2010 Tour de France

[Clemson Cycling]

How many of these guys make the field this year because it is quite impressive and I think any one of them has a shot at the top 5 if not the top 10.

Alberto Contador (Astana)
Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack)
Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack)
Andreas Klöden (Radio Shack)
Cadel Evans (BMC)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)
Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
Dennis Menchov (Rabobank)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel–Euskadi)
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo)

Did I miss anyone?

 

[ViaPagliano]

It's going to be a great tour and an amazing follow up to the World Cup 2010.

It's going to be a great sports-filled summer. Cannot wait.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Menchov won't race the tour.

 

[lucybears]

Menchov won't race the tour.

Breukink plans Rabobank’s 2010 Tour de France

Mountains for Gesink and Menchov

The team is yet to finalise their training programmes for 2010 but Breukink believes that better times could lay ahead for both Gesink and Menchov, although he wouldn’t be drawn on team hierarchy after Gesink rode to an impressive sixth in the recent Vuelta España. “They are our best climbers and you want to have them in the race but they need to be fit. We’re talking about training schedules and race programs now but nothing will be finalised before November,” he said.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/breukink-plans-rabobanks-2010-tour-de-france

 

[Pedaaldanser]

Even if half of them have... issues... then it's still going to be an extemely interesting tour next year! 17 contenders, add a handful of surprises (youngsters doing well, succesful attacks) and we may well have 20 riders competing for the top 10 spots.

 

[cineteq]

Tony Martin (Columbia)

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I think Pozzatto wants to make an impact on the GC, after his polka-dot jersey win this year.

 

[Moondance]

I think Pellizotti should be considered, even though the Liquigas team is maybe too stacked with captains in that situation. Martin and van den Broeck should be considered, even if it's only because they'll likely be the only serious GC men from their respective teams.

 

[cineteq]

Updated

I think Pellizotti should be considered, even though the Liquigas team is maybe too stacked with captains in that situation. Martin and van den Broeck should be considered, even if it's only because they'll likely be the only serious GC men from their respective teams.

Alberto Contador (Astana)
Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack)
Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack)
Andreas Klöden (Radio Shack)
Cadel Evans (BMC)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)
Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
Dennis Menchov (Rabobank)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel–Euskadi)
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo)
Jurgen Van den Broeck (Pharma-Lotto)
Tony Martin (Columbia)

 

[zapata]

I think Pellizotti should be considered, even though the Liquigas team is maybe too stacked with captains in that situation. Martin and van den Broeck should be considered, even if it's only because they'll likely be the only serious GC men from their respective teams.

I think they've decided that pellizotti will be co-captain with basso at the giro, but at the tour, Basso will be captain, with nibali and kreuziger as decoys. (And "let the road decide", etc, if one of them goes on a successfull attack and basso loses time.) Don't know if Pellizotti will even be at the tour. But, of course, this is what they're saying now, anything can change in half a year..

 

[zapata]

What about moreno, by the way? when evans left lotto, he was talking like he wanted to be captain, but I don't remember if he was talking about any specific race? vuelta maybe?

 

[Francois the Postman]

Menchov won't race the tour.

I expect Menchov to do the Giro and Tour, and Gesink to do the Tour and the Vuelta (unfinished business), unless Menchov needs to go flat-out in the Giro until the end. In that case it's a toss-up if Menchov starts, depending on the confidence that this year's debacle could be avoided (Menchov and Breukink both something to think about).

In that case the (Contador attended?) Vuelta could see a very strong Rabo team, which might actually be something that would not be a bad "plan B" anyway. As a Dutch start and Vacansoleil have helped to make that tour more prolific this year for a Dutch crowd, and Rabo might need to remind the home crowd that their #1 home team credentials are not up for grabs.

They would be mad not to field both riders in the Tour, and see who is best on the day (I expect Gesink). Use the other as support, deflector, or opportunist stage hunter.

Can't see Rabobank pass up on a Menchov-Gesink "Schleckette" set-up, with Garate as the ace up the sleeve. Rabobank is often reduced to delivering their GT man on the foot on the last climb and hope he's got what it takes. Can't see them pass up on the chance of having a good chance to have 2 man on the last climb, maybe even 3 .

Garate saved their Tour this year. I don't think Gesink will be good enough yet to take a Tour podium, and I think Menchov is a falling leaf too (but should be much fresher if he isn't going for Gold until the end of the Giro. The three of them together, I'd happily take them into a Tour and see what happens. Any combination of two, much poorer hymn sheet to rely on if you hope for the appropriate tune on the day.

