ahsposo 

Can anybody tell me why I should care about this years edition?

I cannot find the slightest bit of enthusiasm for this upcoming tour.

thenomad

I understadn not having any big rivalries to talk about but how about a tour (should be) free from doping scandals, with a great group of pros who are closely matched riding an epic race? The pure spectacle, the suffering, the sprints, the climbs etc?

Still a great sport.

The biggest change I'd like to see (and organizers tried to include this time) is less team orders and more random attacks. It seems wide open enough now that if someone decides to fly off the front they have a chance of making a real impact. The time trials sprinkled throughout will either make attacks more important or the teams will sit back and let the TT sort the leaders.

I hope its not all sitting back and watching the paint dry. I'd like to see some real attacks by the GC!

Paul01

No and we don't care..

Now go troll for attention someplace else.

letitsnow

I can't wait!!!

Bacciagalupe

I believe the magic phrase is: "The field is wide open," or at least more open than in the last few years.

Evans is going to go for a second win. If we're lucky, he'll head-butt some more camera men.

A rosfbif actually has a halfway decent shot at winning the Tour, for the first time in since, uh... the dawn of mankind?

Menchov has his best chance in years.

Or, to put it another way: If you enjoy road cycling, why wouldn't you be excited about the biggest event in the sport?

DLBroox

If you're only interested in watching one or two riders who are not going to be there than I guess you might not care. But I adore the sport as a whole. It's anyone's game this year and I can't wait to see what happens!

DXchulo

First of all, why don't you care? Are you bored by Wiggins and Evans? Too much TTing and not enough climbing? Do you miss Contador and Schleck?

There are a lot of reasons to care, some of which may or may not play out.

-Wiggins and Evans seem pretty evenly matched. Wiggins should have an edge in the TTs and Evans should have an edge on the climbs. Evans has been a fighter and an attacker in recent years, so I would expect him to at least try to do something on the climbs. There is potential for excitement there.

-Can Cavendish dominate the sprints again? Sky put most of their eggs in the Wiggins basket and Cav seems to care more about the Olympics, anyway. Can Greipel and the other guys steal some wins?

-Will Sagan win the Green Jersey? I doubt he'll win a pure sprint stage, but he can score lots of points.

-Wiggins & Evans are the favorites, but who will step up out of the rest of the contenders? Will Hesjedal be a factor after the Giro? Can Gesink continue to improve? Will it be Nibali, Sanchez, Leipheimer, or someone else? I get the feeling that we could see a surprise in 3rd place.

-There's no TTT, so guys like Sancez won't be at a huge disadvantage before the race even begins.

Part of me wishes there was more climbing, but I don't mind them mixing it up from year to year. It's hard to find that perfect balance. Things have been skewed too much towards the climbers recently, but it feels like they went a little too far in the opposite direction this year.

Surfer34

I like to see gutsy performances and those can come from anyone.

I like to see new guys win.

I like to see the French countryside and the European mountains.

I like to watch and pretend I could do what they are doing.

ahsposo 

Oh, don't get me wrong I love the sport and will watch the tour. DXchulo seems to get what I'm asking and thenomad too.

Thanks.

LemondFanForeve

Oh snap!

LemondFanForeve

This. Im anxious to watch and see if Cadel can repeat

seanthebear

That surprise could be Chris Froome. Sky getting 2 on the podium is a real possibility. 3 in the top ten too.

bellweatherman

Yeah, me too. I don't really care much at all either. Cycling used to be more than EPO, but now it's just a scam. Thank you to the UCI and Lance for that. They destroyed this sport.

kleinboogie

It's a nice mix of new and old like a good tour should be. There's rivalries, riders fulfilling expectations and those battling odds outside of cycling just to race in the biggest race in the world. What's not to like?

dahoss2002

Crap, I cant wait. Im gonna win the fantasy tdf on BF this year!!!

eddiepliers 

I think that this tour would be great. There are too many chapters to the story of this year to come. The lack of Contador and Schleck. Wiggins and Sagan ripping up this year. The fact that BMC and Radioshack-Nissan have been terrible after the on-paper analysis seemed like these were superteams for this season. Cav not being totally up to WC form.

Will there another Thomas Voeckler, a rider that came out of nowhere to lead the charge of the yellow jersey?

chasm54

Came from nowhere? He was 32 years old, a multiple winner over several years who had held the yellow jersey in the TdF for eight or nine stages earlier in his career. Came from nowhere?

thenomad

Yeah, TV didn't come out of nowhere but certainly caught the analysts off guard (along with the peloton). He showed why attacks are critical, not just feints but all out attacks.

It seems to have become 3 rider specific and 3-4 stage centered where entire teams sit back and watch for something to happen. This keeps anything from happening and there are few riders who seem to end the tour leaving it all on the table. Attack more, redline more etc.

It's become a chess match instead of a boxing match. It should be a chess match with boxing thrown in for good measure.

chasm54

Well, a chess match that you can play only if you have 6 w/kg.

I think you'll see some fairly aggressive stuff this year. The parcours favours Wiggo because of his TT ability. It follows that anyone else who wants to contend for the GC needs to find him out on the climbs, and you can bet Sky will be riding at a pretty high tempo to try to protect him. So I expect a few fireworks in the mountains, with the peloton scattered all over the countryside.

reef58

Stop your Lance spamming. He did not invent PED's.

reef58

I hope so, but I wonder who will be the aggressor?

daveF

Agreed. Sky has been playing that chess match very well this entire year. Wiggins is climbing & time trialing better than ever. I think his climbing is as good or better than Cadel's. Certainly much smoother & more efficient. And, as seanthebear said, Sky has a chance for 2 podium finishes.

eja_ bottecchia

Podium girls!

tagaproject6

Yes!

CbadRider

Please keep the Lance doping comments in the existing threads on that topic. Thanks.

CbadRider
Forum Moderator