So, who are the riders to look for? Lance and Tyler will NOT be around forever.

Karpets
Menchov
Voeckler
Chavanel
Casar
Rogers
Cunego
Popovych

I expect very big things from Popovych. I can see Menchov doing some things in the future too.

It's just so hard to say, things are so unpredictable in cycling these days. Who'd have seen Cunego coming before this season started?

I think Basso had a tremendous Tour and should contend for a few GC wins in the near future. First he's only, what 25? He rode with LA in the mountains and I do think LA was looking to drop him. In the last TT he "only" dropped ~3 minutes which is a tremendous improvement for him. All that and he's got a strong team and very good DS.

Cunego is interesting as well and he's only 23. Soon, very soon he'll take the top spot from Simoni and Saeco is not a weak team.

I don't think either of these will threaten LA's new record but between them I look to see them win more than a few GTs.

:beer:

I definitely think that Basso will the name to look out for in the future for GC wins.... he's young enough, and has enough experience. He just has to fine tune his Time Trialing and get his game Tight.

The next big Sprinter is gonna be Boonen.. I know a lot of you on here have talked a lot about him the past year or so, that I've really paid attention, and I think within a few years as today's sprinters slow down and retire... Boonen will take over.. he's really impressed me in this years TdF.

jeff

So what about young guys from the US? Anybody know if we have any young guys who can compete in Europe? In order to keep our TV coverage, we need some US interest.

Stefano Garzelli, Joseba Beloki- but I would like to see how he does in the Vuelta (I assume his team will get an invitation). I hope he's fully recovered and hasn't rushed his recovery from his crash last year, Alejandro Valverde because I think he's a great climber, and Cunego- although I'd like to see him racing next season before I completely decide about him.

Koffee

Beloki just signed with Saunier Duval. They weren't at the Vuelta last year (were they a team last year?)

Nope. They were saying it's a newly formed team, and they signed Beloki and hope to get an invitation to go to the Vuelta. I also read an interview where they said Beloki is training for the Vuelta, so I believe they expect they will go.

Koffee

Astarloza looked like he might have potential (62nd overall isn't too shabby). Matthias Kessler from T-Mobile, perhaps?

I think Tom Danielson will be in the top 10 in Spain, and he will win the Tour in 2006.

Cheers

It's been a while since I've said it... GO TOM BOONEN! Look for him in the one-day races, Sipper. If you wait to see him in the Tour, you'll miss most of his career.

Michael Rogers is a good bet for the future, I think. He'll end up wearing the World Champion's TT jersey some time this season, won't he?

I hope Voeckler does well, too. Get him the coaching or training that he needs, and he could maybe make the podium some day. How many times did he make it back to the lead group on Stage 13? Six? If determination is enough....

Honorable mention goes to Menchov. Great looking palmares. It was a shame we didn't get to see him finish.

Just out of curiosity.... Why in the world would Saeco not put Cunego in the Tour? I would just think that after winning the Giro, he'd be a lock for the Tour team. I realize that there are a lot of thing sI don't understand about the dynamics of bike racing, but why would you not put such a strong rider in there?

Cunego is my #1 man. Can't go wrong with that kid.

Besides him..

Cadel Evans
Tom Danielson
Floyd Landis
Voeckler
Karpets
Basso
Valverde (you guys forget about him or something?)

How about the king of the Spring classics, Davide Rebellin? Could he do well in a GT in the future?

Rebellin is a lot like Betini. Both of them can power there way over the hills of the north but have problems in the type of climbs seen in the alps. He could be a stage winner but not a GC threat.

At the time Saeco leadership stated that the Giro was unexpected and that original plans did not have Cunego doing the Tour. They decided to stay with original plans since he's very young and they're afraid of trying to do too much too soon. They also were saying they weren't too sure about TdF for next year either.

Wouldn't surprise me if that changed.

:beer:

What happened to Jose Antonio Pecharroman this year? He was supposed to be Spain's next big hope.

I think Floyd Landis has a fairly promising future, assuming I'm remembering his age correctly as 26-27...

Siggy

Landis and Leipheimer are both Americans that could do well in the future. Rumor has it that Levi is looking to swich back to Postal/Discovery. With the right coaching and DS leadership, I think he could come back to his Vuelta form.
It would be cool if Hamilton came back to Postal/Discovery, too.
Personally, I am looking forward to the possibility of Armstrong going up against Simoni in Italy...we might never hear from Gilberto again.

Andreas Kloden...nobody's mentioned him that I could see. The guy reduced Ullrich to support status within his own team.
Imagine the inner workings of T-Mobile if Kloden had also had Vino with him...

From USPS/Discovery both Landis and Azevedo look to be very near to being able to ride for themselves. I don't know Azevedo's age. Normally that might mean they'd be looking for other teams but with the Pro Tour requirement of riding the 3 GTs there is room for "extra" GC men on Discovery. Of course $ might become an issue too.

Kloden is interesting. Considering he was going against LA and Ullrich, probably the 2 preeminent TTers of this generation, his 3rd place in the last ITT was pretty good. Also showed capability in the mountains.

My $ is on Basso, Cunego and Landis as next "big" things. Don't know if any of them will win alot of GCs individually but collectively they might dominate cycling for the next decade.

Then again they might not.......

:beer:

I forgot Philippe Gilbert.

You will see him at the Vuelta.

As far as I can tell, Cunego and Basso are the class of the young riders. If Cunego learns to TT, watch out.

I still have an eye for Michael Rogers, but he's not a natural in the high mountains which may limit his success.

Kloden won Paris Nice in 2000, but his promise has gone largely unfulfilled as a GT contender until this year. Perhaps this will awaken his ambition. To be fair, he has had to take a back seat to Ullrich and Vino, the first very talented and the second very aggressive, so he had a chance to show his worth this year unlike past years.

If I remember correctly, Landis is 29.

Thanks, Don. I had a feeling that Landis was close to 30. Hardly the future of cycling.

I thought he was younger than that.

And still nobody mentions Alejandro Valverde!