The movie
The Tour of Flanders is one of
the hotly contested "spring Classics" on the professional bicycle
racing calendar: every April this race takes the competing teams through the
Belgian countryside, facing steep, tough climbs up cobbled hills interspersed
with flatter sections on smooth roads. It's a one-day race, so the riders have
to give it all they've got if they want to cross the finish line first: there's
no holding back for the next day.
While the basic route remains
the same as in the 2002
edition, the 2003 Tour of Flanders is a bit tougher than previous years,
with three additional climbs having been added to make a total of 19 hills for
the riders to face. The starting field is star-studded, with quite a few
pre-race favorites having the potential to take the win: the "Lion of
Flanders" Johan Museuuw; current World Cup holder Paulo Bettini; current
World Champion Mario Cipollini (though on a hilly course like Flanders, he
doesn't stand much of a chance, being a pure sprinter); and the Belgian
"home favorite" Peter Van Petegem. But luck, and initiative, always
play an important role in races like the Tour of Flanders, and many other
riders could play a starring role if they get in the right break, including
Museuuw's young teammate Tom Boonen (recently signed over from U.S. Postal),
U.S. Postal's Vladislav Ekimov, who has free reign since neither of his team
leaders are in the race, and Frank Vandenbrooke, returning after a wild series
of ups, downs, and suspensions in his career.
The Tour of Flanders coverage
opens with a nicely substantial segment (about 15 minutes) at the sign-in
portion of the race, with co-commentator Paul Sherwen interviewing various
riders from different teams to get a sense of their form and plans for the
race. While I wish we didn't just hear from English-speaking riders (if WCP
were willing to use subtitles, we could hear from a lot more riders, and since
Sherwen does speak French, there's really no excuse) we do get some great
pre-race thoughts from a lot of riders. Of course, we're interested in what the
race favorites and team leaders are thinking, but it's also nice that Sherwen
talks with the domestiques as well: the riders whose only job in the race is to
take care of their leader, chase down threats, and knock themselves out in
service of their team's best rider. It gives a good sense of how bicycle racing
is definitely a team sport, with supporting players as well as stars. This
pre-race segment also serves as an update on the various riders and their
teams: we find out who's particularly "on form" as their early-season
results would indicate.
All in all, the 2003 edition of
the Tour of Flanders turns out to be a very exciting race, with constant action
throughout the entire running time of the DVD coverage. And, of course,
commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen provide a constantly interesting
stream of description, analysis, and information about the racing action that's
taking place. In particular, the commentary is always very clear as to which
breakaway group is doing what, making it easy for the viewer to follow the
action.
After an early breakaway (with
the presence of long-breakaway specialist Jacky Durand making it a threat), the
peloton reforms, but it doesn't stay together for long. Constant attacks and
counter-attacks split away from the main group, including several with
important race favorites. The 19 climbs along the route offer ideal launching
places for important breaks, and certainly we're all waiting for the "Lion
of Flanders," Johan Museuuw, to choose which climb will be the right one
to make his final move for the race. What makes it more interesting is that
Museuuw's tactics turn out to be a little different from what we might have
expected... and Peter Van Petegem rises to the challenge, along with the
talented Frank Vandenbrooke, who certainly has a lot to prove. When the final,
winning break is established, it's only with a slim margin at first, so there's
a lot of excitement in the chase; the sprint finale also turns out to be a
great example of cat-and-mouse tactics between the two challengers.
The two-disc DVD coverage of
the Tour of Flanders runs about three hours and 10 minutes, allowing viewers to
see all of the exciting action as it happens; it's exactly the right amount of
coverage for this marvelous Classic race.
The DVD
The Tour of Flanders is a
two-disc set, with the discs securely held in a slim single-wide keepcase. It's
a Region 0, NTSC DVD.
Video
The Tour of Flanders looks
great here on DVD, keeping in mind that this is live television material that
wasn't filmed under ideal conditions, of course. Colors look impressively
bright, vibrant, and accurate: this is particularly important, since it allows
for easy recognition of the various riders in their colored team jerseys. The
image is sparklingly clean, with absolutely no noise or print flaws at all. The
live camera footage has very few instances of picture break-up (the few bits of
interference that we see are from the original material and have nothing to do
with the transfer). Particularly since the material has to undergo a PAL to
NTSC transfer along the way, it's quite pleasing to see that the Tour of
Flanders looks as good as it does.
Audio
The sound for the Tour of
Flanders is a solid Dolby 2.0 track, and it gets the job done nicely.
Co-commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen are always completely
understandable, and we get a nice but not overwhelming touch of "race
ambiance" as well, with the sounds of the cheering spectators and the
whirring bicycles. In the second DVD, I noticed a slight amount of distortion
in the commentary, but it's fairly minor and didn't detract from the overall
clarity of the voiceover.
Music is provided in the
opening credits of the DVD, but fortunately once the race starts, the music
stops and we have a "clean" track with just the race and its
commentary. This really helps provide a feeling that you're watching the race
live.
Extras
About 15 minutes of bonus
material is included, divided among three interesting mini-featurettes, each
hosted by co-commentator Paul Sherwen. Sherwen talks about the tough Koppenberg
climb; leads viewers through the Tour of Flanders museum, which is (as its name
implies) a museum entirely dedicated to the fascinating history of the race;
and takes viewers to Eddy Merckx's home and factory, where the bikes that bear
the racing legend's name are made. In this last segment, we get a short clip
showcasing Merckx's amazing career, and then we get a chance to meet him as he
talks to Sherwen about his line of racing bicycles.
The overall design of the DVD
is excellent. The spine on the DVD case doesn't reveal who wins (the cover
image does, but that's easy to avoid looking at if you don't want it spoiled
for you), and the menu screens are likewise spoiler-free: they're nice,
dramatic shots of the race that give the right flavor without giving anything
away. Chapter design has also improved since the earlier WCP DVDs I've
reviewed: the chapters are divided according to which climb the riders are on,
which is a very logical way of organizing the material. Additionally, each
chapter has a thumbnail image with the name of the climb and its profile, which
is very useful.
Final thoughts
The Tour of Flanders is always one
of my favorite Classics, and the 2003 edition doesn't disappoint: it's full of
exciting action from start to finish, with clear and insightful commentary
provided along every step of the way. Especially considering the very nice DVD
transfer, the 2003 Tour of Flanders is highly recommended.
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