Prologue: Strasbourg ITT, 7 km

http://cdn.dayport.com/olnimg/tdf/img/profiles/profile00.gif

I'm going Zabriskie.

Michael

Z man is a pretty good bet..... too short for Ulrich... Basso will have z trying for the win...... I'm going to say Landis.... or a really determined Tom Boonen (if he ever wants a yellow jersey).

Hincapie? He does a good prolouge.

Millar in yellow!

Id say in my totaly uninformed oppinion : Hincapie, he and Discovery have to win somthing this year....

is Boonen a TT animal? i wouldnt have thought so....

Hincapie sends a message out of the gate. (A message that won't last for 3 weeks, but a message.)

I have this strange desire to see Bobby J smoke the field and have one last guzzle at glory's fountain. That would be the perfect start to an already crazy TdF.

and for the outsiders pick, Rasmussen to rise like the phoenix and crush all before him.... well, ok maybee not! :o

Zabriskie-ordinary bike handler, Millar- who knows what he'll be on?, Hincapie- not good enough for this, Savoldelli, big chance if he risks it all.....In the absence of McGee, Cancellara will take the prologue

Zabriskie-ordinary bike handler, Millar- who knows what he'll be on?, Hincapie- not good enough for this, Savoldelli, big chance if he risks it all.....In the absence of McGee, Cancellara will take the prologue

Except for the fact that Cancellara isn't on the CSC team for Le Tour ...

This is Discovery's stage but I can't decide whether to bet on Hincapie or Salvodelli.

I said it last year.. I will say it again.. DZ..

Millar for sure.

and for the outsiders pick, Rasmussen to rise like the phoenix and crush all before him.... well, ok maybe not! :o
Well, that would be a truly amazing way to start off Le Tour!:D

I'm for Zabriskie.

Zabriskie is the easy pick, but what's more interesting is how the favorites will finish relative to each other.

First, how will Basso and Ullrich finish? Will Ullrich beat Basso by a significant margin? There was no prologue last year, but here's the top 20 from '04:


1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo 6.50
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 0.02
3 José I.Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears - Banesto 0.08
4 Bradley McGee (Aus) Fdjeux.com 0.09
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 0.10
6 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.11
7 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.12
9 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
10 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor
11 José Enrique Gutierrez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.14
12 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Liberty Seguros 0.15
13 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
14 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
15 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 0.16
16 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.17
17 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 0.18
18 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems
19 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal p/b Berry Floor 0.19
20 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC
...
70 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.29

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/tour04/?id=results/prologue

Will Ullrich beat Basso by 10 or more seconds? What if Basso only loses a couple of seconds to Ullrich? Or what if he beats Ullrich? Will that be significant in this short of a TT? Everyone knows Basso's TTing has improved... but what really matters is the longer TTs coming up. How significant is Basso doing relatively well in the short prologue TT?

And look at George two years ago. He came in 10th, only 12 seconds back. Presumably focused on possibly getting on the podium this year, can't we expect him to do much better? What if he beats Ullrich (and all the other contenders) by 5 or more seconds? Woo hoo!

And let's not discount Levi. He just won the Dauphine 3 weeks prior to the start of the Tour. He should know what he's doing, and, if so, should be in even better form by the prologue...

And what about Floyd? He ran out of gas... or something... at the Dauphine. We'll see if he's fueled up for the Tour by how he does in the prologue. Much to look forward to!

I'll go McGee

DZ is the obvious choice, and a good one. Dark horse: Paolo Savoldelli, who's both a superb bike handler and a man with something to prove.

Millar it is!

I'll go McGee

Except he isn't riding Le Tour either ... c'mon people!

I hope Millar sets a new land speed record.

Except he isn't riding Le Tour either ... c'mon people!

ugh, that JUST occured to me. everyone is listing all the big favorites, so I'll just say Vladimir Karpets

I wish Cancellara was in it. After he won Paris-Roubaix cycling.tv showed an interview with him that was recorded prior to the start of the season. He said he had two goals: to win Paris-Roubaix and to win the TDF prologue. It probably sounded crazy when the interview was recorded, but after seeing his PR performance and seeing the determination in his interview he had me convinced he was going to reach his 2nd goal as well. It's a shame CSC is so deep that he didn't get a chance.

Anyway, I wanted to go for Jan, but it would be a stupid move for him to be in yellow so early. I don't want to go for DZ because that's too easy. I have to go Discovery here because those guys are all fighting for top dog status (which I think will hurt them in the end, but it makes for an interesting beginning of the Tour).

I'm going Savoldelli just because the jerk in me wants to see Hincapie's dreams crushed once again.

No way is Millar is going to beat Z man..... Well..... maybe if he is back to doping!

Seriously though...... I'm going to call Tom Boonen in the top 10. I think he is going to try to take yellow in the first week with sprint bonuses etc. and a good time trial will really help.

Except he isn't riding Le Tour either ... c'mon people!

this is getting more funny by the minute...:D

Anyway, I wanted to go for Jan, but it would be a stupid move for him to be in yellow so early.

Not really, we've seen other TdF winners do it. They make a statement to their rivals, then let someone get in a break, take the jersey, and have their team try to defend it through the early stages.

this is getting more funny by the minute...:D

I pick Thierry Marie in front of Hinault, Lemond, Fignon, Yates and Peiper. :)

Here are some names who should be in at the kill. Don't forget it's only 4km, so guys like Boonen O'Grady and Hushovd could be in with a show - at least for the top 10.

