OLN recorded its highest ratings in history Sunday as the Tour de France finished up with Lance Armstrong's seventh consecutive victory on the Champs-Elysees. About 1.7 million viewers were tuned in at any given moment of the program.

Ratings were up 17 percent for the entire Tour versus 2004 (2.26 HH vs 1.93 HH) and gross total viewers increased 19 percent (1.76 million versus 1.48 million).

Congratulations to OLN. They deserve the success they've achieved. They consistantly made their staff and hosts available to the media before and during the Tour de France. You can see the amount of information that OLN gave Operation Gadget in the following articles:

• How the Outdoor Life Network Brings the Tour de France to Viewers in North America
• Liggett and Sherwen Think that Lance Will Not Have a Second Act as a Triathlete
• Liggett on the Saint-Etienne Time Trial Course

I think everyone I talked with at OLN realized that this was their network's once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with its audience, and they did everything they could to deliver a great viewing experience.

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