and 12 hours in length – are truly artifacts of history, to be watched intently many times, shared with friends, and treasured for all time. Talk about drama! There’s the emergence of CSC’s David Zabriskie, Lance’s former teammate, edging Armstrong by nine seconds to win the prologue and wear the yellow jersey for three stages before crashing just before the finish in the team time trial and withdrawing from the Tour the next day. There’s Lance’s friend Ivan Basso, also a CSC rider, trailing him by less than three minutes for most of the race, and finishing second overall. There’s the amazing, and then astounding, performance of Rabobank’s Michael Rasmussen, who won the climber’s jersey but plummeted from third overall to seventh after two crashes and three changes of bicycle in the final time trial. And, of course, ever threatening and supplying suspense, there’s Jan Ullrich, who seemed to have the individual time trial in his pocket, until Armstrong, determined to win a stage as well as his seventh tour, pulled out all the stops and bested Ullrich’s seemingly unbeatable time by 23 seconds. It was a feat that left the race commentators totally depleted of superlatives and thrilled viewers throughout the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You're going to buy it anyway...., October 28, 2005

By	G. Hoffman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a cycling fanatic, you're going to buy this set anyway, but the other reviewers are correct: there are definate issues with the DVD authoring and sound mixing used for this set. The video itself is the same you would have seen on OLN or virtually anywhere else. The video is clear, except when transmission is blocked due to mountainous terrain. That's the video issue mentioned by another issue. It's not that the DVD transfer is bad or anything - it's the same as what you saw on OLN - brief interruptions and assorted glitches.

The audio is another issue. The sound mixing is bad. I found that if I kept the volume at a medium level, it wasn't bad, but the background noise is often too loud to hear the commentary very well - you hear a lot of helicopter noise, crowd noise, etc. They may have been thinking it added to the realism, but they they are wrong - it's annoying. However, it's tolerable.

On one of the discs, the bonus features menu was screwed up. The menu said it was one thing, but it was actually a repeat of a bonus item off the previous disc. That's just bad QA.

Obviously they had to pick and choose which bits of the race to show, and I think in general they did a good job of it. The race always seems exciting, and you get to see most of the major tactical moves.

The bonus features are nice, generally two extra video segments per disc, and are the sort of "behind the scenes" stories you might have seen when the race was broadcast, but it's not OLN's videos, which might be a good thing if you already saw that on OLN's coverage when the race was actually happening.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WCP Can Do Better, November 1, 2005

By	R. E. Marsh (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cycling enthusiasts will value this set, because it chronicles the final triumph by Lance Armstrong, who has dominated cycling's "World Series" in an unprecedented manner.
However, as someone who watched OLN's coverage of the event live this year, the set was disappointing because of the inept sound mixing. There is also some questionable editing decisions in including some analyst's features, which detract from the flow of the race. Ned Boulting again has some fine interviews, but the debut of former British cycling champion Chris Boardman is largely wasted. He just isn't given the opportunity to say much of interest, and one suspects that he could contribute more of substance. Don't get me wrong, Boardman and Boulting are fine replacements for the Yanks (Bob Roll and Al Trautwig) who were added to the OLN commentary line-up, but WCP has the best two announcers in sport in Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, and most time away from their call of the live race is time wasted.
The box promises "12 hours of action," instead, we get 10 hours of action, and 2 hours of filler. Boardman or Boulting may someday make a decent replacement for Paul Sherwen's second chair when Phil Liggett can no longer go, and Sherwen is the main announcer, but Gary Imlach's stand-up comments on racing and local color in years past were less obtrusive, and, frankly, better written.
Liggett is in very bad voice during the Alpes stages, suffering from a cold of some sort. He recovers for the Pyrannes stages, and his voice, at its best, is a mixture of precise British diction and almost Gallic charm delivered in a rich, hypnotic baritone. No one calls a sprint for the finish better, in any sport, than Phil Liggett. It will be a real loss for cycling when he retires.
There were a few inspired special features that were a welcome addition to this DVD set: First among these would be the interview with the poised and clever father of Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen, who managed brilliantly the damage control for his talented but volatile son, caught just a few days earlier head- butting his rivals at the finishing line.
Armstrong makes winning the Tour de France look easy - too easy, really. His success has had many positive effects - for American cylcing, cancer research, and Sheryl Crow's resurgent career - but it will be fun to see other cyclists emerge from his huge shadow next year, and to see how his former teammates perform, unburdened by the need to support their captain.

[I have edited this review after watching this dvd again in early 2006. My earlier comments were too harsh regarding Ned Boulting and Chris Boardman. The major problem is the sound quality - one hopes that WCP could fix this and rerelease this set.]

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY, October 27, 2005

By	Dr. Bill (Texas) - See all my reviews

PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS VIDEO. The quality of this video is that of a high school student. I pre-ordered this video and AM NOW SEEKING A FULL REFUND. The audio is HORRIBLE. The sound mixing is HORRIBLE. The sound quality is as though someone is speaking in a drum, and the next second the helicopter sounds are so loud you have to mute your sound system; and, then the commentary is so low in volume all you hear is static. It is a shame that World Cycling Productions put this on the market. DO NOT BUY IT. I really do not know how to get this thru to you, JUST DON'T BUY IT.