Road Bike Racing - Le Tour a prediction?

After watching with great interest the Dauphine Libere (sorry
I don't have accent egu on my keyboard) I think that even tho
Ullrich, Simoni, Pantani (yeah right) won't be in the tour
Lance is going to have his hands full.
USPS is too young, Lance has lost his most trusted
domestiques and Lts, and Kelme is looking really strong.
Yes Lance will be on the Podium, but I'm not sure
its gonna be the cake walk that everybody thinks.

Comments?

Marty

it'll be interesting to see what kelme brings to the tour...if it is indeed the last year kelme is sponsoring the team, they'll definately wanna a victory with them...

honestly, i can't say i'm really looking foward to this tour all that much...so many big names aren't racing. no garzelli, simoni (possibly), ullrich, casagrande?, salvodelli, bartoli perhaps? and of course no cipo! haha. pantani seems to have no form...rebellin...who knows...and does hamilton have anything left after the giro...........

after watching the Giro, it'll be fun to see what alessio has left to bring to the tour (with cauciolli and gotti), and if tonkov or garate from lampre can cause some mischief in the mountains...(if they are riding it)

I agree, it may not be the cakewalk we think, although it sucks that there won't be Ullrich or Cipo, and I think choosing Jean Delawho over Teams like Coast or Gerolsteiner also sucks! However, there will be several guys who weren't in the tour last year- Virenque, Frigo, Casagrande (who bailed, and who also has something to prove), Cadel Evans who was great in the Giro. There will be a few guys who will probably give Armstrong a run for his money in the Alps.

Lance is winning the TdF by attrition. Now Sevilla's/Kelme's situation is tenuous, at best. Would Sevilla be a force on another team (Telekom)? I don't know.

I contend that L's biggest rivals are American (I can't believe I actually wrote that!). Hamilton will be riding for GC, Leipheimer has something to prove, and Dauphine revelation Floyd Landis may be there, as well. He supposedly had great legs in the mountains last week.

Then again, maybe the US will win the futbol World Cup and the Tokyo Giants will win the World Series.

I'm also interested to see how well Cadel Evans does. His unexpected rise in the Giro was so much fun to watch. If Simoni could have kept his nose clean, he and the Saeco guys would also have been fun to watch. Lance is the obvious man to beat, but certainly ANYTHING can and will happen.

In terms of physical attributes, there are a bunch of contenders. But if it comes down to a battle of wills, I'll take LA with everyone else being a distant second. :D

Might as well make a public mockery of myself and give my predicted top five:

Armstrong, Beloki, Moreau, Sevilla, Galdeano

I 'm also hoping to see Euskatel with riders in the top ten.

Of course you never know Millar might do well, and the British media might finally take some interest in cycling...

Your top five?

I think you could be right. I think he will win but not by as much as in previous years. I like the look of Frigo. Kelme look strong but are strong every year but never quite catch the bus and make the breakthrough. kelme might still be suffering a motivator hangover after their recent pay dispute. I also like the look of Leipheimer. He looke strong recently. Of the rest I like Sevilla, Igor Gonzales de Galdeano and Vinokourov

Well, Vinokurov's bailed and won't do the tour, so that leaves him out. I'm also rooting for Frigo, who did pretty well in the Giro until he cracked in the mountains. One hopes that doesn't happen in the Tour. Also, I like Sevilla and Botero, both of whom did really well in the Alps classic- I think Sevilla could give Armstrong some grief in the alps.

i'd have to say i'm also rooting for Frigo. a recent article he stated he felt he was in better form than the Giro. personally, i thought he was in GREAT form up until the final mtn stage when everyone including him seemed to crack...oh well. Pro Cycling magazine recently did a really nice article on him, check it out.

i really hope Livingston and Julich have some decent form, and they don't spend all their time working for Zabel. it would be great to see those 2, Amrstrong, Hamilton, Leiphimer, Vaughters, and Landis altogether on a climb!...that would be NUTS!