Yes, I am absolutely serious!
Can Christian Vande Velde win the Tour de France in 2011?
I’m not asking will he, necessarily, but is it possible? (and not in the way that Oscar Pereiro proved in 2006 that just about anything is possible).
Consider a few things:
His pedigree is the real deal. He didn’t just stumble into the sport, his dad, John, was not only a pro racer but is a hall of fame inductee. And let’s face it, DNA counts for a lot in pro cycling. (More importantly, John Vande Velde played one of the villainous Italian riders in Breaking Away. Lance is lucky he never found a pump in his spokes!)
Christian was a young standout in American cycling before riding for US Postal, and wore the White Jersey for Best Young Rider for five stages in his TdF debut back in 1999.
Fast forward: Plagued by injuries and a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows while on various teams, the world finally got to witness his true potential in 2008 as team leader of Garmin. With the solid emotional and physical support that he perhaps had never had before, his true talent was able to shine through. In his own words, “I have one of the bigger engines in the peloton, it’s my chassis that has been broken.” But finally, in 2008, many of the physical setbacks that he had endured for years were properly addressed and the talent that he was born with was able to shine through.
Now let’s be very clear about one thing: Christian Vande Velde very nearly won the Tour de France in 2008. If you don’t believe that, then you weren’t paying attention. And this is really the basis for my poll in the first place.
Let’s review:
By Stage 10 Christian was in 3rd place and only :38 sec behind the leader.
On Stage 16 he crashed on the descent and fell to 6th place 3:15 behind the leader.
On Stage 17 to Alpe d'huez he lost another minute to the leader, this time Sastre. But he was only about one minute off the other contenders on the stage.
Prior to the final TT, CVV speculated that he might be able take 2 to 3 minutes out of the others. "I'm gonna hurt those guys in the Time Trial," he said.
On the Stage 20 Time Trial he came in 4th behind only Schumaker
, Cancellara and Kirchen. He took 1:30 out of Sastre and 1:00 out of Evans and Menchov. He beat all the contenders soundly, ending up only 3:12 down from the Yellow Jersey and in 4th overall (sans Kohl). If not for that one crash on Stage 16, he very well may have been in a position to take the whole thing in the final TT!
Coming into 2009, it was a whole new CVV. Confident and secure (his wife even said he had a new swagger), he rightly had the podium in his sights. He was prepared both mentally and physically. Then...disaster. He crashed early at the Giro and suffered multiple fractures.
But in a feat that was perhaps even more amazing than his 2008 performance, he fought back and not only rode the 2009 Tour, but finished 8th place! That effort and achievement, under those circumstances, should not be underestimated. It shows that we have yet to see Christian at his very best. Will 2011 finally be his year?
One of his biggest advantages in 2008 was that he wasn’t on anyone’s radar for a podium spot. None of the pre-Tour predictions included him. Once again, he has stealthy retrieved his cloaking device for 2011.
Now, to all the critics of my assessment—I know, I know, I know...
Of course Andy Schleck is going to win (he rides a Trek!). He’s got a brand new team with tons of money and a huge support network. It’s a given, the podium is his. Just ask Brad Wiggins...who, by the way, has learned from his own mistakes and will certainly dominate this tour the way he did last year, except that he didn’t.
But let us not forget, this will finally be Cadel’s year. He deserves it the most, after all. I just can’t remember which color jersey they give out for that.
Maybe Chris Horner will finally get his due? Much of what I’ve said about CVV could apply to Chris as well. Maybe the young and promising Jani Brojicvich will guide him to victory in the same way that young Alberto helped Levi in 2006?
Basso is certainly a contender, but don’t be surprised to see CVV sporting a bike pump once they hit the Pyrenees (I’m just sayin’).
Samuel Sanchez, he could win too (but he’s one of my favorite riders, so I’ll just leave it at that...because he could. And I can say what I want because I started this thread).
Of course the elephant in the room is Contador. All riders on Team Purgatory were deliberately left off in the interest of...well, I’m not really sure. It’s all just so complicated.
Now to coin a phrase: "Just relax." I’m not trolling here, just throwing in some levity. Of course any of the above mentioned riders could win the TdF. I like them all (except for Andrew). You could also add Vino if you like, and other worthy contenders. I would’ve mentioned Menchov too, but now he’s out (I still would’ve left out Sastre though, because that’s just not going to happen again).
But do you see my point? Anything is possible over a three week grand tour. So why not Christian Vande Velde? If the results of the race are a foregone conclusion six months ahead of time, then why even bother at all? The Giro was a much better race last year anyway. Maybe I’ll just watch that instead (it’s not like I’d be missing any other good race taking place at the same time).
Hey, I wonder if CVV could win the Giro?!?! You see back in 2008 Christian was the first rider to slip on the Maglia Rosa, and...
Oh btw, it’s pronounced Van-duh Veld—2 words, 3 syllables. (Paying attention, Phil?)
I tried to make this poll fun. Now cast those votes!.
One final thing:
Andy on Trek vs Christian on Cervelo = advantage Christian.
