The Tour de France is my Super Bowl. I'm into endurance sports big time. That's the most grueling endurance sport on the planet. I haven't missed a TDF broadcast since "Outdoor Life Network" started broadcasting it around 2003. The last 15 years of broadcast have seen significant changes in the sport as well as the coverage. I remember the first few years, the helicopter camera coverage and motorcycle camera coverage were lean and choppy. You lost signal more than you saw it. The last few years have seen a dramatic improvement with helicopter and motorcycle camera coverage. Technology has really improved recently.
The best seat in the house now is television for that sporting venue, by far. Trust the man who knows. You don't want to be fighting traffic and crowds on the Tour just to get a glimpse of the riders for 1 minute as they speed past you on the flats or downhill. The mountain stages are a bit better since they are climbing, slow and spread out. But still, you may only see them for 1/2 an hour after camping out all night and part of the day. Then you have to fight huge crowds and traffic trying to get to the next location or to your hotel.