Interest
Yowapeda Mangaka Watanabe Was A Guest Commentator for the Tour de France
posted on by Eric Stimson
Wataru Watanabe, the creator of the cycling manga Yowamushi Pedal, was a guest commentator on J Sports 4's coverage of the Tour de France, the world's premier long-distance bicycling competition, on July 14. This was the day of the Tour's 10th stage, leading from the small Alsatian city of Mulhouse to the ski resort of La Planche des Belles Filles. As it was the first stage in mountainous terrain in this year's Tour, Watanabe found it a very exciting experience to watch, lauding the "star athletes' willpower and pride," the "dizzily changing weather," and the "yellow jersey's tears" on his blog the next day. Although he commented for 5½ hours, he wrote that he wasn't bored and "couldn't tear away [his] eyes until the very end."
Watanabe was joined by fellow commentators Minoru Nagata and Osamu Kurimura, the latter a former professional cyclist. (They are seen to the left and right of Watanabe in the picture, respectively.) The broadcast lasted from 7:40 PM to 1:30 AM Japan Standard Time.
[Via Comic Natalie and Yowamushi Pedal-to Majimojirurumo-no Seifuku Blogbako]
