Road Bike Racing - Ready For The Tour!!!!

What a finish at the Tour de Suisse!!!! Jan Ullrich wins the final time trial and pulls out the overall victory by a mere one second! Yes, your heard me...one single second! Fabian Jeker comes in second..after stealing the leaders's jersey from Ulrrich a few days ago in the mountains.

The guys that completed the Tour de Suisse will be in great shape for the Tour. The Suisse Tour was a very difficult 10 stage race with some very difficult climbs and a tough time trial on the final day. I look for some of these guys to cause a stir in the Tour de France. It's obvious now that Ullrich will be in fine form...although he still is not at his peak right now. That's fine though because you don't want to peak too early for the Tour. The riders will have a good week at the beginning of the Tour to sharpen their fitness. Bobby Julich managed a 5th place in today's final time trial in Switzerland. That is a great result for Bobby! My guess is that Bjarne Riis is quite pleased with Bobby J's form entering the Tour.

Anyone doubting Ullrich's fitness level?...just take a look at this pic!....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/jun04/tourdesuisse04/?id=stage9/image21

Anyone doubting Ullrich's fitness level?...just take a look at this pic!....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/jun04/tourdesuisse04/?id=stage9/image21

My god, look at all that flab!:D I'm glad to see him in form for the tour, shame he won't have Vino to duke it out with (as well as all the other GC contenders).

He is definitly in shape..wow! But does he have the drive?

what the hell wheels are those?

Stella Maris, made by Stella Azzurra



not on the website, but im looking at the print ad in procycling.

These are the riders that will make this years tour!!!!

Ullrich(GC)
Armstrong(GC)
Heras(Mountains and high GC)
Hamilton(GC)
Basso(GC)
Mercado(Mountains and Alped'Huez TT, possible KOM and high GC)
Petacchi(Sprints)
Boonen(Sprints)
Mayo(GC, Mountains and Alped'Huez TT)
Zubeldia(GC)
O'Grady(Green Jersey)
Mcgee(Prologue TT)

He is definitly in shape..wow! But does he have the drive?
no probably not, i am sure he doesnt have any motivation to derail lance in his bid for 6 straight.

Ullrich was awesome !
A little lucky, though. But definately ready to beat Armstrong.

He looks a bit chunky to me also ...... not:

Beating Jeker does not really say much about Jan's fitness. LA would have won by 5 minutes over that competition.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3066/jan.jpg

Beating Jeker does not really say much about Jan's fitness. LA would have won by 5 minutes over that competition.

Oh give me a break. Lance is god. Blah, blah, blah.

What's you excuse for Lance's embarrassment on Ventoux? Let me guess: He wasn't really trying, right?

I think Jan will join the 2-time winners' club this year even without the help of Vino. Tyler will get a podium spot... ahead of Lance! :)

Let's have a betting pool!

These are the riders that will make this years tour!!!!

Ullrich(GC)
Armstrong(GC)
Heras(Mountains and high GC)
Hamilton(GC)
Basso(GC)
Mercado(Mountains and Alped'Huez TT, possible KOM and high GC)
Petacchi(Sprints)
Boonen(Sprints)
Mayo(GC, Mountains and Alped'Huez TT)
Zubeldia(GC)
O'Grady(Green Jersey)
Mcgee(Prologue TT)

For sprints lets not forget McEwan, and don't count Zabel out, he may not win alot
but he will make it interesting. Then there's baden cooke, robbie hunter (my dark horse favourite)
and a few others to consider. The tour isn't just the big names. . .

Marty

Jan is the only one in this year's Tour besides maybe Tyler that has what it takes to beat Lance. I see this as another Lance/Jan battle, especially considering the 60km TT (the REAL penultimate stage of the Tour - not the Alpe d'Huez TT).

He looks a bit chunky to me also ...... not:


I see plenty of chunks there ... big heaving chunks of muscle .... :eek:

this tour is going to be intense, that's the only thing that is for sure. I hope that Lance, Jan and Tyler are on the podium in the end. I'm pulling for Lance to win, but if he falters, it would be nice for Jan to get it again. He hasn't beaten Lance yet, and what a fierce competitor and worthy adversary he has been. If anyone deserves to dethrone Lance it's Jan. Next on my list is Tyler, probably because I'm american, but also because this guy is always hurt and wrecking, he's a warrior. I'd love to see him keep it upright and put in the ride of his life. Heck, I was riding to a cylerobics video with him on it 10 years ago, what a long way he's come.

