Tour de France 2012

['Dale]

This new Madone 7 series will be used by the RNT squad.

I think Trek's lot so much marketing value against the dominant Spez.

 

http://cyclingtipscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/MG_0376.jpg

['Dale]

http://cyclingtipscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/MG_0162.jpg

['Dale]

Coming soon to a TV near you.

 

 

:clap:

 

Oh yeah!

['Dale]

Lekka summary:

 

 

 

2012 Tour de France Route

 

Running from Saturday June 30th to Sunday July 22th 2012, the 99th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,479 kilometres.

Distinctive aspects of the race

9 flat stages

4 medium mountain stages – one with a summit finish

5 mountain stages – two with a summit finish

2 individual time-trial stages

1 prologue

2 rest days

Previous Year Comparisons 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 Flat Stages 9 10 9 10 10 11 9 Medium Mountain Stages 4 3 4 1 4 1 4 Mountain Stages 5 6 6 7 5 6 5 Categorized Climbs 25 23 23 20 19 21 22 Summit Finishes 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 Individual Time Trialing 101k 41k 59k 55k 82k 117k 116k Team Time Trial 0 23k 0 39k 0 0 0 Overall Distance 3511k 3436k 3596k 3435k 3554k 3547k 3657k

 

No time bonuses

For this 2012 edition, no bonuses will be awarded in intermediate sprints and stage finishes. Official time remains the absolute reference.

A sole intermediate Sprint

As in 2011, the points for the green jersey classification will be awarded at stage arrivals and during the sole intermediate sprint in the straight stages.

Points scale increased in the mountains

For this 2012 edition, points will be awarded to the first ten riders who go over the top of the highest level mountain passes.

The points will be doubled for summit finishes.

100 kilometers of Time Trials

A prologue (6.1 km) and two individual time-trial stages will be featured on the programme of the 99th edition: 40 km between Arc-et-Senans and Besançon halfway through the Tour and 53 km between Bonneval and Chartres the day before the finish on the Champs-Élysées.

Prize Money

In total, around 2 million euros will be awarded to the teams and the riders, including 450, 000 euros for the winner of the general individual classification.

[Tumbleweed]

I think we might see more of a Robbie McEwen type sprint from Cav, pick a wheel then bang it.

 

Let's hope that Phil doesn't liken Cav to Harry Potter if he does…

[Spinnekop]

 

 

Trek at 750g?

gmf......shame

 

2013 'Dale Black edition 695g for the frame

 

http://www.veloderoute.com/photos/news/zooms/c9e527c206cb2f46f19013d6f69e355b134081747534.jpg

 

http://www.veloderoute.com/photos/news/zooms/772b8ca7f2c3fd3f0a03f2bb244ae1dc134081830948.jpg

['Dale]

Yummy, Spinnekop, with the new 'Dale crankset too...

 

[nochain]

I have never seen that Gutsy pom back down and although he might be focussing on the Olympics I think theres to much pride involved for Cav not to be in there. Trust me, He will want to show the world who's king. Also Springting in my eyes is very much a confidence thing aswell, and I bet he wouldnt want to start doubting himself ahead of the olympics. Besides I dont think It takes as much out of a sprinter as it does a GC rider to be up there..although If you dont have a team like sky you might reason otherwise..

 

Yes Cav will go for it that’s for sure!!Not sure how the weight loss will affect he's sprinting but Cav wants to win some more stages big time. I think the biggest thing is not the stage wins but the Green jersey comp. He will need some more support for that.

 

Lots of strong sprinters this year, Greipel, Kittel and Goss will be dangerous so Sagan will be up against the best in the world and all of them in perfect shape. Think Sagan might find he is not there yet. Interesting Zabel does not have him in he’s group of Green contenders, looks like both him and Cav rate Goss as the favourite and most dangerous.

 

This will probably be one of the best tours as far as sprinting goes!

 

 

Read an article in procycling mag where Zabel recons it will be better for the Olimpics guys to stay in the tour than to pull out, rest and try to get going again all in 2 weeks.

 

Most guys are actually very strong the first week or 2 after a grand tour so I think we will see most of them ride to the end.

 

 

Interesting in the July Procycling mag, Zabel recons Valverde should forget about GC and go for the Green….espesialy now that the intermediate sprints count more towards jersey.

