After his first victory in 1999, Lance Armstrong was hungry to prove it wasn't a fluke, and in the 2000 Tour de France marks the start of his dominance in the three-week Grand Tour. This Tour shows promise from the beginning of being a more exciting and highly contested race than the 1999 edition. Former Tour winners Jan Ullrich (riding for Telekom) and Marco Pantani are back in the race, along with French legend Laurent Jalabert, riding for ONCE. And this time, no nasty crash in the early stages opens up any killer time gaps among the leaders, so returning champion Armstrong is pitted against his competitors on a more level playing field.

The 2000 Tour route includes only one individual time trial, apart from the short prologue, but it does re-introduce the team time trial after a four-year hiatus. The mountain stages include a total of sixteen mountains for the riders to climb, though only three mountain-top finishes. This year the race enters the Pyrenees first for a single day (Stage 10) that includes the climbs of the Col de Marie-Blanque, the Col d'Aubisque, and the final climb of the day, the Hautacam.

The early sprint stages are very well covered, as in the 1999 Tour, with typically an excellent presentation of the last kilometer or even the last several kilometers showing the tactical maneuvering of the riders and their teams. We get a good sense of the roles of the "lead-out men," those riders whose job it is to pull their team's top sprinter close to the finish line and then drop out, all their energies exhausted, while their leader takes off for a victory bid. The Belgian Tom Steels is a hot contender for the green jersey of most consistent rider, as is Telekom's Erik Zabel and the Australian Robby McEwen.

While the coverage of the sprints is excellent, the tactical moves in the stages that don't end in a bunch sprint are not given as good a treatment. Typically the coverage picks up after the key move of the day has been made, and then just follows the victor, or the small breakaway group, to the finish. Most of the time, we don't get to see the actual key moves, the attacks and counterattacks that are the most interesting part of the race. Unfortunately, this saps some of the life out of stages that could otherwise have been quite exciting.

The major mountain stages are given a decent, if variable, treatment; some (like the Hautacam climb) are reasonably covered, but the example of stages like the Mont Ventoux climb shows what the best coverage is like: here we see the multiple attacks and counterattacks all the way up the climb, with Pantani shaking things up and Armstrong quick to respond. I'd just like to see more of this level of coverage on all the stages.

Commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen do a great job as always in presenting the race; Sherwen provides interesting background information on the race and selected riders. We also get a few interviews, such as Lance Armstrong discussing his main rivals and David Millar commenting on the experience of climbing Mont Ventoux. These segments would be better off in a "special features" section rather than incorporated into the race coverage itself, but they are informative and will particularly be appreciated by newcomers to cycle racing, as they help lay out the main contenders and provide useful context for appreciating the action.

Given that some of the stages get short shrift in this edition, you might think that the 8-Hour Extended Edition of the 2000 Tour would be the superior edition. However, in this case I think that the two versions each have their merits. A comparison of the two editions shows that the Extended Edition's lengthier coverage of four important mountain stages does provide a more complete experience of the race; however, a substantial part of that extra footage is not all that exciting, and tends to make the viewing experience drag. This shorter, 3-hour version doesn't provide the same level of in-depth coverage for those four mountain stages, but it does provide a competent and enjoyable viewing experience for the Tour as a whole, with a faster overall pace.

The DVD

The 2000 Tour de France: 3-Hour Edition is packaged in an attractive single-wide plastic keepcase. It's a two-DVD set, with the Stages 1-12 on Disc 1, and Stages 13-21 on Disc 2.

Video

The picture overall looks very good, with colors consistently bright, vibrant, and clean, allowing us to easily identify the team jerseys as well as appreciate the visual appeal of the colorful peloton. The level of detail is usually quite good, especially considering that this is taken from broadcast television footage. The image is very clean, with no noise or print flaws at all. We do see a few instances of interference and picture break-up, but this is entirely due to technical difficulties during the race itself, not the DVD transfer; it's not always easy to get the TV signal out, especially when the riders are in the high mountains, or in rainy or very foggy conditions. But this interference happens very seldom, and the rest of the footage looks excellent; all in all, the Tour looks great on DVD.

Audio

The straightforward soundtrack for these races is quite satisfactory. Commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen are clear and easily understandable throughout the program. The sound quality overall is very good and offers a pleasing audio experience, with no background noise or distortion at all. I'm also pleased to report that the theme music of the previous year's Tour coverage has been ditched in favor of a commentary-only track, which gives a more exciting, "live" feel to the race.

Extras

There are no special features on this DVD.

Final thoughts

One way or another, the 2000 Tour de France is a race that's worth having in your collection. Die-hard Lance Armstrong fans will probably want to get the extended eight-hour version of the race, but this three-hour edition is an excellent choice for most viewers, whether you're a cycling fan or a newcomer to the sport. The three hours of coverage provides a nice, complete look at the race, and I'll give it a "recommended" rating.