'I bring good news from the other side': This is the end of a TV coverage era, but the Tour de France stops for no one

James Shrubsall looks back at nearly 40 years of free Tour de France coverage and ponders the new normal

Tour de France
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Twelve years old and football mad. In 1987 there was very little sporting space in my head for anything beyond the goal-scoring antics of Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish and co.

My Panini sticker albums might not have been entirely completed, and I had rarely got past the subs' bench for the school team, but rest assured, there was nothing more beautiful in the world to me than a well taken goal. That is, until July that year.

It was serendipity in action. My dad had spotted an ad for Channel Four's half-hour Tour de France highlights programme, and thought he'd give it a go. He rode a bike, but he wasn't really a bike race fan. Instead, as an ardent Francophile, he was in it for the scenery, the sweeping views of the country, the villages en fête – and perhaps just a bit of sport.

That summer, I too had started riding the bike a bit – exploring independently beyond the usual boundaries of childhood for the first time – but the first glimpse I ever got of bike racing was after wandering aimlessly into the living room one summer evening, following the sound of sporting action and excited commentary.

After that, the Tour de France became an annual TV appointment which very few things were allowed to impede. Numerous video tapes – some of which I still have – were filled up, and played and replayed time and again.

Everything about the Channel 4 coverage of the Tour was perfect – almost. From Pete Shelley's unforgettable theme music, to the legendary partnership of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, to the sporting action itself. Not to mention that it was, ahem, free. The only thing missing was live coverage.

There was a moment in 2001 which in hindsight feels rather too familiar in light of what we are currently seeing with coverage of the race, when Channel 4 announced it was dropping the Tour. Deeply troubled bike racing fans held their collective breath for a moment early that year, as the prospect of literally zero Tour coverage – live or otherwise – loomed. When it was announced that the race would, after all, be shown on ITV2… oh, the relief.

Initially ITV picked up the baton from Channel 4 with daily highlights, but it wasn't long before live coverage appeared – firstly at weekends and then, eventually every day. Suddenly we were living the full Tour de France 360, and with the newfound continental success being enjoyed by British racers, we hardly knew what to do with ourselves.

From old hands like Gary Imlach, who worked with Liggett and Sherwen back in the Channel 4 days, to the current – excellent – commentary box double act of Ned Boulting and David Millar. Each July, they are all a three-week extension of our friend group, but after this year, that will end.

ITV4 will show live coverage of the race one more time this year, but next year it currently has no plans to continue any kind of coverage. The options: stump up £30 a month for a TNT subscription, or watch highlights on YouTube or similar.

However, there is currently speculation that TNT owner Warner Brothers Discovery will throw UK viewers a bone by showing free-to-air highlights – potentially on Quest, which showed Giro d'Italia highlights earlier this season.

Other options exist too – here's one way of unlocking the Tour from anywhere in the world, and scoring a £50 Amazon voucher while you're at it.

However you cut it though, the end of ITV's free live coverage will be the end of a long era and a step in the wrong direction. In 2001 we sat tight and things came good. In time, let's hope that the same happens again. As an eternal optimist – and with a Edinburgh Grand Départ only two years away – I believe it will.

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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.

Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.

He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.

A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.

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