With Lance Armstrong's historic sixth Tour de France win now on the record books, many fans will now find themselves looking back at how it all began: the 1999 Tour de France. This was the Tour that put Armstrong in the spotlight, showing that the aggressive, self-confident Texan had what it took to join the elite club of Tour de France winners.

This DVD edition of the 1999 Tour de France is a two-disc set that provides a three-hour cut of the race footage; an eight-hour extended edition is also available. I'll give an overview of the race itself and then discuss the differences between the two editions.

1999 was exceptional at the beginning because there were no former Tour winners in the race, as the '96, '97 and '98 winners Bjarne Riis, Jan Ullrich, and Marco Pantani were non-starters. That left quite a few eager contenders, however, most notably Alex Zülle, riding for Banesto, and Abraham Olano, riding for ONCE. Nor was Armstrong the only U.S. rider with dreams of donning the yellow jersey, as Cofidis' Bobby Julich was also keen on a victory.

When it comes to the real meat of the matter – the fight for the overall lead– there's an inherent conflict in a race between what the riders want and what the viewers want. From a rider's point of view, the most desirable outcome is an easy victory by a large margin, which is exactly the opposite of the tense, closely fought battle that makes for great viewing for cycling fans. 1999 is a Tour that went entirely the way Armstrong wanted it, which undoubtedly made him and his team manager Johan Bruyneel sleep quite well at night, but makes the 1999 Tour less than gripping.

The 1999 Tour was, in effect, decided by two key events early in the race. First, there was an early crash that held back most of the main contenders while Armstrong, who had fortunately been ahead of the crash, sped away to take advantage of his rivals' delay. The result: more than six minutes of time deficit for riders like Alex Zülle. The second key event was Armstrong's winning move in the first day of the mountains, cementing his advantage.

It's always tough to compress a three-week Grand Tour into a just a few hours, so the pace of the three-hour 1999 Tour DVD is brisk. The first fifty minutes or so of the coverage deals with the first five stages, moving through these flat stages quickly but not too much so. The excitement in these stages comes at the end, in the sprint finish, and the coverage for each of them is very well done. The coverage picks up at about the last kilometer of racing, and with a combination of motorcycle shots from the side and helicopter shots giving us a top-down view, we get a great presentation of the tactical maneuvering as well as pure speed and strength on display as the bunch roars up to the line. The bunch sprints in the first week are also particularly exciting in terms of tactics and individual efforts, especially since the green jersey of "most consistent rider" is hotly contested between Erik Zabel and Stuart O'Grady.

The time trial and mountain stages are covered reasonably well, though not in the depth that I'd really like to see. For instance, we get only around five minutes of coverage each for the prologue and two individual time trials, and 20-30 minutes of coverage of the key mountain stages.

Overall, this Tour isn't as exciting as some of the others, due to the dominance of Armstrong from the beginning; much of the excitement comes from the fight for the other podium positions. Fans of the Spanish climber Fernando Escartín will enjoy his performance here; indeed, the aggressiveness of the Kelme team adds spice to the race on a number of occasions.

A number of "Tour de France Plus" segments provide commentary on various aspects of the race other than what's actually happening on that day's stage, from the doping scandal of the 1998 Tour (and why the ONCE team and rider Richard Virenque are in the 1999 race despite the organizers' objections), to several sprinters' attempts to break the record of the most stage wins in a row at the Tour de France (three), to Mario Cippolini's clothing style (he is often fined by the organization for showing up in non-regulation gear). Not surprisingly, the 1999 Tour coverage features a substantial number of interviews with Lance Armstrong, as well as footage from his various press conferences and public statements.

So, which version should you buy: this three-hour edition, or the eight-hour extended edition? It depends on your interest level in the race. If you're interested in getting the 1999 Tour mainly to get a glimpse of Armstrong in action, or to fill in a gap in your collection of Tour de France DVDs, then the shorter, more concise version isn't a bad choice. The three-hour version is also quite friendly for casual viewers, as it contains all of the interviews and commentary segments that appear in the eight-hour cut; only the actual racing footage is shorter.

However, if you are more than a casual viewer, the eight-hour Extended Edition is absolutely the way to go. The additional footage (which is described in more detail in the Extended Edition review) really adds a lot of excitement to the race, making it a lot more interesting than in the shorter cut.

The DVD

The 1999 Tour de France: 3-hour Edition is packaged in an attractive, single-wide keepcase. It's a two-disc set with the prologue to Stage 10 on the first DVD, and Stages 11-20 on the second DVD.

Video

Considering its origins in television broadcast material, the image quality is excellent overall for this race, which is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The print is extremely clean, and considering its origins in live television broadcasts, is quite clear and sharp. Colors are bright and vibrant, making it easy to spot the team jerseys of the riders in the pack.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is quite solid, always presenting Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen's commentary with fidelity. Their voices sound natural and are always crisp and clear, making for a pleasant listening experience. Some race ambiance is included in the soundtrack, and is correctly balanced with the commentary; music is used at times but only occasionally, and it doesn't interfere with the "live" feel of the race. The only oddity to this DVD is that the catchy "theme" music that played in between stages on the Extended Edition is absent here, so we see the map of the day's route before each stage in total silence.

Extras

There are no special features for this DVD. The menus are adequate but not as well designed as in later WCP releases. The main menu is attractive and easy to navigate, but each disc has chapter listings for all the stages, not just the ones on that disc, and the chapter listings do have spoiler images.

Final thoughts

The 1999 Tour de France will be of great interest to Lance Armstrong fans, as it marks the beginning of Armstrong's six Tour wins. As a race, though, it's not one of the more exciting Tours of recent years. For avid cycling fans, the eight-hour Extended Edition is the better choice, as it provides quite a bit of additional depth and excitement (and earned a "highly recommended"). This three-hour version is a solid choice for more casual cycling fans, though, as it offers a nice overview of the race, with the usual excellent commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. I'll give this edition a "recommended."