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Google Creates Street Views Of Tour De France Circuit

I am a big fan of bicycle racing. Ever since Greg LeMond won his first Tour de France in 1986, I've followed the sport closely. Though the race has been tarnished with doping scandals, those who are fans of the race now have another tool with which to enjoy it. Google used its Street Views technology to map out the entire race course so you can get a ground's-eye view of what the racers see as they battle for the yellow jersey.

July 4th weekend is usually a great one for sports. Not only do you typically have the women's and men's finals at Wimbledon, but you also get the first couple of stages of the Tour de France. (Yes, believe it or not, I pay attention to a few things other than mobile technology.)

This year the Tour de France covers some 2,200 miles during its 21 stages. Google spent the time to make sure its Street Views camera teams captured all 2,200 miles of the race, including, "the 21 hairpin bends of the notoriously steep Alpe d'Huez to the finishing line on the cobbled streets of the Champs-Élysées."

Alpe d'Huez is the mountain stage of the race that more often than not makes or breaks the Tour's leaders. It is that stage where Lance Armstrong proved his mettle again and again. I took the stage for a spin, and it is very cool. It gives you a great feel for what the racers go through during each stage of the race. Being able to pan left and right and see the amazing mountain ranges also is impressive.

Google also took pains to blur the faces of anyone caught by its cameras from the get-go to appease privacy rights groups. Nicely done, Google.

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