[gummibear]

Trek at 750g?

gmf......shame

 

2013 'Dale Black edition 695g for the frame

 

I picked up one of the Cannondale Ultimates yesterday and had to check that it had wheels on.Those bikes are very light.

[kosmonooit]

On the eve of the 2012 Tour de France, Cycling Central analyst Anthony Tan pays Allan Peiper, Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda director of competition and head sport director, a visit at the team's hotel in Lanaken, Belgium.

 

In this in-depth interview, the pair discuss the reasoning behind a change of leadership approach with Ryder Hesjedal at the helm and aiming for the podium; whether Garmin still consider themselves a proudly underdog team; the changes Peiper has instituted since his arrival at the start of the year; the differences between former employer High Road and Garmin; and the transformation of Hesjedal from Grand Tour rider to Grand Tour winner, and whether this year's Tour parcours is a good one for the unassuming Canadian.

 

Cycling Central TdF podcast with Garmin-Sharp head sport director, Allan Peiper, June 28

[kosmonooit]

Eish 'kop that 'dale .... .black & beautiful I particularly like the minimalist branding.

[Cav']

Some nice words from the riders :

 

Evans: I love steep climbs, but I think that the 2012 Tour can be won just about anywhere. I regard the first 10 days as the expression of s modern Tour de France, the second part as that of a more traditional race. This will demand two very different states of mind-one very aggressive and the other dictated by the strength left in our legs when climbing and racing against the clock. Which will be dominant? That will be emerge when the action gets underway…

Wiggins:

"I’m not really feeling any pressure, I’m in this position now because I’ve done well and that’s a nice thing to be able to say. I remember going into the 2010 Tour answering all the usual questions and knowing that I wasn’t in any sort of form – that’s a different type of pressure. I now realise what it takes to compete and to train hard week in, week out. I also have the maturity to be able to lead races and not have it take so much out of you that you need two months off after a big success. The confidence from winning those races has also helped build the momentum. But the plan has always been to be good in July. It was never a plan to peak for those races, form-wise, but we won them and we continue to look forward and continue to build towards July. It was great to win those races but ultimately it’s about what we’re working towards in these next couple of weeks."

 

Froome: Some people seem a bit sceptical, and the quality of my ride in Spain took me by surprise as well, but a lot of the riders say they can remember that breakthrough ride when suddenly everything comes together. From that moment you operate on another level. I felt completely at home in the lead group throughout the Vuelta, and the three weeks was a massive boost to my confidence. After that I felt strong at the worlds and again at the Tour of Beijing. Now I want to arrive at the Tour de France in great condition to ride GC with Bradley and, of course, we will have Cav going for green. It’s a mistake to have all your eggs in one basket, especially at the Tour, where the first week has become completely manic and crashes and injuries can upset all your best laid plans. Much better to have two or three cards to play. It was great riding with Bradley at the Vuelta with both of us in podium positions. I learnt a lot from him as a GC rider: how to conserve energy and how to pace your effort. Together in the final week we learnt how you go about riding as a team when you have two riders who have a sniff of taking the GC. That was new territory for us but the experience should hold us in good stead. Who knows who will be going well at the time and who manages to avoid the crashes? We will do what needs doing as a team to give us the best chance of the jerseys.”

 

Fränk Schleck: Of course I would rather have Andy at my side, but this belongs to the rider's life. His forfeit is disappointing for him, for me, for the whole team. But at the same time we must not speak of a disappointment.

"What his absence will mean for me? I haven't had time to think about that. I've heard from Andy a few times, but we didn't talk about my Tour. Also I don't want to be captain. I can't continue to perform at top level,”

Andreas Klöden: “For me it’s always better to have big riders on the team. I rode in the past with a lot of big riders but if you are good, you’ll get your chance and you’ll have more opportunities tactically in the race. For me, it doesn’t change things – I want to be fit for the Tour and then we will see.”

 

Robert Gesink:“I don't want to get into a situation like this again (with his father’s death)– that you are only fighting against yourself. The next time in a similar situation I will say: Goodbye and you will see me again in the Vuelta. The Tour it’s more for the time triallers and I’ll have to focus on that. Last year I did that and I think I improved a lot. Also I’m pretty young so if people give me time who knows where I can be at my peak. I’ve finished two Tours but that’s still not that many. So I don’t have the experience of guys like Contador. Schleck is a little different but those two guys are the best in the world but I know that when I’m at my best I’m close to them.”

