2011 Tour De France 12 Hour Blu-ray Collector's Edition

This is the first time World Cycling Productions has released the Tour in Blu-ray and the timing couldn't have been better. The intense competition has been magnificently captured with crystal clarity in high definition. If you're a cycling fan like me, you'll enjoy watching all the mountain stages in full in the 12-hour edition. My favorite stage was Number 19 Alpe d'Heuz won by Pierre Rolland, where he rode away in the final 2 km after chasing down Alberto Contador with the help of Sammy Sanchez. No wait, maybe my favorite is Stage 17, won by Edvald Boassan Hagen after he cut through the narrow mountain roads ahead of Phillipe Gilbert, chased furiously by Contador and Sanchez trying the escape the peloton. Or maybe Stage 12 where Sammy Sanchez won on Luz Ardiden after a huge effort. The magnificent French countryside looks stunning in high definition and I love being able to spot the equipment the riders are on.

The only complaint I have is that the critical Stage 20 time trial where Cadel Evans took back 2:30 from Andy Schlek to win the Tour is only very briefly covered. There are a couple of extra-feature segments with Chris Boardman that I did not find interesting and took up unneccessary time away from the competition. Also, the way the Blu-ray menu works is not very convenient. It doesn't resume from where you left off if you stop playing and then want to go back to the same point.

As always, the narration by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin gives you the full picture of the competiton for all the categories like the overall points leader, the king-of-the-mountain, the green jersey for the sprint, the best-young-rider category and the best team. You are able to follow the strategy of each team as they try to win in the category with the best potential outcome for them. Great job, Phil and Paul!

Nothing beats the Official SBS coverage of the Tour de France 12hrs of the BEST footages from the BEST vantage points.

It's not just about watching the race but also a helicopter tour of the breathtaking french countryside.

Buy 2011 Tour De France 12 Hour Blu-ray Collector's Edition Now

"There are 12 towns in France named Roquefort, but only one that makes the cheese!" Phil Ligget.

I always love Phil Ligget's stream of consciousness style commentary on these DVD's and this one of the best. Great coverage, footage, and commentary. Much more enjoyable that the 2012 sky-train.

Read Best Reviews of 2011 Tour De France 12 Hour Blu-ray Collector's Edition Here

Good product. Exciting race to watch when training indoors. DVDs do have a couple of bad spots where the video gets froze up like it is scratched but it does recover and play again.

Want 2011 Tour De France 12 Hour Blu-ray Collector's Edition Discount?

I was in France in 2011 and was able to see some of the stages. It was great to actually see the places we visited and try to pick us out of the crowd. Since we only got to see a small portion of the tour, this dvd provided us the opportunity to see what we missed.