Championship of Zurich

[Laggard]

Can Bettini do three? Vino seems to be eyeing this one as a possible contender and as always, Ullrich.

It's great to see Tyler racing.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and pick Rebellin. I honestly think he's capable of more than he's shown so far.

And i love this course.

[Guest]

(sigh)

No OLN, is there someplace I can go to read up on this so I can participate?

Koff

[Laggard]

Cyclingnews.com has the most extensive coverage. OLN has nothing until next week.

[Guest]

Cool- thanks for the link!

Koffee

[don d.]

Here is a preview of the race:

www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/worldcup03/zurich03?

Interestingly, this is one of the very few races that Merckx never won. The closest he came was 2nd to DeVlaeminck in 75.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Frank Vandenbrouke, QuickStep, will animate this race and may win it. He won a race this week past in Belgium, has just come back from an illness, and if he gets to feeling good, he is rested and nobody else is! That was a hard Tour and everybodies been racing hard since then. Ullrich lives near here and is considered a key player; he'll have to get away on the final climb to succeed though. Vino says he wants to do well here, but also told reporters he is very tired. Bettini should do well, but I think QuickStep may send a teammate out early, possibly VDB, to take the pressure off him. If they do, that may be a key move. Lotto has not announced their team yet. Petegem will probably be here, but the World Cup has never been a big priority to him. His sponsors will want him to ride hard though so who knows!?! Millar is not riding.(?) I also like Camenzid, Mattan, Casagrande.

[don d.]

Course route:

[lotek]

I don't think VDB has it in him. I liked his early season it
was a great comeback story (made Ullrich's look like a disney
fairy tale) but somehow I don't think he's the same VDB
as before (and no, I'm not referring to banned substances),
I think the fire's been damped down a bit.

I like Petegem for this one, but I'm looking for early breaks
by no names who wanna do a "Tyler" and stay away for
the whole ride. . . (read French riders, ala JaJa).

Lance stated that there is a 1% chance he will ride this one
if so it could be interesting.

marty

[wabbit]

I'm thinking Ullrich, Bettini, or Vinokurov. Other possibilities, maybe Garzelli who did really well at LBL when he was with Mapei. ANd of course, swiss riders will be extra motivated, maybe Oskar Camenzind if he's in form.

[easyrider]

I'll tell you who I won't pick. Van Petegem. The course doesn't suit him at all and he really hasn't shown since his Flanders - Paris-Roubaix wins. Certainly those wins alone are conrnerstones of a great career...but I don't see him contending in this one.

One unmentioned rider with a solid history in this event is Casagrande.

[Laggard]

Casagrande looked good at San Sabastian.

Is this a course for Boogerd?

[don d.]

The Winner and the Leader:

[Laggard]

Nardello made what sounds like a really nice attack to win this one. Congrats.

I look forward to seeing it.