Originally Posted by
ConGrUenCy
.
Winning the Dauphine does not make you a contender for the Tour. Contador and Froome were not trying to win, and they were more intent on testing their form and testing each other. Winning a 1 week lead-up race is very different from winning a 3 week Grand Tour. At best, TJVG and Talansky can hope for a top 5 finish, which is still optimistic, seeing asyou also have Nibali, Valverde and Purito.
I think your nuts if you count Talansky out. His win at the Dauphine really put him on the map and he proved he will be a contender in the TDF. Admittedly, Talansky will not likely be able to sneak in an attack in this Tour like he did in the Dauphine, because he certainly has the respect of the top contenders now.
And TJ is really out to prove he is
the American to watch, not Talansky, and with both teams focused completely on them, I think both of these Americans will be very much in contention...