Can Christian Vande Velde win the Tour de France in 2011?
I’m not asking will he, necessarily, but is it possible? (and not in the way that Oscar Pereiro proved in 2006 that just about anything is possible).
Consider a few things:
His pedigree is the real deal. He didn’t just stumble into the sport, his dad, John, was not only a pro racer but is a hall of fame inductee. And let’s face it, DNA counts for a lot in pro cycling. (More importantly, John Vande Velde played one of the villainous Italian riders in Breaking Away. Lance is lucky he never found a pump in his spokes!)
Christian was a young standout in American cycling before riding for US Postal, and wore the White Jersey for Best Young Rider for five stages in his TdF debut back in 1999.
Fast forward: Plagued by injuries and a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows while on various teams, the world finally got to witness his true potential in 2008 as team leader of Garmin. With the solid emotional and physical support that he perhaps had never had before, his true talent was able to shine through. In his own words, “I have one of the bigger engines in the peloton, it’s my chassis that has been broken.” But finally, in 2008, many of the physical setbacks that he had endured for years were properly addressed and the talent that he was born with was able to shine through.
Now let’s be very clear about one thing: Christian Vande Velde very nearly won the Tour de France in 2008. If you don’t believe that, then you weren’t paying attention. And this is really the basis for my poll in the first place.
Let’s review:
By Stage 10 Christian was in 3rd place and only :38 sec behind the leader.
On Stage 16 he crashed on the descent and fell to 6th place 3:15 behind the leader.
On Stage 17 to Alpe d'huez he lost another minute to the leader, this time Sastre. But he was only about one minute off the other contenders on the stage.
Prior to the final TT, CVV speculated that he might be able take 2 to 3 minutes out of the others. "I'm gonna hurt those guys in the Time Trial," he said.
On the Stage 20 Time Trial he came in 4th behind only Schumaker
, Cancellara and Kirchen. He took 1:30 out of Sastre and 1:00 out of Evans and Menchov. He beat all the contenders soundly, ending up only 3:12 down from the Yellow Jersey and in 4th overall (sans Kohl). If not for that one crash on Stage 16, he very well may have been in a position to take the whole thing in the final TT!Coming into 2009, it was a whole new CVV. Confident and secure (his wife even said he had a new swagger
), he rightly had the podium in his sights. He was prepared both mentally and physically. Then...disaster. He crashed early at the Giro and suffered multiple fractures.But in a feat that was perhaps even more amazing than his 2008 performance, he fought back and not only rode the 2009 Tour, but finished 8th place! That effort and achievement, under those circumstances, should not be underestimated. It shows that we have yet to see Christian at his very best. Will 2011 finally be his year?
One of his biggest advantages in 2008 was that he wasn’t on anyone’s radar for a podium spot. None of the pre-Tour predictions included him. Once again, he has stealthy retrieved his cloaking device for 2011.
Now, to all the critics of my assessment—I know, I know, I know...
Of course Andy Schleck is going to win (he rides a Trek!). He’s got a brand new team with tons of money and a huge support network. It’s a given, the podium is his. Just ask Brad Wiggins...who, by the way, has learned from his own mistakes and will certainly dominate this tour the way he did last year, except that he didn’t.
But let us not forget, this will finally be Cadel’s year. He deserves it the most, after all. I just can’t remember which color jersey they give out for that.
Maybe Chris Horner will finally get his due? Much of what I’ve said about CVV could apply to Chris as well. Maybe the young and promising Jani Brojicvich will guide him to victory in the same way that young Alberto helped Levi in 2006?
Basso is certainly a contender, but don’t be surprised to see CVV sporting a bike pump once they hit the Pyrenees (I’m just sayin’).
Samuel Sanchez, he could win too (but he’s one of my favorite riders, so I’ll just leave it at that...because he could. And I can say what I want because I started this thread).
Of course the elephant in the room is Contador. All riders on Team Purgatory were deliberately left off in the interest of...well, I’m not really sure. It’s all just so complicated.
Now to coin a phrase: "Just relax." I’m not trolling here, just throwing in some levity. Of course any of the above mentioned riders could win the TdF. I like them all (except for Andrew). You could also add Vino if you like, and other worthy contenders. I would’ve mentioned Menchov too, but now he’s out (I still would’ve left out Sastre though, because that’s just not going to happen again).
But do you see my point? Anything is possible over a three week grand tour. So why not Christian Vande Velde? If the results of the race are a foregone conclusion six months ahead of time, then why even bother at all? The Giro was a much better race last year anyway. Maybe I’ll just watch that instead (it’s not like I’d be missing any other good race taking place at the same time).
Hey, I wonder if CVV could win the Giro?!?! You see back in 2008 Christian was the first rider to slip on the Maglia Rosa, and...
Oh btw, it’s pronounced Van-duh Veld—2 words, 3 syllables. (Paying attention, Phil?)
I tried to make this poll fun. Now cast those votes!.
One final thing:
Andy on Trek vs Christian on Cervelo = advantage Christian.
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