Tour de France 2010
Discussion
Wiggins will have to go some to get Top 3 IMO. The Tour this year features LOTS of tough mountain stages and fewer time trial opportunities than usual. Though the Giro wasn't the focus of his year, he was in difficulty on quite a few mountain stages and lost some big time. His ride on the Ventoux last year was brilliant, but he'll need to step it up this year. Also, not too sure about his support in the mountains from Sky, compared to for example Liquigas who'll have Nibali, Szymd and others to back up Basso.
My top three:
Contador
A Schleck
Basso
Wiggins will get a top 10.
My top three:
Contador
A Schleck
Basso
Wiggins will get a top 10.
^^ 3rd July
Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
Edited by itsnotarace on Monday 14th June 11:43
itsnotarace said:
^^ 3rd July
Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
I assume you are only refering to the prologue as neither Cancellara or Millar have a hope when the race gets into the mountains.Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
lets not forget that cancellara is the reigning tour du suisse champion and he isnt that bad in the mountains, overall GC is not going to happen but he should feature.
contador will be tough to beat, the schleck brothers will work together for andy's sake and i think they will feature. armstrong and leipheimer will work together effectively too but the old man will struggle. wiggo was awesome on his own last year and only missed out on the podium by a minute... he dragged himself up there as there was no one at garmin who could climb with him and he surpassed all expectations!
contador will probably win it but cadel evans, since winning the rainbow jersey, has been on awesome form. with theo bos and hushvod they will be strong this year.
others to keep an eye on include vinkourouv, basso and pelizotti (lat years KoM) and you can never tell which denis menchov will arrive at the start!
given we go anticlockwise this year though, the race may well be decided on tourmalet interestingly enough, following a rest day. i am just looking forward to stage 3 and all htose cobbles!
http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcour...
contador will be tough to beat, the schleck brothers will work together for andy's sake and i think they will feature. armstrong and leipheimer will work together effectively too but the old man will struggle. wiggo was awesome on his own last year and only missed out on the podium by a minute... he dragged himself up there as there was no one at garmin who could climb with him and he surpassed all expectations!
contador will probably win it but cadel evans, since winning the rainbow jersey, has been on awesome form. with theo bos and hushvod they will be strong this year.
others to keep an eye on include vinkourouv, basso and pelizotti (lat years KoM) and you can never tell which denis menchov will arrive at the start!
given we go anticlockwise this year though, the race may well be decided on tourmalet interestingly enough, following a rest day. i am just looking forward to stage 3 and all htose cobbles!
http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcour...
itsnotarace said:
^^ 3rd July
Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
Did you see the Dauphiné stage up Alpe d'Huez at the weekend? Contador won (maybe not hugely convincingly, but he still won) and Millar lost 25 minutes.Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
Edited by itsnotarace on Monday 14th June 11:43
Will Pellizotti be racing? Isn't he taking some 'enforced time off'?
Forgot about Evans - he's one tough b*stard and will be there or thereabouts.
Is Brajkovic riding the Tour - he looked really good in the Dauphine and can clearly time trial and climb well.
Highway Star said:
Is Brajkovic riding the Tour - he looked really good in the Dauphine and can clearly time trial and climb well.
From Cycling News.Cycling News said:
But he doesn't know yet if his summer holiday will be in July or August. "His participation to the Tour de France is 50-50," said RadioShack directeur sportif Alain Gallopin. "We'll decide at the end of the Tour de Suisse. For now, Jani needs to rest for one week, whether he does the Tour de France or not."
Eight of the nine riders who formed the Astana line up at the Tour de France last year are now with RadioShack. The ninth man is Contador. Chris Horner is a natural candidate to fill Contador's spot. Brajkovic's debut at the Grande Boucle at the age of 26 also depends on Haimar Zubeldia's recovery from the broken wrist he had at the Dauphiné earlier this week.
Eight of the nine riders who formed the Astana line up at the Tour de France last year are now with RadioShack. The ninth man is Contador. Chris Horner is a natural candidate to fill Contador's spot. Brajkovic's debut at the Grande Boucle at the age of 26 also depends on Haimar Zubeldia's recovery from the broken wrist he had at the Dauphiné earlier this week.
Re: Pellizotti, i thought that he was withdrawn from liquigas rather than the UCI and thus i thought that as nothing was proven he was clear to ride in le tour? i do agree with him htat it is "a suspension based on numbers" and i do think the bio passport is flawed not taking enough changes in the body into account but given cauciholli has been given a two year ban though, i would say pelli may be next...
Highway Star said:
Did you see the Dauphiné stage up Alpe d'Huez at the weekend? Contador won (maybe not hugely convincingly, but he still won) and Millar lost 25 minutes.
Caught the highlights 
Saw Brajkovic matching everything that Contador threw at him, that's for sure! I didn't realise David Millar dropped so much time though, he was doing pretty well overall up until that point.I only suggested Cancellara due to the way he won the Liege Bastogne Liege, and also the way he rode away from Tom Boonen on the Tour of Flanders as well, suggests he's in good overall form this year.
itsnotarace said:
^^ 3rd July
Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
He's a cock to the point that noone else in the peleton, let alone a break-away, wants to help him if he needs it.Andy Schleck has no form this year. Contador doesn't seem to be in top form either unless he's sandbagging
Unfortunately Cadel Evans does seem to be in good form (shame he's a c**k)
Cancellara
Evans
Basso
Wiggins does have an outside chance, but so does David Millar
Edited by itsnotarace on Monday 14th June 11:43
I dont see how you can win a tour that way? Shame cause as an Aussie, I'd rather be cheering for him. Not too enthusiastically though, of course
Evans has a good team around him and CTT get better every year, remember as a pro team they are actually pretty new to all this!