Plus, what are the chances of both Gesink and Menchov staying in the saddle til the end

 

[Psalmon]

From a preview POV:

Riders - similar cast:
Apart from Basso and Valverde, it's the same cast. VDV was not healthy going into 09, so maybe a bit different there. Wiggins was unexpected in 2009, and now may be over-expected (only one year of "proof" still leaves him a wildcard). I'd add Kim Kirchen to the list of contenders (2 7th places is respectable).

Teams - a bit more open:
Wiggins at Sky, and Evans at BMC (if they get in) opens things up only a bit. The Wiggo move only splits up he and VDV. Cadel just moved from a PT team without support to a wildcard team with maybe more focus. LA, Levi and the now bearded Kloden (looking bada$$) are still on the same team, and despite the mind games and pathological lying, have the same focus.

Route - a bit more individual-based:
Route drops the TTT, adds some cobbles, the wind is less guaranteed, longer single ITT, same number of mountain tops. It's a good route, but not vastly different unless some of the teams take risks and try to shatter things to pieces in order to break Contador's individual grip on the race.

What I'd like to see:
Maybe controversial, but if "I-only-attempted, extraterrestrial" Basso's there (and some may argue others who have served suspensions), I'd like to see back: Rasmussen, Vino on his own team apart from Contador, Floyd and even Mayo (who is free now). Either you did your time and paid for your crime or you're out. Can't have it both ways or in degrees arbitrarily.

Outcome:
It's hard to see how it comes out much different unless luck intervenes. I think it's going to be most interesting seeing how Andy Schleck develops, since he has that 12th, 2nd, ?, TdF finish profile. You also have this strong team vs. strong individual dynamic. I'd love to see more overt risk taking by teams or individuals after watching those 1973 Fuete videos.

 

[lucybears]

Don't know if Pellizotti will even be at the tour.

Pellizotti won the Tour de France climbers' classification this year's Tour. He also finished second and third on stage nine and stage 12, respectively. He will race the 2010 Tour, July 3 to 25, to support Basso and help the team's other classification leaders, Roman Kreuziger and Vincenzo Nibali.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pellizotti-ready-to-share-giro-leadership-with-basso

But, of course, this is what they're saying now, anything can change in half a year..

 

[Andre.J]

perhaps Monfort and Seeldrayers and VDB

 

[Christian]

Hey this might be a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread and I think it fits in pretty well here, and so I'm just going to go ahead and say it:

I think Vinokourov should ride the 2010 Tour de France. I mean - the guy served his two year ban, and even though the Kazakhs were a bit weird about that and tried to turn it into a one year sentence, according to UCI rules he should be allowed to ride. Sure, he ruined the tour a couple years ago, and he never admitted or apologized. But I think it's unfair to forgive some riders, like Ivan Basso for example, and just keep on punishing others.
Plus I tink he'd make the tour a whole lot more interesting, since he is, regardless of his wrongdoings or his character, a tremendously talented athlete!

 

[Psalmon]

I think Vinokourov should ride the 2010 Tour de France.

Not off topic with respect to who should contest the race.

What about Millar? Caught with ampules of EPO in his house, so naturally he fesses up, becomes a crusader (good for him). However he comes back with Saunier Duval while Ricco and Piepoli are all Cera'ed up, and of course nobody in the team knows anything as the two ride away from the elite group to stage wins.

Millar may be totally reformed and legit, and I like him as a rider, but if he's there, the others should be too.

Life imitating art:

"How can you close me up? On what grounds?"
"I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in here."
"Your winnings sir."
"Oh, thank you very much."
"Everybody out at once!"

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Damn, I always get Pozzatto and Pelizzotti mixed up.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Alberto Contador (Astana)
Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack)
Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack)
Andreas Klöden (Radio Shack)
Cadel Evans (BMC)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)
Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
Dennis Menchov (Rabobank)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel–Euskadi)
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo)
Jurgen Van den Broeck (Pharma-Lotto)
Tony Martin (Columbia)

Top 5 in no particular order. You won't have all of those guys there. Some gc guys teams won't be invited, some will crash during the season, some will crash during the tour and some will lose time quite early on the cobbles.

