Break Out Rider 2011 Tour

[Parrulo]

Even given the talent, Hoogie is too dumb to ride a good placing



not sure he is ready yet. Another year or two and their wont be any stopping him.

I really don't want this guy to get near the podium in all honesty.

i honestly hope horner fails miserably. i dislike people who don't know when they are past their prime and refuse to give their place as leaders to younger riders. this is more levi's case than horners atm. but tbh seeing a 40 year old on the podium of a GT would prove that many things are still wrong in our sport

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

i honestly hope horner fails miserably. i dislike people who don't know when they are past their prime and refuse to give their place as leaders to younger riders. this is more levi's case than horners atm. but tbh seeing a 40 year old on the podium of a GT would prove that many things are still wrong in our sport

Agree.
Sorry but a rider improving this much (don't wanna hear the blah blah he was never a leader) nearing his 40's is suspect.

 

[auscyclefan94]

i honestly hope horner fails miserably. i dislike people who don't know when they are past their prime and refuse to give their place as leaders to younger riders. this is more levi's case than horners atm. but tbh seeing a 40 year old on the podium of a GT would prove that many things are still wrong in our sport

Horner has had the best two years of his career so how is he past his prime? If he actually is past his prime then he won't do well. If he is still good enough then you're contention is wrong and I guess you'll be happy that he is peforming well.

 

[Parrulo]

i honestly hope horner fails miserably. i dislike people who don't know when they are past their prime and refuse to give their place as leaders to younger riders. this is more levi's case than horners atm. but tbh seeing a 40 year old on the podium of a GT would prove that many things are still wrong in our sport

i think i was very clear there.

horner part is the last one. are you really going to say that it isn't suspect for all of the sudden at 38/39 a guy getting a boost in his performance? a gigantic boost in fact

 

[unsheath]

Ciolek. At least get a stage win son..

 

[Eric8-A]

Ciolek. At least get a stage win son..

Ciolek has been extremely dissapointing. Why isn't he as good as he was when he was in Columbia?

Andre Greipel

 

[niidirull]

Coppel , Taaramäe or Uran to have a breakthrough Tour.

 

[Frosty]

The above names sound good.

Going for one no-one has mentioned yet, how about Rolland? Looked promising a while back but hasnt really pushed on. Maybe a top 10-15 or KoM.

Peraud didnt do that well in the vuelta last year but has done well in some one-week races. Maybe he could do well although with Roche and maybe Gadret there im guessing he might be climbing domestique for them.

 

[Liquigas]

Juan Mauricio Soler will be back to his 2007 level, even better, I see him in the top 5.

Taaramae I hope he focusses on the GC as Cofidis already have Moncutie for the stages/ mountain jersey hunting. Last year he was ill during the Tour, I want to see how far he can go, although maybe the 3rd week will be too hard for him.

 

[search]

Taaramae I hope he focusses on the GC

he is, his whole season so far takes place with the foresight to be in perfect condition at the tour.

He mentioned a while ago that his weakness last year was caused by having to race too much at high level during the first part of the season and that he'd just focus on the tour this year and was able to choose which races he participates in (and with which ambitions) by himself.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Ciolek. At least get a stage win son..

I keep predicting Ciolek to win something big but it never wins. He needs someone to mentor him. There was massive hype around Ciolek and he was a massive talent yet it proves that talent does not equal world class professional.

 

[El Pistolero]

Andy Schleck

 

[jens_attacks]

"c'mon guys,huy is not that hard.hehe i'm just fuccin with you..."

he's gonna pop some big surprises,at least two weeks we are gonna have a gilbert show.

 

[Matty_Tucks]

Chris Horner.

He can climb with Contador, remember

 

[Flamin]

Coppel, Hermans and i agree Hitch Tondo would have been. Brajkovic if he goes well because he has only won one major race. Bole maybe. TGBM is not hyped up at all by CN, we discovered him 1st.

Ben Hermans? What do you expect of him then?

 

[Archibald]

I'm expecting somebody French to have a big breakthrough. I don't know who but French riders and teams have often exceeded my expectations this year.

after dupont and gadrets' performances at the Giro, I was thinking the same thing, but perhaps from a non-PT wildcard team

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Ben Hermans? What do you expect of him then?

Challenging Gilbert on the hills of course
No but that's the terrain he likes, so he might go and win from a breakaway....

 

[King Of The Wolds]

he's gonna pop some big surprises,at least two weeks we are gonna have a gilbert show.

I think most people have looked at the first week and a half and classified each one as either a Gilbert stage or a Cav stage. Are you saying that he's going to do something other than win those stages? If not, where's the surprise?

 

[jens_attacks]

I think most people have looked at the first week and a half and classified each one as either a Gilbert stage or a Cav stage. Are you saying that he's going to do something other than win those stages? If not, where's the surprise?

keeping yellow and staying high in the gc a lot of time

 

[King Of The Wolds]

keeping yellow and staying high in the gc a lot of time

There's a decent chance he'll be in yellow up until the first proper mountain stage, but given the lack of time bonuses and relative lack of strength of his team's TTT strength, I think he may struggle to wear yellow after the 1st stage.

There's no chance he'll be in yellow beyond the first real mountain stage, unless he gets into a break with some other non-GC contenders that the big boys are prepared to let go. And there's absolutely no chance of staying high in GC - he'll be sacrificing himself for JVDB and/or focussing on green.

 

[Flamin]

Challenging Gilbert on the hills of course
No but that's the terrain he likes, so he might go and win from a breakaway....

His Ardennes results were more than good, but him winning a Tour stage is still very very optimistic

 

[kurtinsc]

Is there any chance of Talansky riding the Tour for Garmin this year?

I'd assume not... but he could be a potential pleasant suprise.

He's had some solid results so far... 4th on the Faron climb (and in the overall) in the Tour de Med, 7th in the P-N ITT, 5th in the Pais-Vasco ITT, 6th in the Romandia ITT, 9th in the Romandie GC (if not for a fall in the prologue would have been 4th most likely... maybe even on the podium).

Not saying anything too impressive... but I wouldn't be shocked by a top 25 or so riding in support of Vandevelde if he got a shot at it.

 

[Ferminal]

Is there any chance of Talansky riding the Tour for Garmin this year?

I'd assume not... but he could be a potential pleasant suprise.

He's had some solid results so far... 4th on the Faron climb (and in the overall) in the Tour de Med, 7th in the P-N ITT, 5th in the Pais-Vasco ITT, 6th in the Romandia ITT, 9th in the Romandie GC (if not for a fall in the prologue would have been 4th most likely... maybe even on the podium).

Not saying anything too impressive... but I wouldn't be shocked by a top 25 or so riding in support of Vandevelde if he got a shot at it.

Heh, there is absolutely no chance Given how hard it is to pick 9 from their squad as it is. Hopefully he does the Vuelta though, as Stetina has one up on him after the impressive Giro.

 

[dlwssonic]

could have been phinney if he wasnt sick all season. watch out for morabito, not saying he will be a breakthrough.

 

[kurtinsc]

Heh, there is absolutely no chance Given how hard it is to pick 9 from their squad as it is. Hopefully he does the Vuelta though, as Stetina has one up on him after the impressive Giro.

I was wondering how people viewed Stetina in the Giro.

Overall, a top 25 is a good result... but 50 minutes back isn't exactly close.

He did show a glimpse on Zonculon though. I think people were starting to dismiss him as a "failed talent"... perhaps he bought some more time to develop from the court of public opinion after the Giro.