I really think that this is Jan's year!

I think that Tyler will surprise all and win the 60km TT near the end of the tour. I do not think that Mayo will win...because he will lose too much time on the flat 60km TT as well as in the team TT. Heras will lose his chances because he will not do well on the 60km TT either. That 60km TT is going to be the nails in the coffin for several big name riders. That said....someone like Zubeldia could hold his own there. Zubeldia is a better 'all arounder' than his team mate Mayo. Looks like Quick Step will be very strong this time around..which is unusual for them. Virenque will disappoint and Mercado will do very very well...although he is another one that will not like that long 60km TT. Take out that TT and I think Mercado could do a top 5 this year...although I think Mercado's time will come in the next few years when he could actually win the whole thing. He's a super talent..and I wish he was with U.S. Postal. I think Zabel will disappoint..and so will Cipollini. It will be a battle between McEwen, Boonen and O'Grady for the Green jersey. Boonen will be very impressive.

Geeeeez! Jan looks like a monster!!!!!!!

Geeeeez! Jan looks like a monster!!!!!!!

Yeah, I guess nobody bothered to question his doping past. Oh, I forgot, all the athletes were "clean" in East Germany back in the day.

Having said that though, Jan is still a great champion.

Cheers

Let's be realistic, Jan's win doesn't mean he'll win the tour, nor does Lance not winning the ventoux TT mean he'll LOSE. Actually, I'm rooting for Jan. The TDS is really where you get to test your form for the tour, and it isn't as long as a grand tour so you can't get totally fried. However, it doesn't mean you'll WIN or LOSE the tour. ALthough lance did win the TDS in 2001 and then the tour.

This does show Jan in great shape. Boy we should all be so fat! This could really be the year jan wins.

Yeah, I guess nobody bothered to question his doping past. Oh, I forgot, all the athletes were "clean" in East Germany back in the day.

Having said that though, Jan is still a great champion.

Cheers


I was gonna mention that when I posted the pic actually. He has a really deep voice too, like a lot of East German Athletes, especially the women. I have read that it is from hormone and steroid use at a very young age. But it was government sponsored/supported/executed and the athletes were too young to have any idea what was going on at the time.

Those thighs are amazing.

On an perhaps unrelated note, the Aussies track riders are in trouble with doping, Mark French got caught with Equine Growthe Hormone. Maybe they believe the WADA rumor that synthetic Human Growth Hormone can now be detected (first time in like 12 years) so they switched to the Horse version prior to the olympics. Jesus!

It will be a battle between McEwen, Boonen and O'Grady for the Green jersey. Boonen will be very impressive.

Are you forgetting a certain Alessandro Petacchi? He should do fairly well (for a sprinter) in the mountains. Although with O'Grady's newfound climbing abilities this could finally be his year.

The drug that the big guns are worried about is some sort of 'bovine' blood doping product that seems to currently be rampant amongst the spaniards. This is what Lance was writing about in that infamous letter to Jean Marie Leblanc. Perhaps Lance is worried that this product could give an unfair advantage to a certain Spanish contenders from Euskatel or Quick Step? Remember the Ventoux time trial at the Dauphine'? 3 of the top 4 places were Spaniards(Mayo, Sevilla, and Mercado) then Lance. That was supposedly a dress rehearsal for the crucial Alpd'huez TT at the upcoming TDF...which will have signifigant impact on the final GC. Plus..because of this stage, the riders will be toast for the 60km flat TT a few days later.

One final note...we should Levi Leipheimer at his best ever form for the tour...so it will be interesting to see if he is a pretender or a contender. The mountain stages of this years Tour are going to be full of drama. Imagine an elite group of Lance, Tyler, Mayo, Zubeldia, Ullrich, Mercado, Leipheimer, Heras all attacking each other ferociously as the mountaintop finish nears.(who did I leave out?)

It will be a battle between McEwen, Boonen and O'Grady for the Green jersey. Boonen will be very impressive.



Are you forgetting a certain Alessandro Petacchi? He should do fairly well (for a sprinter) in the mountains

You have to finish the TDF to win the green jersey. Out of all the sprinters, he may be the worst climber of the lot. I was surprised that he somehow made the cutoff times at the Giro.

(By the way, what does GC mean?)

(By the way, what does GC mean?)

General Classification

Is cofidis riding the tour? I haven't heard nothing much of them apart the doping allegations.
I'm hoping Miller will get to ride.

