This is a selection of the highlights from the 2004 Tour de France, the other race that stops a nation. The Tour starts in Belgium and winds its way into and around the French country side until after nearly three weeks and over 3000 kilometres the boys ride up the Champs Elysees to the plaudits of the crowd.

Now I for one can only imagine the effort that must go into preparing your body and mind for such an extravagant bike ride, let alone actually carrying out the deed. There is an interesting extra that takes us on a fly around of the course and that was enough to daunt me. But these guys (I note women haven?t yet been admitted to this sort of torture) are tough and the fact that they plan all year to win certain stages and parts of the Tour, such as in the mountains, is incredible.

To win you have to be able to stay on the bike for the most of time as even the best can get caught up in a crash. You have to be able to keep within a certain amount of time taken by the winner of the stage or else you get shoved off the Tour. You need to be able to be part of a team and be prepared to sacrifice yourself for the good of others. You have to have the speed to keep up on the flat and the power to go over the mountains. You need to deal with crashes, punctures, failure and the energy and mind sapping endlessness of the ride, with few rest stops. You can?t take too much time to look at the scenery, spectacular though it might be, and you need to keep a wary eye out for spectators and other hazards that venture onto the road. Oh, and you have to look good wearing some pretty ordinary uniforms.

The 2004 Tour is famous because Lance Armstrong became the first man to win it 6 times, an unprecedented effort and he did it in consecutive years, something that was thought to be pretty much impossible. The highlights start on Day One and follow the Tour right round the course, offering a plethora of statistics on the length of the ride on any given day, the average speed at which the boys travel and the points scored in the various categories. The Aussie Robbie McEwen ended up winning the Green Sprinter?s jersey, an excellent result.

But the story is truly about Armstrong and the supreme effort he put in when required to be thereabouts for much of the early days while others held the coveted Yellow Jersey. A Frenchman held it for over a week in the middle and they even won on Bastille Day so the whole nation was very proud there for a while. Eventually Armstrong made his move and went far enough in front to have a relatively relaxed ride into Paris to finish it off. It was a remarkable sporting achievement.

I reviewed the 2003 Tour last year (believe it or not!) and I still get sucked in to watching this sport even though many may think it quite an odd spectator sport. The physical and mental efforts that are on show just grab my attention and I marvel at what these guys can do at the end of a long stage when they sprint towards the line. The poor blokes how make a breakaway only to be caught right at the death add a tinge of sadness to the whole even, but that?s sport. If you like to see the best doing extraordinary things then this is for you. I can?t wait for next year but I will be comfortably ensconced in my armchair glued to the DVD as they go round again.

THE EXTRAS

I have mentioned the fly around which was a really excellent way to get a feel for the course. I was surprised how intriguing it was but I suppose with over 3000kms they have great scope to do something a little out of the ordinary. You can check out all the race statistics and pick different race stages to go over again.

CONCLUSION

The 2004 Tour de France is rightly famous for one of sports greatest feats. Lance Armstrong rode into history when he won his 6th title in a row, eclipsing a handful of other great riders who had won 5 times. This wonderful selection of 240 minutes of highlights should have you sucked in from Day One right to the end.