 

[auscyclefan94]

From a preview POV:

Riders - similar cast:
Apart from Basso and Valverde, it's the same cast. VDV was not healthy going into 09, so maybe a bit different there. Wiggins was unexpected in 2009, and now may be over-expected (only one year of "proof" still leaves him a wildcard). I'd add Kim Kirchen to the list of contenders (2 7th places is respectable).

Teams - a bit more open:
Wiggins at Sky, and Evans at BMC (if they get in) opens things up only a bit. The Wiggo move only splits up he and VDV. Cadel just moved from a PT team without support to a wildcard team with maybe more focus. LA, Levi and the now bearded Kloden (looking bada$$) are still on the same team, and despite the mind games and pathological lying, have the same focus.

Route - a bit more individual-based:
Route drops the TTT, adds some cobbles, the wind is less guaranteed, longer single ITT, same number of mountain tops. It's a good route, but not vastly different unless some of the teams take risks and try to shatter things to pieces in order to break Contador's individual grip on the race.

What I'd like to see:
Maybe controversial, but if "I-only-attempted, extraterrestrial" Basso's there (and some may argue others who have served suspensions), I'd like to see back: Rasmussen, Vino on his own team apart from Contador, Floyd and even Mayo (who is free now). Either you did your time and paid for your crime or you're out. Can't have it both ways or in degrees arbitrarily.

Outcome:
It's hard to see how it comes out much different unless luck intervenes. I think it's going to be most interesting seeing how Andy Schleck develops, since he has that 12th, 2nd, ?, TdF finish profile. You also have this strong team vs. strong individual dynamic. I'd love to see more overt risk taking by teams or individuals after watching those 1973 Fuete videos.

Yeah, lets bring all the dopers back who phucked this race up.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I expect Menchov to do the Giro and Tour, and Gesink to do the Tour and the Vuelta (unfinished business), unless Menchov needs to go flat-out in the Giro until the end. In that case it's a toss-up if Menchov starts, depending on the confidence that this year's debacle could be avoided (Menchov and Breukink both something to think about).

In that case the (Contador attended?) Vuelta could see a very strong Rabo team, which might actually be something that would not be a bad "plan B" anyway. As a Dutch start and Vacansoleil have helped to make that tour more prolific this year for a Dutch crowd, and Rabo might need to remind the home crowd that their #1 home team credentials are not up for grabs.

They would be mad not to field both riders in the Tour, and see who is best on the day (I expect Gesink). Use the other as support, deflector, or opportunist stage hunter.

Can't see Rabobank pass up on a Menchov-Gesink "Schleckette" set-up, with Garate as the ace up the sleeve. Rabobank is often reduced to delivering their GT man on the foot on the last climb and hope he's got what it takes. Can't see them pass up on the chance of having a good chance to have 2 man on the last climb, maybe even 3 .

Garate saved their Tour this year. I don't think Gesink will be good enough yet to take a Tour podium, and I think Menchov is a falling leaf too (but should be much fresher if he isn't going for Gold until the end of the Giro. The three of them together, I'd happily take them into a Tour and see what happens. Any combination of two, much poorer hymn sheet to rely on if you hope for the appropriate tune on the day.

Plus, what are the chances of both Gesink and Menchov staying in the saddle til the end

i thought he hadn't decide if he was doing the giro and vuelta or giro and tour.

 

[Psalmon]

Yeah, lets bring all the dopers back who phucked this race up.

I do want to keep this a non-clinic discussion, so I'm just focusing on who is there, want's to be there, and wondering what is the standard.

Valverde, convicted in Italy based on DNA matches from 2006 bags of blood, was 6th in 2007, 9th in 2008, and is now back for 2010 since the route doesn't run through Italy. How do you feel about Valv/Piti?

So, ok now Basso's coming back. I agree, he didn't ph-up the race. He was only "attempting" to. What about Birillo?

Vino apparently now has said he'd like to come back and help AC. His 2007 actions got Astana banned for 2008. But in 2008 Cofidis was there, Rabbobank was there, "High Road" was there. Maybe they should have renamed themselves, Astana-We're-Really-Sorry-Road. Should AC have been effectively banned in 2008?

Specifically in the case of Saunier Duval, Mayo was "caught" in 2007 also. SD was also back for 2008. Then, Ricco and Piepoli lit up the race, arguably altered some outcomes, and were caught for Cera. Was it better to punish Astana and not SD?

So that's the recent standard, but what's the older standard?