Peter Velits:“It’s good that we’re going there with three GC guys who can help each other, It always depends on how the situation during the race develops, maybe there’s a crash or one of us gets caught at the back and his chances are gone. Besides, I don’t think anyone of us has a problem helping the others. If there’s someone better than me, then for sure I have no problem in helping them. There’s still space for me to improve, but I don’t want to say, “I want to be top 10”. Of course in my head, I know it’s possible to finish really high byt everything must work out. I don’t really think about targets, but maybe one year I will really want to win the Tour.

Levi Leipheimer:

“This course is definitely better for guys like me, who can make up some time in the TTs. But it’s just as much about the mountains. It feels like everyone is underestimating that a little bit. It’s a three-week race and you have to be good every day and you have to be complete. In the end, the strongest man always wins. I hope that I’ll be at my strongest by then. I’m okay now, but I’m still lacking something. The last percent or two is what is going to take the longest to get back. But I’m optimistic.”

 

Tony Martin:

The prologue in Liège suits me well and I want to wear yellow; and with a less mountainous edition I can try to finish well in the general classification. I still have a couple of years to try to improve in the Grand Tours. If it comes, it comes by itself, but I won’t be disappointed if I get dropped in the mountains when I can fight for two stages, maybe try and wear yellow and then have a successful Olympics. It will be hard to fight for the podium and the Olympics in the same year. I will focus on the time trials, on the prologue and on wearing the yellow jersey,”

Jurgen Van den Broeck:

So far the team which has made the biggest impact is Sky with a show of force but only based on a week of events. The Tour de France is three weeks. This is not the same thing; we will have to see how they behave in this format over three weeks to really develop a strategy to beat them. For now the goal is to improve my condition, then we'll see how to beat the other leaders.

 

Jelle Vanendert:“There are lots of opportunities for me, right from the first week at Seraing or Boulogne, and then later on in Vosges and the Jura. They’re stages that are set up like Walloon classics, and I love those races. I really like this 2012 Tour, even if time trialling isn’t my forte and 100 kilometres is a lot, Very few people know the majority of the climbs we’ll do next year, even in the Alps and Pyrenees”

 

Denis Menchov:

It's a great responsibility that gives me high motivation," It will be my first big stage race with the team of my country, so I'll give my best in order to win. Moreover, the Tour de France is the only competition between the Grand Tours that I still haven't won. It's not a secret that this year it was my main goal. It would be the crowning achievement of my career, so that is why I look forward to the start. The team is great. We selected the riders very carefully. I talked a lot with the sport directors. I think that it's the best possible team having in mind our shape and the profile of the competition. We have good domestiques and Freire during this season proved to be in a great shape. I´m very satisfied with the final roster and I'm sure we will obtain some great results."

 

Alejandro Valverde:“To win the Tour will be difficult, especially because the course is not the best for my talents, but you have to go with high aspirations We have seen some stage because most already knew. The mountains are all hard, but we have highlighted t the stage of (Belfort-Porrentruy)which is a mid-mountain but I think it can hurt. In addition, the day before ended up in a ski resort (des Belles Filles La Planche) and the next day is the first time trial in Besancon, of 41.5 kilometers. Those are the three key dates.The Tour is very long and anything can happen ,you take a fall or a bad day, for example. The idea is to go flat out and for all. Winning is very difficult and if it falls a stage will be well.. I am a realist and this year there are more miles and time trial riders in very good shape. But again, there are 21 days and not only the two time trials.

 

Pierre Rolland: My top form last 3 weeks or a month. I can now say I can finish in the top 10 0f the Tour de France. No I can’t do better than that. I hope I can finish in the top 5 of the Tour. Beyond that I don’t know, we will see. Of course there is more pressure, but that's the game. I'm not making an obsession of it. I'm able to put aside quite a lot of things. My career will not stop at the 2012 Tour if ever I have some problem. Within the team, Jean-René (Bernaudeau) is not putting us under pressure - we know what we can do."

 

Vincenzo Nibali: "My goal is the Tour de France! Even if there are not many high mountains, it suits me because I think that I'm more a climber than the reverse.”

