Baseball bounces to mind when one thinks...

Baseball bounces to mind when one thinks of a popular summer sport. Nonetheless, this summer ABC plans to get up close and personal with competition of a less traditional nature.

On Sunday, for instance, ABC carries the final stage of the 76th Tour de France, the 1,953-mile bicycle race. With the coveted yellow jersey as a prize, cyclists reach the finish line in a 90-minute telecast starting at 3:30 p.m. (7)(3)(10)(42).

Next Sunday brings auto racing and a unique endurance test as well.

ABC will cover the International Race of Champions, a series of races involving 12 of the world’s top drivers from NASCAR, Indy-car and road racing competition. The IROC series will continue in August.

ABC then shifts gears to the unusual Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It’s a seven-month, 4,000-mile journey to the South Pole and a remote “area of inaccessibility” that has never been crossed by foot. Over the course of five telecasts that will conclude next March, ABC’s cameras will follow hardy cross-country skiers from six nations as they take part in the arduous trek.