dws5b

Horner did wait for LA on the stage LA crashed losing minutes and then worked for the team for the most part the rest of the race and still finished 10th. I give him a shot at the podium at least.

Romans8:28

Looks like Chris is an 80 to 1 shot........

https://www.thespread.com/sports-bett...ntador-favored

Scrabbler

Would love to see it, but will settle for a stage win. Go Chris!!!

diphthong

the last few years have begun the transition from the old guard (menchov, leipheimer, basso, horner...) to the young guns. being in their prime, andy schleck and alberto contador are 'middle guns." nibali, kreuziger, porte, martin, le mevel, et al will have something to say with this year's tdf. expecting at least 5 of the top ten to be = or < than 28 years old with one or two of the white jersey contenders to be included in those 5. lot of exciting, young, potential gc gt riders/contenders...personally don't see horner in the top 5 but a breakaway mountain/medium mountain stage win if he rides? that i can see.

daveF

Nibali - won't be there, Kreuziger - raced the Giro & if he is there will be too tired to be in the top ten, Porte - riding support for Contador, Martin - probably won't be there, possible leader at Vuelta for Garmin-Cervelo.

Kind of Blued

It'll be interesting to see what guys like Tommy D and Van Garderen can do if they can make it three weeks without bad luck.

luxroadie

Um ... Isn't Andy just 26 ... He's younger than your young guns ...

Nick Bain

and Im going to win the tour of Antarctica.


actually I just remember reading an recent arcticle last year wear horner said he has in so many words finally perfected his training. It shows.

SouthFLpix

I think it's really tough to go through 3 weeks of racing without a bad day when you are 39 years old. With a race like the TDF, you could race well for 20 days and all it takes is that one bad day to lose it.

I think that's the main difference for the older riders. They might be able to keep up with the younger guys for the majority of the race, but their recovery is not quite the same. Eventually the legs give out. They can still go for stage wins or place highly, but as far as winning the overall, I see that as unlikely.

Kind of Blued

I completely disagree. I haven't been following this stuff for very long, but to me, the older "veterans" seem to be more consistent, less prone to accidents, and more confident in their training, racing, recovery, strategy, and routine.

They've been there, and they know what to expect. As mentioned, Horner says he's "perfected his training" regimen. Maybe he has, maybe not, but how is that even possible for a 24-year-old rider who doesn't really even know what he's training for?

Caretaker

If Horner won the TdF it would be unbelievable. I can understand why some on here would like to see it happen but ther's the old saying "if it's too good to be true, it isn't".

Personally, I think cycling can do without surprises like this.

harlond

There's no shortage of guys 19-24 years old that have won the Tour; there's only been one winner over the age of 34, and that was in 1922. We've had ninety years for some old guy to perfect his training, and still no 35-year-old winner.

SouthFLpix

Yes, and that win was based on a bit of luck. Several riders were ahead of Lambot on the general classification and suffered 'crippling' mechanical issues. Philippe Thys (first 3 time winner) broke his wheel and lost 3 hours. Hector Heusghem broke his bicycle and exchanged it for a new one (illegal at the time) and was given a 1 hour penalty for the infraction. That is how Lambot was able to take over the lead and win the Tour de France at the age of 36 in 1922.

There is some really good information on this in the book, "The Story of the Tour de France"

luxroadie

Fixed

ralph1234

Horner is clearly in great form, but his results over the last couple of years shows he's a much stronger one-week stage race rider. Over the course of a grand tour he just hasn't had the staying power. I think he's got the best shot this year at his best result, but he'll be lucky to grab the last podium spot.

staehpj1

That would be awesome, but pretty unlikely.

cmolway

ah hahahahahahahahahaha!....

seriously though, with all the CG contenders on the Shack squad headed to the TDF and no clear protected rider, I don't see it. A stage win is a stretch at best.

caloso

I'd love it if Chris won, but I put $10 on Andy:

Keith99

Didn't one of the youngest winners get the win because 3 or 4 riders ahead of him were involved in a 'training' incident? (Very early in the TDF, well before 1922)

Keith99

So are you saying a 24 year old rider who won by over 17 minutes didn't know what he was training for? And barely 24 at that.

rschleicher

I agree. His ToC win shows that he's in great shape, and appears to have greatly improved his climbing ability. If the TdF was only a week long I'd give Horner a great chance. But it's not....

In the end, his teammate Levi will finish above him in the GC - whether that will be good enough for the podium remains to be seen.

ahsposo 

betfair has cut the odds to 132:1

bet365 has him at 40:1 and Levi at 50.

Go, you old coot, GO!

stevegreer

Andy Schleck is gonna take it this year.

SouthFLpix

I believe you are thinking of Henri Cornet, who won the 1904 TDF at the age of 19, after the first 4 in the GC were disqualified for cheating.

That year the entire TDF was plagued by rabid cheating, as riders hitched rides on cars and trains since many of the stages were so long that riding went on well into the night. You think fans get rowdy now? Back then they threw nails on the road or even physically attacked their favorites rivals. Cornet actually had to ride 40k on flat tires in final stage.

Derreck

So it looks like Radioshack has a good shot at being in yellow after tomorrow, am I right? I hope they give the jersey to Horner if that happens.