2015 Tour de France Start List

[Popchu]

Re:

froome only has rowe and stannard for flat stages? froome wil not finish le tour... stage 2 will be a nightmare for sky

Yes, all the other riders can't ride on 'flat'...

 

[Velolover2]

Re:

froome only has rowe and stannard for flat stages? froome wil not finish le tour... stage 2 will be a nightmare for sky

Thomas (and even Roche) can be used on the flat too.

 

[Rollthedice]

Sky are betting everything on Froome's wattage up the mountains. USPS drop everybody and then Froomestrong attacks staring at his stem.

 

[blackmamba]

Re:

froome only has rowe and stannard for flat stages? froome wil not finish le tour... stage 2 will be a nightmare for sky

I dont think froome will finish the tour either, hes the worst bike handler in the entire peleton so its not exactly hard to figure out why he will crash out the guy simply cannot handle the bike well at all!

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

froome only has rowe and stannard for flat stages? froome wil not finish le tour... stage 2 will be a nightmare for sky

Thomas (and even Roche) can be used on the flat too.

Exactly, Thomas will probably be called upon on the flat too as well as Roche.

 

[Miburo]

Re: Re:

Sky have 4 of the top 10 climbers in the Tour if on form. Froome, Porte, Konig and Poels.

No they don't

 

[Velolover2]

I hope Tinkoff-Saxo will change their mind in the last moment and replace Basso with Tosatto for the cross-wind (and the cobbles + TTT) stage. Tosatto is also now a better climber.

Having a weak link like Basso in the TTT is suicidal. They would have won that Giro stage without him. >__<

 

[infeXio]

Garmin-Cannondale:

the Inner Ring ‏@inrng 13 minfor 13 minutter siden

Cannondale-Garmin's Tour de France team: Talansky, Martin, Hesjedal, Bauer, Haas, Koren, Langeveld, Navardauskas, Van Baarle

 

[Anderis]

Re:

Garmin-Cannondale:

the Inner Ring ‏@inrng 13 minfor 13 minutter siden

Cannondale-Garmin's Tour de France team: Talansky, Martin, Hesjedal, Bauer, Haas, Koren, Langeveld, Navardauskas, Van Baarle

Wow, really short of climbers. Makes little sense, since they also don't have stage hunters really worth of backing (I mean those who would requite a lot of rouleurs as helpers). Navardauskas and Haas are good for reduced sprints, but they are nowhere near being favourites in a field that contains Sagan, Matthews, Degenkolb etc. There will be other teams working on that kind of stages. Navardauskas can also win after breakaway, but he doesn't need team-mates for that.

I understand that Cardoso is nowhere near as good as last year and he might be tired after Giro and TdS and would let the team down in the TTT. But Ben King could be there as a decent TT-ist. He had decent California and TdS. 5 rouleurs would be enough to protect leaders on flat.

So it's basically their Dauphine team + Hesjedal. They better hope they won't need to pull the peloton in mountains.

I guess it's between: Talansky, Hesjedal, Martin, Cardoso, Ben King, Haas, Bauer, Langeveld, Van Baarle, Navardauskas and Koren.

I got it right.

henao is also certain.

henao would do the tour last year. now he was promised it this year. you can believe what you want. it was the reason he signed extra contract with sky

LOL.

 

[TMP402]

That will be 10 British riders, on the assumption that Rowe and Stannard will get the nod also. Surely the most ever?

It's only the equal record with 1955 (which had 10-man national teams). But you never know, if an injury to some other rider occurs, there could still be an 11th.

As for Sky, the team seems awfully robotic and doesn't contain a real leader. I know Eisel's "road captain" thing is often mocked, but who is the loud voice when Froome is caught out in some way? I can imagine Kennaugh, Thomas and Rowe being authoritative but I don't see them having the racing experience to solve a problem, which leaves Roche who seems too timid.

 

[bajbar]

Tinkoff-Saxo’s selection for Tour de France 2015 consists of Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan, Rafal Majka, Roman Kreuziger, Michael Rogers, Ivan Basso, Daniele Bennati, Michael Valgren and Matteo Tosatto.

WTF, where is Kiserlovski. I thought he was supposed to do the Tour... Now we have Basso. At least we have Tossato and Valgren in...

 

[Anderis]

Yeah, lack of Kiserlovski surprising. Would take him over Basso any day of the week.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Sky have 4 of the top 10 climbers in the Tour if on form. Froome, Porte, Konig and Poels.

 

[Velolover2]

Re:

Yeah, lack of Kiserlovski surprising. Would take him over Basso any day of the week.

I'd even take him over Kreuziger.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Yeah, very odd. I thought the last spot would be between Valgren and Tosatto but they took both instead. I'd take Kiserlovski over Basso any day of the week but Berto needs a roommate
Still wonder if they can't just take Jesus as a staff member and let him room with Alberto

 

[trevim]

Basso, Cardoso, Kiser and Henao are big mist....surprises

 

[Rollthedice]

So that's why Tinkoff got dropped almost everywhere in Giro because Basso, Rogers and Kreuziger trained to peak at TdF.

 

[deValtos]

Re:

So that's why Tinkoff got dropped almost everywhere in Giro because Basso, Rogers and Kreuziger trained to peak at TdF.

They're peaking for the Vuelta.

 

[Publicus]

Re:

So that's why Tinkoff got dropped almost everywhere in Giro because Basso, Rogers and Kreuziger trained to peak at TdF.

I think there's some truth to that. We'll see if they deliver on the road

 

[Velolover2]

At least no Paulinho or Hernandez. Better with an extra rouleur then.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

No Bodnar for Sagan - very much a team built around Contador

 

[blackmamba]

Re:

No Bodnar for Sagan - very much a team built around Contador

And are you surprised? Sagan himself is there for contador

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

No Bodnar for Sagan - very much a team built around Contador

And are you surprised? Sagan himself is there for contador

And to get a new contract.

 

[Anderis]

Re:

No Bodnar for Sagan - very much a team built around Contador

Isn't the main reason for absence of Bodnar that he fell down heavily in California and didn't have enough time to recover good form before TdF? He doesn't need to go because of Sagan, he would be an asset for Contador on cobbles, TTT and flat stages in general.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Re: Re:

No Bodnar for Sagan - very much a team built around Contador

And are you surprised? Sagan himself is there for contador

And to get a new contract.

Looking forward to seeing Basso peeling off and Sagan shredding the field on the big ring in the Pyrennees