Tour de France 2012

[Cav']

Sent to me by one of my buddies in the UK... Looks like Johan has moved beyond passing advice through press conferences... Mandy! Gold.

 

Hahaha

['Dale]

Er, mind games?

 

A report from Team Sky's Yates says that Twiggo hasn't peaked yet...

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/yates-wiggins-hasnt-peaked-yet

[Cav']

Sky has a killer team !

[headhunter]

Er, mind games?

 

A report from Team Sky's Yates says that Twiggo hasn't peaked yet...

 

http://www.cyclingne...asnt-peaked-yet

 

Er, No.

Why would he have peaked yet? The Dauphine is a testing ground for both rider and his team.

 

Valverde is my dark horse for a podium.

 

Punchy, you've gotta give up supporting AC....he's as bad as Lance!!

[SwissVan]

Heart says Evans

 

Wiggins looking good after his "record setting year" so far and Sky seem to be THE team to beat

 

As for team Scleck...maybe they learnt something new and playing poker with everyone...

['Dale]

Er, No.

Why would he have peaked yet? The Dauphine is a testing ground for both rider and his team.

 

Valverde is my dark horse for a podium.

 

Punchy, you've gotta give up supporting AC....he's as bad as Lance!!

 

He's been very quiet.

Gonna be interesting.

 

I am a Nibali fan, headhunter.

[headhunter]

I am a Nibali fan, headhunter.

I know

But still love to give you a hard time !

 

I see the pics of you in puke green kit!!!!

Edited June 11, 2012 by headhunter

[G-Unit]

Geez, who is voting for Andy Schleck?? I would say that Franck has a better chance of winning than Andy!

 

Cadel Evans FTW - sure Wiggins has a crazy strong team, bit Evans showed last year that when the chips are down he can do it himself. Remember him chasing down AS's crazy break away in the alps? IMO, Wiggins hasn't showed that he's got that same toughness.

[camerons]

IMO, Wiggins hasn't showed that he's got that same toughness.

 

I agree 100%.

[Li Mu Bai]

Cadel now knows how to win and has overcome this 'mental' hurdle after several 2nd spots.

He has an awesome team to back him up.

One drawback was Hushovd's withdrawal because of a viral infection.

 

+1

['Dale]

Geez, who is voting for Andy Schleck?? I would say that Franck has a better chance of winning than Andy!

 

Cadel Evans FTW - sure Wiggins has a crazy strong team, bit Evans showed last year that when the chips are down he can do it himself. Remember him chasing down AS's crazy break away in the alps? IMO, Wiggins hasn't showed that he's got that same toughness.

 

Die-hard fans, G-unit.

 

Frank is looking sharper than his bro.

[nuge]

he may not win it, but i reckon Tony Martin's got a shot at the podium given the parcours.

[G-Unit]

 

 

Die-hard fans, G-unit.

 

Frank is looking sharper than his bro.

 

I guess that's what being a true fan is all about - backing your man, even if he is a bit of a poef and doesn't stand a snowball's chance :-)

[scotty]

Go Andy

[nochain]

Firstly.....F#$k me but Sky is strong!!Have not seen a team ride like that for many years....Like Christie said , they will ride down anything and in the end riders will just sit there and hope they crack or something.

 

Really Hope it is not a Wiggens Evans showdown but right now it sure is looking like it. I will back Evans to pull it off but I really don't know how...he will have to have one big day on the TT bike and one huge day in the mountains. Maybe some of the pure climbers can drag him clear of sky...

 

As far as Froome goes, I have a feeling he will be stronger than Wiggens in the 3rd week...not that it will really help him but I just have a feeling he is peaking perfectly. With all the problems he has had he is very fresh and has been improving every race for the last 2 months.

 

Still an Andy fan but I really can't see him coming back from all these problems...but I am not ready to throw him away. He is a serious talent in the mountains and talent like that does not just go away and he finds form very easy so let’s hope he brings something to the tour because we need someone to shake things up in the mountains.

 

As for the rest of the guys, I back Gesink as my underdog.

 

Like I said on another topic , I believe only 5 guys have what it takes to win at this level. The tour is just that much faster and everybody is at a different level than at the other tours so it is always hard to try and look at the other winners from the Vuelta and Giro and try and decide if they have what it takes.

To me it will be between Wiggens, Evans, Andy, Nibali and Gesink(Andy,Nibali and Gesink needs to find the form). With Sanchez and Valverde the 2 that might surprize.

Gesink is purely based on what I think of he’s ability not he’s results.

 

 

[Christie]

Another big thing Sky is doing right imo is they have put together a squad for the TDF a months ago and these guys have been living together, training together, doing lots of training camps etc. They have been formed into a unit to focus on winning the Tour, and that is what they are going to do. They even have got Froome as a plan B - no other team has that depth. Radioshack and BMC can not match them in preparation.

I think the sponsors would want Wiggins to win - I don't think Froome will be able to do his own thing as long as Wiggins is in contention, Sky looks too organised and focussed for that. Froome's best opportunity will be if Wiggins crashes out early.

It is interesting to see the betting odds for Evans and Wiggins posted on another thread - looks like the bookies favour Evans. I think the result Dauphine will change that.