Netflix trailer: https://t.ly/kiSF8

This is better than “Drive to Survive,” which I stopped watching after Red Bull stole the championship from Lewis Hamilton, after Verstappen started winning all the races, and I stopped watching the races too. Sure, there is human drama, but the problem is the machines. If you’re in a lousy car, there’s no way you can win. Whereas with the Tour de France…it’s not about the bicycle, it’s about you.

And the team, of course, especially if you’re going for the GC, which is the overall title. There is strategy, but sometimes riders throw the strategy out the window and just ride for themselves, which the owners/coaches hate, unless said rider wins.

I wrote about this series last year, this year is even better.

It’s inherently flawed because you don’t get a feel for the overall landscape, you’re never told how many teams/riders are involved, how much money is involved, and that is frustrating, but it does not detract from your overall enjoyment of the series.

You see bike riding is dangerous. You can be going as fast as a motorcycle, and when you crash, which happens all the time, you’re not wearing leather but a thin jersey… Talk about road rash!

But it really comes down to personalities. I hate, hate, HATE Jasper Phillipsen, who doesn’t ride fair, he squeezes his competition into the barriers.

And I’m not a huge fan of Jonas Vingegaard either, he’s quiet and skilled, but he’s involved in the biggest controversy of the season. If you win by too much, if it’s inhuman, did you…DOPE? Yes, that underlies cycling to this day.

Everybody takes it so seriously. You’d think the rest of life, politics, global warming, doesn’t even exist. Which makes the series a great respite from everyday life. Big girls may not cry, but big men do, especially with joy, when seemingly impossible goals are achieved.

Do you root for the winner or the underdog? Is winning everything, or is how you win important?

There are twenty one stages and each is different. And the landscape is jaw-dropping.

There are other bicycle races, but this is the big kahuna. As for the athletes, it’s a herculean feat, to be able to ride these distances, climb these mountains, day after day after day.

I don’t watch much sports on TV anymore. Can I say it’s a time-waster? Especially baseball, which used to be my favorite big league sport. I guess the essence is gone, and sure it comes down to the speed of the game, i.e. it’s slow, but changing all the pitchers, swinging for the fences…

And now I’m going to hear from all the baseball lovers. All I’ll say is I don’t know where you find the time.

As for the NFL… John Madden said you play one game and your body will never be the same. I don’t quite know why everybody’s addicted, even the wimps who never played in high school or even on the sandlot. You may think you’re an expert, but the true experts will tell you you don’t really know what is going on on the field.

And then there’s soccer/football, the world’s game. Some say there’s not enough scoring, but I don’t watch that either.

I guess I can say that watching sports on television is no longer a priority, with so many other options available. There are things I’d rather do than spend hours watching sports. That’s what the internet age has wrought, and that’s what people can’t get over. Why don’t you listen to my record? Because it’s a very low priority. If I heard you were the greatest thing since sliced bread, I might check you out, assuming I heard it from people I trust.

But I hope you trust my television recommendations.

I don’t care if you’ve never gotten on a bike. I don’t care if you don’t understand how bike racing works. Neither will detract from your enjoyment of this series.

Bob Costas famously said that sports are a metaphor for life. And you see it all in this series. Which makes you feel human. You’re involved. You don’t feel the sport is at a distance, but it’s right there. They’re not talking down to you, they’re just trying to win.

And not everybody can. And you can be a great rider and have a difficult personality…

CHECK THIS OUT!