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Andreas Kloden's Final Bid For Another Coveted Top 10 Tour Finish, 'Official' Thread

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gregrowlerson said:
Thanks guys for the positive comments about my story.

As for Klodi's early season form, I think that Algarve went okay. Remember how done for he looked at last years Vuelta, riding with the autobus on a daily basis. Now he is at least semi competitive and about 70% improved to the level that he wants to get back to. I don't see him being a chance to win Paris-Nice, but a top 10 there would be nice, and with further training he could be ready to put in a good Giro, or if he goes the other route than the target would be victory in the Tour Of The Basque Country followed by a strong showing at the TDF.

I think there is a good chance that either Kloden or Frank will go to Italy with Fulgsang.

He is getting better but he is my bet to win Paris-Nice plus podium Basque Country and beating Samu in a sprint again then winning the Tour like I said.
 
The Hitch said:
Nicely written Greg. great to see such support and dedication for a rider ( not named Andy, Alberto Phil cadel or cav)

A real cycling fan.

I hope klodi doesn't do the giro cos he's suited for the tour and want to see him give it a real go.

Frank otoh would be great to see at il giro

Thanks Hitch. Means a lot given my fanboyism of ya :D

Frank should definitely do the Giro given that Andy will not. I can't see Frank contending for a podium spot in Paris, but in Milan he could achieve it. Going off his comments the other day he doesn't seem keen to race it though. He was still looking at it as preparation for the TDF! It's not very realistic for Klodi to defeat all the big guns as the Tour, and he's hinted at an interest in the Giro, so I'd like to see him race it if he gets into form at the right time. There are not that many great climbers entering this years Giro.
 
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gregrowlerson said:
Thanks guys for the positive comments about my story.

As for Klodi's early season form, I think that Algarve went okay. Remember how done for he looked at last years Vuelta, riding with the autobus on a daily basis. Now he is at least semi competitive and about 70% improved to the level that he wants to get back to. I don't see him being a chance to win Paris-Nice, but a top 10 there would be nice, and with further training he could be ready to put in a good Giro, or if he goes the other route than the target would be victory in the Tour Of The Basque Country followed by a strong showing at the TDF.

I think there is a good chance that either Kloden or Frank will go to Italy with Fulgsang.

Hey enjoyed the story too...nice work.

I'd love to agree with you on klodi heading to Italy, and I'd love to have seen, at some point in his career, him being given free reign at a GT to pick up the win he's so richly deserved. But I can't for one second see Bruyneel not taking him to France as shepherd for Andy. His experience is invaluable, and his ability to step up when the going gets tough can always be relied on. It's always bemused why Andreas has always been so decent to accept this role so often, when his talent and form suggests he is capable of so much more. But, if you read him in interview, he is happy with it.

Honestly, on last years showing, the whole season I mean, I think finally age is catching up with him too....

Sad though, he's always been a favorite of mine. And aside from everything else, he's always come across as a thoroughly decent guy too.
 
SHAD0W93 said:
When I made it I had Menchov as the winner but when Ullrich got disqualified I changed it to Kloden to revenge Ullrich I just never got around to change it.

So it's revenge on Armstrong that Kloden will be seeking then? :D

Because of him not getting found guilty, Ulle missed out on 3 more Tour wins.

If it was revenge for the recent 2005 verdict then Andreas would be seeking a 3rd place finish (or a second if Lance should have been erased).
 
gregrowlerson said:
So it's revenge on Armstrong that Kloden will be seeking then? :D

Because of him not getting found guilty, Ulle missed out on 3 more Tour wins.

If it was revenge for the recent 2005 verdict then Andreas would be seeking a 3rd place finish (or a second if Lance should have been erased).

You bring up a good point. so Kloden will win the next 3-5 tours and maybe inculding revenge for his second places. :D
 

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anyway klodi was strong than ever exactly in 2004. he just lacked in experience, constantly riding at the front and gathering the wind. but in all fairness, i think we can consider him to be a deserved winner of that tour. he was the first among humans. :p
 
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In the final 2k of stage 4, Andreas Klöden gave a big push for the finish line, falling just short with 500 meters to go.

“For the first time this week I felt really good in the final,” said Klodi. “I gave it a try on that last climb at 2 k from finish. I knew it would be hard but that's no reason not to try it. Last year I won a stage here. I want to do the same this year. They caught me at 500m from finish. Ok... I’m still not unhappy. The good feelings in the legs are coming back. This Paris-Nice is not over yet."

I love a positive attitude. Perhaps something special awaits on the climb tonight?

No reason not to try it :D:cool:
 
gregrowlerson said:
In the final 2k of stage 4, Andreas Klöden gave a big push for the finish line, falling just short with 500 meters to go.

“For the first time this week I felt really good in the final,” said Klodi. “I gave it a try on that last climb at 2 k from finish. I knew it would be hard but that's no reason not to try it. Last year I won a stage here. I want to do the same this year. They caught me at 500m from finish. Ok... I’m still not unhappy. The good feelings in the legs are coming back. This Paris-Nice is not over yet."

I love a positive attitude. Perhaps something special awaits on the climb tonight?

No reason not to try it :D:cool:

I say he attacks again tomorrow(for me) and beats Valverde in a sprint :D
 
I think that todays 7th place in the ITT is a step in the right direction for Klodi in 2012. Clearly Wiggins and Westra are in amazing form, and Andreas wasn't too far behind the rest. He can get his form together by May I believe, and he has a better chance at the Giro than the Tour. Clearly, Wiggins for starters is going to be too strong.

