While most people follow this at arm's length, do yourself a favor and watch the actual race coverage on OLN. You'll get cycling and some nice shots of the French countryside to boot.
Live daily coverage starts at 8:30 am EDT (except on off days), and is repeated during the day. The race is called by a pair of Brits who are also former riders: Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. They know the sport very well (certainly better than the average sports guy), and they're pretty good about explaining things as the stage moves along.
Prime time coverage starts at 8 pm EDT (9 pm PDT), but with Al Trautwig and Bob Roll, an American who is a former pro cyclist. I don't watch much of their coverage, but what I've seen is OK. Roll has a unique style that may not be to everyone's liking, but I get a bit of a chuckle from him.
All four appear on the pre-race show, which kicks off the morning coverage. If you're around, give them 10 minutes rather than Kate or Charlie or whoever.
The coverage isn't as Lance-centric as you'd imagine (though the promotion is), which is a good thing. Not that they ignore Lance when he's not front and center; he gets a number of mentions. But they do focus on a number of riders, both those involved in the day's stage and the ones vying for the overall title. You'll even get into the sprint and "king of the mountain" competitions, which add a little spice to the coverage.
They use French TV for the visuals, which is fine. Occasionally Phil and Paul have to fill when there's a shot of some local landmark, but they handle it well.
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