Cofidis

Frédéric Bessy (Fra)
Jimmy Casper (Fra)
David Millar (GBr)
David Moncoutié (Fra)
Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
Janek Tombak (Est)
Cédric Vasseur (Fra)
Matthew White (Aus)

- other candidates -
Christophe Edaleine (Fra)
Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra)
Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz)
Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa)

(who did I leave out?)

Basso, Virenque, Jimenez, Botero, Moreau, Moncoutie, Rodgers, Chavanel, Mancebo, Rasmussen,
Chaurreau, Sevilla, Pereiro, Petrov, Botcharov, Menchov, Sastre, Simoni, and Vino(in spirit :) ).

You have to finish the TDF to win the green jersey. Out of all the sprinters, he may be the worst climber of the lot. I was surprised that he somehow made the cutoff times at the Giro.

Obviously you must finish the Tour to win the maillot vert. I think Petacchi has a good chance of finishing this year considering the form he is on.

That said, I added the part about O'Grady for a reason. I think he'll take the jersey if he is able to stay on form. He is far and away the best climber out of the big gun sprinters this year.

Keep an eye out for Julian Dean, Credit Agroile (sp?) our first NZL rider in about 10 years!!!! yay!!!! and we have a new U23 junior world champ (Jeremy Yates)...and our trackie Sarah Ulmer has a IP world record...hehe yeah this year rocks. VIVA LE TOUR!

What about Cunego?

[QUOTE=karesz3]Yeah, I guess nobody bothered to question his doping past. Oh, I forgot, all the athletes were "clean" in East Germany back in the day.

Having said that though, Jan is still a great champion.

Oh, I´m glad to read that the US sport scene didn´t ever have any doping scandals. All the names of US doping sinners (including Lance Armstrong ???) must have been forgotten by the way...
I know, it´s allways the other side.

What about Cunego?

Not riding the Tour. Supposedly it was never on his schedule for this year.

[QUOTE=karesz3]Yeah, I guess nobody bothered to question his doping past. Oh, I forgot, all the athletes were "clean" in East Germany back in the day.

Having said that though, Jan is still a great champion.

Oh, I´m glad to read that the US sport scene didn´t ever have any doping scandals. All the names of US doping sinners (including Lance Armstrong ???) must have been forgotten by the way...
I know, it´s allways the other side.

nah, we never had enough riders previously to even be on the radar. . .

For now (at least) Lance hasn't been proven to be a doper one way or the other.

Marty

Oh give me a break. Lance is god. Blah, blah, blah.

What's you excuse for Lance's embarrassment on Ventoux? Let me guess: He wasn't really trying, right?

So, how many of these guys were racing the Tour de Suisse?!?


These are the riders that will make this years tour!!!!

Ullrich(GC)
Armstrong(GC)
Heras(Mountains and high GC)
Hamilton(GC)
Basso(GC)
Mercado(Mountains and Alped'Huez TT, possible KOM and high GC)
Mayo(GC, Mountains and Alped'Huez TT)
Zubeldia(GC)

I count ONE.

As far as motivation and Jan go, the lack of motivation is GETTING to the tour in form, not the race itself. He has always shown the fight during the race, but lacked the power in the mountains.

There definitely should be some fireworks in the mountains!

-murray

Speaking of Cunego and Saeco...what's ol' gibo up to? Haven't heard/seen him since the Giro. I haven't seen him mentioned in any of the recent races. Anyone know where he is or what kind of form?

Speaking of Cunego and Saeco...what's ol' gibo up to? Haven't heard/seen him since the Giro. I haven't seen him mentioned in any of the recent races. Anyone know where he is or what kind of form?

Yeah, he's kind of dropped off the radar hasn't he? There's two trains of thought on him, one he's off his form and suffering a bit because of that. The other is that he intentionally eased back at the Giro when Cunego responded so well so he could focus on the TourDF.

Seems like he got awfully upset at Cunego a couple of times if it was intentional. But I suppose it could all be acting. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The mind games continue. Heh... Ullrich says that Armstrong was bluffing on Ventoux.

The mind games continue. Heh... Ullrich says that Armstrong was bluffing on Ventoux.

I think he's right. He's probably playing the Who's Who's Next album over and over and singing to himself "...we don't get fooled again!..." after the 2001 Stage 10 bluff.

Ullrich thinks he was bluffing, but none of the chairborne warriors seem to think so. Not surprising I suppose. I still don't know what to think.. I'll let you know Saturday. :)