Paolo Savoldelli
Viatcheslav Ekimov
George Hincapie
David Zabriskie
Stuart O’Grady
Bobby Julich
Ivan Basso
Michael Rogers
Jan Ullrich
Victor Hugo Pena
Floyd Landis
Martin Perdiguero M.Angel
Florent Brard
Tom Boonen
Thor Hushovd
Laszlo Bodrogi
Bradley Wiggins
Rik Verbrugghe
David Millar
Magnus Backstedt

Three names I left out were T Dekker (apparently not riding the Tour now) and Honchar (too short a TT) and Vino.

Eki, Stuey, Phillipe Gilbert, maybe some crazy Frenchman...and then there's Vinokurtov of BF/Yugo/Ovaltine!

Valverde, on his road bike

Not really, we've seen other TdF winners do it. They make a statement to their rivals, then let someone get in a break, take the jersey, and have their team try to defend it through the early stages.

True, but I don't think Jan would respond well to the pressure. He has enough pressure on him the way it is.

Floyd "Praying Mantis " Landis!

Jan will show up out of shape and still dealing with his demons. He got to get his head in the game if he wants to wear yellow...If he escapes the doping scandal.

Thor Hushovd for yellow early, then he'll probably keep it a couple days too. He seems to be one of the stronger sprinters in this years tour (ie he can climb etc)

I'll tell you who won't win the prologue: Jan Ullrich or Oscar Sevilla.

DZ. Its his stage to shine, he won't miss it.

Jan will show up out of shape and still dealing with his demons. He got to get his head in the game if he wants to wear yellow...If he escapes the doping scandal.

DOH! No luck there...

Here are some names who should be in at the kill. Don't forget it's only 4km, so guys like Boonen O'Grady and Hushovd could be in with a show - at least for the top 10.



IIRC, it is 7K, (four miles).

Dave Z all the way.

Think of the irony if Millar wins, though.

DZ... just like last year....

Unless he crashes!

I'll tell you who won't win the prologue: Jan Ullrich or Oscar Sevilla.


HAHAHHAHA!!!

I pick Thierry Marie in front of Hinault, Lemond, Fignon, Yates and Peiper. :)

Marie!! Castorama Baby....


Don't forget about Boardman.

If Millar wins, he's still on the dope. No way he's gonna beat guys who have 15% or more oxygen carrying capacity in their blood if he's clean.

If Millar wins, he's still on the dope. No way he's gonna beat guys who have 15% or more oxygen carrying capacity in their blood if he's clean.

I was thinking the same.
I think the big Z will get it.

DZ should win this one but Landis could come out like a mad man with all that is going on. He (Landis) might think he has a shot now to win.

I bet Vino wishes his jersey still said "T-Mobile"!

If Millar wins, he's still on the dope. No way he's gonna beat guys who have 15% or more oxygen carrying capacity in their blood if he's clean.

from procycling.com

David's DS Maruo Gianetti said tonight that David Millar is in "highly focused and motivated" ahead of tomorrow's 7.1km prologue in Strasbourg.

Gianetti said that Millar, who competes for the first time tomorrow after a two-year doping ban, was unperturbed by Friday's dramatic events and the subsequent exit from the race of Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich.

"David is so contentrated that I'm not even sure that he's aware of all of this chaos," Gianetti told procycling in Strasbourg. "He's paid for the mistake that he personally made and he's not looking at what others are doing.

"People can say whatever they like if he wins, but this really is a resurrection for him," Gianetti continued. "This can be a clear statement from David that this is the road to go down for cycling: by winning or just doing a good ride, he can prove to his peers that you can compete clean."


Thats rich coming from Gianetti, considering he almost died on the roadside after shooting too much perfluorocarbon or PFC into himself. He spent 12 days in the hospital, 3 of them in a coma.

Read about PFC base blood substitutes and how they carry 5 times the oxygen of regular blood here.....

http://www.bloodbook.com/substitute.html#PERFLUOROCARBON

the really cool thing about it is, its totally inert, so your body cant absorb it, it is slowly passed out of your system though your lungs as you breathe. It replaced Postals famous Actovegin, see below.

and the Old School Bovine Based stuff.. yeah, Bovine as is Cow, as in Calfs Blood as in Actovegin, as in the Actovegin the US Postal was tossing out during the 2000 Tour de France... nice.

http://www.bloodbook.com/substitute.html#BOVINE

Marie!! Castorama Baby....



Nah man, back further. Systeme U '86 Tour with the spoiler hanging of the back of his Turbo saddle.:D

Okay who had Thor for the winner? Big George looked good...and what the F#*k was Landis doing...trains all year just to show up late!?

dunno, but even missing his start by 8 seconds he did incredibly well, had he been on time he wins it all else being equal

someone above mentioned "Big Z" ??? LOL, dude is 140lbs, he aint big cept for his motor

dunno, but even missing his start by 8 seconds he did incredibly well, had he been on time he wins it all else being equal

someone above mentioned "Big Z" ??? LOL, dude is 140lbs, he aint big cept for his motor

umm no he still would have not won it.

Hushovd could be in with a show


I picked him.





Ok, so I selectively quoted my own post;) :D