Laggard

Talk!

I thought Zulle retired.

KingRene

Not a bad result for Zulle at all!

My question is what are his objectives? Is he Phonak's man for the smaller stage races, considering his great successes as a stage-racer in his prime? Why the early-season form? UCI points?

Any thoughts?

KingRene

Here's a good look at the stage profiles, courtesy of cyclingnews.com:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004...e04/?id=stages

wabbit

I remember Zulle saying last year that he wasn't doing any more grand tours. This was after he bailed from the Vuelta. This will likely be his last season. He's more interested in smaller stage races, like Romandie, and he wants to win the Tour of Switzerland again.

He's in pretty good form, getting fifth place!

Lonestar1

Plus he's another seasoned vet to give Tyler more tips. I imagine they'll talk quite a lot in the coming months. How about Eric Dekker? Turned in a pretty good time
also for someone not known for time-trialing. Sure is strange not seeing the aero lids.

Xtrmyorick

Anybody notice that Rabobank actually had TT helmets? They must've found or made some certified ones awfully quickly.

Laggard

They weren't sure if Tyler was going to do Paris-Nice. I'm not sure he's the head guy for Phonak.

And who knew that Rebellin could TT?

TriDevil

Enough about the people who didnt win, lets take a look at CSC. They are incredibly talented and always have a tremendous amount of depth. Some might argue they dont have a overall GC contender but they seem to always have 2 or 3 in the top 10. Jakcse (sp?) seems to be in great shape and he should be an overall contender. I honestly dont know that much about him but I have heard his name many times so will Vino be able to 3 peat? He didnt look that strong in the TT. We'll see. I dont see Hamilton doing anything spectacular at PN. This being his debut and now he is entirely focused on the tour whereas at CSC he seemed to be a little more into the other classics and 1 week tours.

don d.

I think Jaksche is a very good pick to win this race. And it is possible that a rejuvenated Julich could finish on the podium. Bjarne has really impressed me with the results his teams have had since he took over DS responsibilities. I think he is a factor.

This years Paris-Nice is different from other years in that it doesn't have any mountain top finishes or climbing time trials, so a good all around rider may well take the event. Frank VDB is another possibility.

velocipedio

they're the louis garneau prologue helmets, the only certified aero helmets. louis garneau is going to make a killing...

jkoman

Jaksche,Vino,Tyler,Rebellin...who's your pick
I say Jaksche...I agree that Riis seems to have a way of getting guys to believe they can win

Xtrmyorick

Well, Limar has one as well. It's CPSC certified, so I'm assuming it's ok to wear as well. What threw me off was the lack of vents on Dekker's helmet. Check it out: https://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...tage1/LCDEKKER as opposed to Levi's: https://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/20...1/LCLEIPHEIMER

He probably just had them covered up, though, as the shape of the helmet is the same otherwise.

roadwarrior

I like the plastic cover many are putting over their road helmets to make them more "aero". You can see it on the photo. Posties had them.

velocipedio

i don't think dekker is wearing th elouis garneaur, while leipheimer obviously is...

KingRene

Here is a brief overview Jorg Jaksche's career Tri:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004...jorg_jaksche04

I agree that he should be an overall contender. Along with Rebellin, Vinokourov and Vandenbroucke, Jaksche has had good results here before and, as you pointed out, CSC looks very strong.

Schiek

Sorry if this has already been covered, but does anybody know of any english speaking on-line feeds fro PN? None of my regular cycling haunts seem to be offering live coverage. And yes, I know it's on OLN, but [sarcasm] my request to corporate for the DirectTV feed in my office hasn't been approved yet [/sarcasm].

KingRene

Live Coverage:

www.cyclingnews.com
www.eurosport.com

Schiek

Ohhh...it's under the LIVE COVERAGE ON NOW link....not sure how I missed it the first time through. Thanks KR.

KingRene

The online coverage provided by Eurosport is stellar. Check it out.

RainmanP

I would be surprised to see Tyler in serious GC contention. He has stated that PN is strictly to get some race-hardening as part of his training leading up to TDF. Of course, he may launch an attack and even win a stage if he feels up to it and it fits into his program.

It is difficult to tell whether Tyler is strong enough to beat Lance in the TDF, but I would love to finally be able to see what he can do in top form and injury free.

RacerX

It's a high tech elastic composite called Saran Wrap

Xtrmyorick

Well, it's an aero helmet, so unless he stuffed some styrofoam in a fairing, it's the louis garneau.

khuon

Wow... today's stage coverage only got the last half-hour because the pace was like 45km/h!

Laggard

I couldn't figure out why they started coverage with only 20k to go.

khuon

Yeah... kind of annoying. I wonder if the rebroadcast will start the coverage sooner. It's not like they don't have the footage since in some places, they cover the whole race.