Lance is back, and television ratings are up for the Tour de France in the United States

Armstrong’s return boosts Tour TV ratings in US

NEW YORK — Each morning of the Tour de France, an average of more than half a million Americans are tuning in to watch.

Not surprisingly, Lance Armstrong’s return after missing the past three Tours has sent television ratings in the United States soaring. Average viewership was up 88 percent from last year through the first 15 stages, increasing from 265,581 to 500,051 for the live morning coverage on Versus.

Traffic on the network’s Web site is also up 114 percent. Videos had been viewed 12.1 million times through the 16th stage, compared with 6.5 million for the entire Tour last year.

Armstrong has contended throughout the Tour but his chances at victory appeared over after Wednesday’s 17th stage. The seven-time champion was in fourth place, trailing teammate Alberto Contador by nearly four minutes.

But Armstrong doesn’t seem to have quite the same drawing power he did when he won his last Tour title in 2005. Average viewership is up only 1 percent from that year, even though Versus is now available in 12 million more homes.

Armstrong plans to ride the Tour next year, but eventually he will retire again and test the popularity of a Lance-free Tour in the U.S.

Versus president Jamie Davis noted that the network renewed its contract to broadcast the Tour for another five years before it knew Armstrong was coming back in 2009.

“We believed in the Tour itself,” he said.

Davis thinks Armstrong’s rivalry with Contador has helped boost ratings this year. This is also the first time Versus has shown the entire Tour in high definition.

For now, Armstrong’s presence is building interest in cycling that will carry over into his next retirement.

“What he has really done is brought in all the casual viewers,” Davis said.