What's next? Criterium? If he does ride the Giro does he continue to race for the next seven weeks and gradually improve form that way, or should he disappear now until Romandie?
 
gregrowlerson said:
, and he has a better chance at the Giro than the Tour. Clearly, Wiggins for starters is going to be too strong.


I disagree with this, if Klödi can find his time trialing from last year and 06/07, he has the best chance in the tour. With over 100kms of tt, this is the year to go 100% for it. Plus, as any cycling fan with half a brain can see, Andy and Frank has no chance in this years tour, so he has the chance to be captain at radioshack.

Honestly, he has no chance in the giro. His form in the mountains has been questionable over the last few years, and i dont see how he could go with Basso and Nibali in the steep italian mountains. The mountains in France suits him much better, and tactically he could follow Evans and Wiggins in the mountains, and battle it out with them in the tt's. I don't think he can win it, but he could challenge for top 5.
 
gregrowlerson said:
Pink As A Pig - Part Three


Stage 18 was flat and unadventurous. There were no stalemates, and Andreas enjoyed his day back in pink with aplomb. TV cameras caught he and Fabian sharing many a laugh along the way.

But the giggling couldn’t last long – surely – as the next two stages were brutal MTF’s, and Michelle Scarponi was less than a minute behind on GC.

The final climb of stage 19 – the Alpe di Pampeago – was ridiculously steep.

7.7kms @ 9.9%. Oh yes indeedy.

But the riders would awake to freezing conditions, and it would soon be revealed that the stage would be cut 75kms short, as a result of too much snow at the peaks of the final three climbs. And so the stage would finish on the Passo Manghen; tough at 20.5kms @ 7.4%, but the short stage may give the ‘dodgy’ climbers a chance to limit their losses.

From the Leopard-trek team bus, Klodi was heard to be singing, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”

Rujano spiced the race up on the Manghen, while Scarponi did his best to keep in contact. The rest of the pack splintered, including Kloden. Nevertheless, he did a good job to reduce the damage to 1:44 to Jose at the finish, and 1:34 to Scarponi, but one wonders just how much time Andreas would have lost if the stage had been run as originally planned. The German placed ninth on the stage and slipped to second in the general classification, with the Italian now forty-seven seconds to the good, and with more mountains to come tomorrow.

So it was all but over. The best that Klodi could hope for was a spot on the podium. Or was it?

Stage 20 was a nightmare, with the Mortirolo (11.1kms @ approximately 10.5%!) and Stelvio (24.3kms @7.4%) coming inside the last seventy kms.

And on the Mortirolo it was goodbye to Andreas Kloden. Halfway up the climb he could stick no longer, and pop he went. By the top of the climb he was seventy-five seconds in arrears.

Some daredevil descending – which is what Andreas is of course best known for – did regain him contact with the leaders, but with the Stelvio on the horizon he was set to lose multiple minutes.

But a surprise would await the riders before the commencement of the climb. As they arrived in Le Prese they were greeted with the grandest of gifts. Another shortened stage due to the snow whitening out the Stelvio, but this time without warning. Boom! The stage was over after 177.3kms, and sixteen riders were given the same time.

For Klodi it was very sweet. And in the team bus in the stages aftermath, Andreas could be heard singing a beautiful duet with Johan Bruyneel.

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.”

So now all that was left was the 31.5km ITT through the streets of Milan. During it Fulgsang endured a horrendous crash on a particularly sharp corner, but after Jacob had been flown by helicopter to the nearest hospital Fabian declared that, “it is quite clear that the man has a pulse, so it is obviously in the best interests of the race that we continue racing. Cancerella had of course set the fastest time earlier in the day and was all set for the stage win. And meanwhile Andreas Kloden was setting the next best fastest times at every split.

And he took back the 1:34 that he lost to Scarponi on the Manghen, and with it he collected his first ever grand tour victory! Had any win ever been more deserved?

Oh, and the final day contained perfect sunshine….

Oh yes indeedy.

The bad weather cut the stage from 210.9km to 155km and finished on the lower slopes of the penultimate climb, the HC-rated Port del Canto. The shortened stage eliminated the full ascent of the Port del Canto and the following mountain finish on the HC-rated Port-Ainé.

"It was a terrible day of rain," said Golas, the stage runner-up. "First rain, and then rain became snow. It was really difficult for communication and to ride. At the end of the race we knew that the finish was changed, but we arrived at a certain moment and saw some of the judges around. I understood that there was the finish. I started pulling to do my sprint and don't know if I passed for 1st, 2nd or 3rd. It doesn't matter. It was really difficult."

The inclement weather continued unabated, with rain, fog and cold, plus enough heavy snow at the finish to send out snow plows. In fact, it was bad enough that race organisers had to capitulate and end the race early, after only 155km. That took the field to within 10km of the top of what was to be the day's penultimate climb, the Hors Category Port del Canto, and entirely cut the closing climb, Port Aine, also HC ranked.


Remarkably similar. Basso even came crashing down :D
 
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Kloden's not having a stellar start to the season too, no? I believe he had some knee problems during off-season. Seems like form is slowly coming, though. I'm more hopeful ahead of Pais vasco for him.
 

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