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/testteam/riders/
rebecca romero may have lost the title of "Female cyclist i most want to post race massage" too!
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/testteam/riders/
rebecca romero may have lost the title of "Female cyclist i most want to post race massage" too!
^^ I disagree I think Cadel has a pretty average team around him and one that can't support him almost every day for 3 weeks in the Tour which is a shame as he's arguably the most in form cyclist out there.
I'm a big Wiggo and Team Sky supporter so i'll be cheering them on from the rafters this July. I think the lack of real TT's will hurt them and they would have been one of the favourites for a TTT.
I'm a big Wiggo and Team Sky supporter so i'll be cheering them on from the rafters this July. I think the lack of real TT's will hurt them and they would have been one of the favourites for a TTT.
Not Ideal said:
^^ I disagree I think Cadel has a pretty average team around him and one that can't support him almost every day for 3 weeks in the Tour which is a shame as he's arguably the most in form cyclist out there.
Theo Bos, Thor Hushvod and Carlos Sastre can not be classed as "pretty average".in my opinion, the lead rider needs resources he can ddraw upon as and when required. to be able to support him on every stage for three weeks is not the teams responsibility as the lead rider should be prepared to breal alone at least once on the tour without support. otherwise he isnt really winning it, think about when jan ullrich dragged bjiane riis around france in the late 90s, to me thats not how you win a tour...
Chapeau!
Hope the link works but heres a pic of Cav after his crash taken by Mark Renshaw.
http://tweetphoto.com/27474518
http://tweetphoto.com/27474518
Edited by Not Ideal on Wednesday 16th June 11:29
Cav was very foolish yesterday. I hope he's not too badly hurt, but I'm surprised that he still hasn't learnt that you need to hold your line in a mass sprint. It was only a matter time before something like this happened. He needs a proper sanction, not a trivial 30s penalty.
If he wants the Green jersey in the Tour, he'll have to remember it's a "Points" jersey, not a "Sprinters" jersey. More racecraft and humility please, Cav.
As for Yellow:
- Contador will toy with them again and win
- Andy Schleck still isn't strong enough, but might take a stage
- Wiggo I'd like to see winning, but he's just not close enough IMO. Sky need to up their game
- Basso could contend with a following wind
I can't see anyone else really in the fight
Sastre has no fire in his belly, and may not even take part. I think he may do the Vuelta instead, then retire. CTT was built around him, so there's no replacement to lead the team at the Tour. I expect they'll aim to defend Thor's Green jersey, and that's only if he's back to fitness. Haussler is getting very strong now so could stand in for him, but yesterday's prang won't have helped.
Whatever happens, it should be a good show.
If he wants the Green jersey in the Tour, he'll have to remember it's a "Points" jersey, not a "Sprinters" jersey. More racecraft and humility please, Cav.
As for Yellow:
- Contador will toy with them again and win
- Andy Schleck still isn't strong enough, but might take a stage
- Wiggo I'd like to see winning, but he's just not close enough IMO. Sky need to up their game
- Basso could contend with a following wind
I can't see anyone else really in the fight
Sastre has no fire in his belly, and may not even take part. I think he may do the Vuelta instead, then retire. CTT was built around him, so there's no replacement to lead the team at the Tour. I expect they'll aim to defend Thor's Green jersey, and that's only if he's back to fitness. Haussler is getting very strong now so could stand in for him, but yesterday's prang won't have helped.
Whatever happens, it should be a good show.
[quote=Muzzlehatch]
Sastre has no fire in his belly, and may not even take part. I think he may do the Vuelta instead, then retire. CTT was built around him, so there's no replacement to lead the team at the Tour. I expect they'll aim to defend Thor's Green jersey, and that's only if he's back to fitness. Haussler is getting very strong now so could stand in for him, but yesterday's prang won't have helped.
[quote]
Do you have any idea of the injuries Sastre was riding with in the Giro?
But no, he will not be a force in this Tour.
Sastre has no fire in his belly, and may not even take part. I think he may do the Vuelta instead, then retire. CTT was built around him, so there's no replacement to lead the team at the Tour. I expect they'll aim to defend Thor's Green jersey, and that's only if he's back to fitness. Haussler is getting very strong now so could stand in for him, but yesterday's prang won't have helped.
[quote]
Do you have any idea of the injuries Sastre was riding with in the Giro?
But no, he will not be a force in this Tour.
JuniorD said:
I never really liked Cadel Evans up until recently (thought he was a bit winey) but I'd like to see him do well. This year he has shown that he is a proper hard cyclist. He has the ability to win, whether or not he gets the support he needs is the question.
Agree with you 100%. He was very short and snappy with non-Australian journalists a couple of years ago on the Tour which I don't think helped but he seems to be more comfortable with himself of late and it's definitely showing. I'd like him to ride well this year but don't think BMC can offer him enough to deliver a Tour victory.Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff