Tour de France 2012

[petatodd]

Frank or Jakob will be on the podium

You not confusing "on the podium" with "on the mat" in JB's office after the event getting kakked on?

 

Oh no, I forgot JB uses the press to *** out his riders!

[TNT1]

At least it will make the Vulta quite a showdown

 

No it wont. Andy-poo will get destroyed in the hills and heat of spain, even if Contador isn't riding.

['Dale]

Who, this oke?

 

 

He looks funny without a helmet...

[Garfield2010]

It always sucks how **** seems to happen right before the tour which robs it even more of the spectacle it is supposed to be.

 

Schleck sister out. I also see the USDA have issued a letter chargin Mrs Armstrong, Ferrari and Bruyneel. Armstrong is banned from racing.

 

What does this mean for Bruyneel the Manager of Radioshack?

 

What does this mean for the sponsor Radioshack and the team as such?

 

A big blow already losing their nr 1 rider and now this....

 

Dont be surprised if Radioshack abandons the TDF altogether.....

[Bos]

No it wont. Andy-poo will get destroyed in the hills and heat of spain, even if Contador isn't riding.

 

Hahah Ok.. Wel Contador is riding.. thats the important part.Andy will probably opt for the USA Pro challenge or something because he likes the small intimate races. It reminds him of his family. Mom, dad, boetie..

[TNT1]

[Cav']

A small preview of the potential Tour teams:

 

Looking through the potential Tour teams, especially with Andy now out, who could challenge the supremacy of Sky? Wiggins supported by Froome, Porte, Rogers, Sivtsov and EBH on the mountains, that's quite a team. To keep Wiggins out of trouble on flat areas, Knees and Pate could do important work. But one of their main strengths is that all above mentioned climbers are also great time trialists, and thus could do a lot of work on the flat if that's necessary. Even if Sky do have to 'waste' a spot on Cavendish, they have one of the strongest Tour selections around. And the selection of Cavendish could work in their favour too, dividing the pressure and with Cavendish Wiggins has someone he can completely rely on to steer him in flat areas.

 

Radioshack would always have been the strongest competitor to Sky in terms of team strength, but with Andy it that complicates things. Frank Schleck, Klöden, Monfort and Fuglsang are all potential GC candidates for this team. With support from Cancellara, Irizar, Voight, etc., they have a great team, but without a leader. How that will work out remains to be seen. Likely we will see them start with a number of different potential leaders, and thus not willing to put any of those leaders to work for the others until a clear hierarchy is established.

 

Then there's BMC. Evans is the main favourite alongside Wiggins, but his team still isn't all it could be. With Vangarderen as main mountain domestique Evans will be isolated soon. For the flat he will have a great support squad, like last year, but uphill he'll be largely alone. Perhaps Pinotti will come along to strengthen BMC's mountain support, but especially after the Tour he will be tired and won't be able to support Evans uphill for too long either. Gilbert will be another important player here, he could help Evans a lot, but his form so far this season is far from promising.

 

Perhaps the strongest team after Sky is that of Liquigas. With Nibali as a leader and mountain domestiques in Basso, Szmyd and Sarmiento, they have a solid team. Sagan will claim a lot of strength from the team though, and while he can do a lot of very important work for Nibali, it's likely Liquigas will support Sagan for green over Nibali for the podium since the latter is leaving the team. The mountain domestiques haven't proven their form either though. Basso is strong, but will he have any form left after the Giro? And Szmyd wasn't looking great either in the Giro. If those two don't feel great, Nibali's support will be limited to Sarmiento, who is a good climber, but won't be able to support Nibali all the way up.

 

Rabobank are in a situation almost similar to Radioshack. With three potential leaders in Gesink, Mollema and Kruijswijk, they will have trouble choosing who to ride for. However, with Gesink's palmares and apparent improvement in TT'ing, it's likely they will support him fully. Ten Dam and LL Sanchez are two great mountain domestiques, and with guys like Tankink and Niermann providing ample support on the flats it's safe to say Gesink will be well-guarded in his attempt for Tour podium.

 

Lotto, meanwhile, will have to divide attention between Van Den Broeck and Greipel. The former will have decent support on flats and two decent mountain domestiques in Vanendert and De Clerq. His team is nothing to write home about, and it's unlikely he will still be supported when Sky's train is nearing its final station. Euskaltel is in a similar situation, with plenty of good riders, but few true superdomestiques for Sanchez. Martinez will be helpful, but a lot will depend on Sanchez' recovery from his injury.

A final joker is Movistar. Potentially one of the strongest teams around, there will be a lot of doubt concerning their two leaders Valverde and Cobo. The latter hasn't shown anything so far this season, while Valverde's return from suspension has not been the earthquake we've all hoped for. With brilliant domestiques as Arroyo and Rui Costa however, this will be one of the best teams in the Tour, but will the leaders be able to match their domestiques?

 

So what do you think? Will any team be able to derail the train that Sky will set up to deliver Wiggins? Will Evans, Sanchez and Nibali make a pact to put their teams to work and attempt to break Wiggins either in ascents or quite possibly in descends too? Or will Sky just diesel their way up all the mountains, making any offensive action impossible?

[T-Bob]

Banning, doping and Mandy falling off, it's all forgotten come the first stage and what ever you feel after paris in the post race wash up it's still the best damn sporting event on the calendar... for 3 weeks!

 

So excited for this year...

[Bos]

To be honnest. I am just waiting for the race to start.. I love big mountains and oh isnt it amazing when the guys are down to 10 or so in the peleton and the big guns play their cards..

But there is so many aspects to cycling. Cadel's win on stage 1 of Dauphine' was like a breath of fresh air when he attacked on a downhill to get a win. so cool, and he's a GC contender I love it and It would be so cool if a tour winner can show diversity, sure this year a pure climber will battle to win, but wouldnt it be awesome to see a guns ablaze tour in stead of definsive prodding ..

 

Im smoking something arent I..

['Dale]

Gonna be intriguing to see how Team RNT shows up.

What a mess as portrayed by this article:

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/radioshack-nissans-tale-of-woe-continues

['Dale]

Nice article about the difference between Grand Tour winners and those still pursuing it.

 

http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/06/the-hump/

Edited June 15, 2012 by Puncheur

[TNT1]

A small preview of the potential Tour teams:

 

Rumours of late salaries, dis-invitation to Tour de France and Schlecks looking to leave

The crisis around RadioShack-Nissan continues to grow amid reports of delayed salary payments, a possible revoked invitation for the Tour de France and rumours that Fränk and Andy Schleck may leave the team.

[Jaco-fiets]

I will be fine with any of those on the list taking it but please liewe jesus, just don't let it be wiggins

['Dale]

I will be fine with any of those on the list taking it but please liewe jesus, just don't let it be wiggins

 

Must be the sideburns, hey, man...

 

:-)

[T-Bob]

I will be fine with any of those on the list taking it but please liewe jesus, just don't let it be wiggins

 

Is your real name Cadel?

[petatodd]

Rumours of late salaries, dis-invitation to Tour de France and Schlecks looking to leave

The crisis around RadioShack-Nissan continues to grow amid reports of delayed salary payments, a possible revoked invitation for the Tour de France and rumours that Fränk and Andy Schleck may leave the team.

Couldn't happen to a nicer team, cannot imagine why RadioShack or Nissan want to be involved with scum like Bruyneel