Virenque and Moreau both admitted to EPO in the 1998 "Festina affair" (which sounds so much more sexy than "Festina You-Have-Massive-Quantities-of-Dangerous-Drugs-In-Your-Trunk Scandal"). Moreau was back at the TdF in 1999, WITH FESTINA , and in every TdF since. Richard Virenque is a folk hero. ASO has him on selective podiums now days. Did they not ph-up the race enough?

And the "standard" going further back was virtually no standard, and involves many of the great names of cycling.

So apparently the standard has moved from Accepted, to Celebrated, to Selective Blacklisting. Good, improvement.

My point was I am OK with either Blacklisted for All, or Ban and Return for All. Selective Blacklisting is no standard for justice. Since the TdF seems OK with selected returns, I say go with Ban and Return consistently. This Selective Blacklisting perpetuates threads of the doping hypocrisy and IMO serves only ASO's thirst for control and power, effectively corrupt in itself.

 

[perico]

Yeah, lets bring all the dopers back who phucked this race up.

If we're going to let em all back in then let's bring back THIS MAN!

 

[Anonymous]

How many of these guys make the field this year because it is quite impressive and I think any one of them has a shot at the top 5 if not the top 10.

Alberto Contador (Astana)
Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack)
Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack)
Andreas Klöden (Radio Shack)
Cadel Evans (BMC)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)
Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank)
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
Dennis Menchov (Rabobank)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel–Euskadi)
Carlos Sastre (Cervelo)

Did I miss anyone?

Throw in:

Fabian Cancellara (Saxo)
Franco Pellizotti (LG)
Alex Vinokourov (Ast)
Tony Martin (Col)
Mick Rogers (Col)
Thomas Lovkvist (Sky)
Jurgen VDB (OPL)
Daniel Moreno (OPL)
Mauricio Soler (Caisse)
LL Sanchez (Caisse)
Rigaberto Uran (Caisse)
Dan Martin (Garmin)
Kim Kirchen (Katusha)
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)
Chris Horner (Radio)

Now I know some of those guys are a far cry from top 5/10 position, but if you add up yours and mines lists youve got THIRTY TWO riders who, IMO are battling for the top 15. Plus there's always someone who decides to shoot up the mountain side that we have never heard of.

Some on my list won't ride (injuries, team selection etc) but it just goes to show the depth of GT potential there is in the peleton right now.

Maybe 20 of those guys could push a top 10

Maybe 10-12 of those guys are pushing a top 5

I'm not convinced AC should just be looking at AS to defend his title. Despite being the best stage racer in the world right now, I think this will be his toughest year yet, and I don't think he can tick the box of tour win no.3 just yet.

Anyways, my top 5, in alphabetical order, consists of proven GT contenders, but there is a long list of cyclists who could easily knock off ALL of these guys from the podium/top 5:

Armstrong
Basso
Contador
Evans
Schleck, A

 

[auscyclefan94]

Throw in:

Fabian Cancellara (Saxo)
Franco Pellizotti (LG)
Alex Vinokourov (Ast)
Tony Martin (Col)
Mick Rogers (Col)
Thomas Lovkvist (Sky)
Jurgen VDB (OPL)
Daniel Moreno (OPL)
Mauricio Soler (Caisse)
LL Sanchez (Caisse)
Rigaberto Uran (Caisse)
Dan Martin (Garmin)
Kim Kirchen (Katusha)
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)
Chris Horner (Radio)

Now I know some of those guys are a far cry from top 5/10 position, but if you add up yours and mines lists youve got THIRTY TWO riders who, IMO are battling for the top 15. Plus there's always someone who decides to shoot up the mountain side that we have never heard of.

Some on my list won't ride (injuries, team selection etc) but it just goes to show the depth of GT potential there is in the peleton right now.

Maybe 20 of those guys could push a top 10

Maybe 10-12 of those guys are pushing a top 5

I'm not convinced AC should just be looking at AS to defend his title. Despite being the best stage racer in the world right now, I think this will be his toughest year yet, and I don't think he can tick the box of tour win no.3 just yet.

Anyways, my top 5, in alphabetical order, consists of proven GT contenders, but there is a long list of cyclists who could easily knock off ALL of these guys from the podium/top 5:

Armstrong
Basso
Contador
Evans
Schleck, A

What are you smoking Goatie? The guys in bold aren't gc riders or will not top 20. Basso will not top 5. I don't see why people are picking him to do so well in the tour next year.