 

Jean Christophe Peraud: "Péraud often races in front, within the first 20 to 40 riders. That's what you have to do, considering all these hilly and/or windy stages. The first real mountain stage will certainly be the one that starts in Albertville [stage 11], and with everything that we will have done before that, there will already be some impressive gaps in the classification. "He climbs well and does good time trials. So to have more time trials than last year is a good thing."

 

Janez Brajkovic: “Of course there are strong riders in the team, obviously Vinokourouv as leader but I think we will work together well”

 

Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez: The Tour (de France) is the most important race and the main target. “the Olympics are one day and if you fall, the race could be lost so I cannot put everything I have on a one day race. If I finish the Tour de France in good condition and recovering well then I know I can ride well.”The Tour ends on Sunday on the Champs Elysees in Paris and then six days later, the Olympics so it is not worth going home. I will travel to London for a few days before I go to the Olympic village. I think most riders will be in that situation, unless they go to the Olympics without having done the Tour de France as was the case of Bettini and Rebellin in 2008.

 

Ryder Hesjedal:

"All I can think about is that I won the Giro and that I'm in the condition of my life. I won this Giro and I'm not dead, and if anything I'm getting stronger and that's where you want to be. So I'm completely optimistic for the rest of the season. I have the luxury of having no pressure as well and nothing to lose. I won the Giro and there's lot of riders who have put everything on the Tour. I think I'm in a good position in that way, I don't feel like I have to prove anything. There's no fluke in a three week race. I was completely satisfied with my ride at the Giro and the biggest thing I can take away is the respect from my peers and the previous winners of the race. So for me I don't feel like I have to prove myself or back up the result. But that said, do I want a good Tour? Sure. Do I love the feeling of that now? Sure. I have a new benchmark for myself and we'll see how the future goes but nothing can ever take away from a victory at this level. I'm just thinking about having the best ride possible. I can't control what other riders do but having said that I've won a grand tour and someday I'd like to feel that again."

 

Michele Scarponi: Already at the start of the season I spoke with the management about riding the Giro and the Tour, and even right before the Giro I still had this in mind. For me, the hard thing after the Giro is to get straight back on the bike and find the appetite to start riding again. But this year I still have a lot of desire to keep working.. There are more or less 100 kilometres of time trialling so it might be a bit stupid to say I want to go to France to ride for the GC, even if you never know. I think the aim is to train really well and arrive at the Tour motivated. A good Tour would be to go on the attack in the mountains and maybe even win a stage.. It’s not straightforward because sometimes riders go away in breaks on easier days and pick up a lot of points. The mountain stages alone aren’t always enough to come away with the polka dot jersey. But it would be a dream to wear it and I’ll look to do well.

 

Juan Jose Cobo: “It takes the pressure off riding alongside a great rider like Alejandro. The road will decide which one of us can fight for the general classification. I’ll just try to reach 100% in the Tour and the Vuelta.. The road will tell me what I can aspire to, but I’ll fight to do as well as I can. It could even be the podium. I’ve found the confidence and motivation that was missing.”

 

Rein Taaramae: I want to finish the Tour de France with the white jersey on my shoulders. Also t I'm more motivated than ever, the whole team is behind me and I don't want to disappoint them. One of the advantages is that I can choose my race schedule and I decide how I prepare for my goals.

Jerome Coppel: “Last year, I made a top 15, the objective was completed, but I still don’t forget that there were several contenders for the top 10 or better who were victims of crashes and forced to abandon. The objective should be the same in 2012: a top 15, and if I have a little more luck then why not approach the top 10.”

[dracs]

Froome's comments are interesting - Somehouw doubt if Wiggins see's it the same way....

[awesme]

Bicycling Magazine South Africa

 

Don't miss the team presentation tonight at 18h20 on SuperSport 6!

 

G

 

Froome's comments are interesting - Somehouw doubt if Wiggins see's it the same way....

[petatodd]

This new Madone 7 series will be used by the RNT squad.

I think Trek's lot so much marketing value against the dominant Spez.

I almost feel for a bike company that has a team like RSN representing their product at this year's tour.

 

Surely Horner is going to be on his zimmer?

[Bos]

I almost feel for a bike company that has a team like RSN representing their product at this year's tour.

 

Surely Horner is going to be on his zimmer?

 

Exactly what I thought.. All the lance scandals and even the negative kind of image from the schleck's is making this brand a bad aftertaste