Eneco Tour - 8th to 14th August

[auscyclefan94]

Phil wins no ITT.

Definately not in this field anyway
Plus, the ITT is in my home town (Roermond). Its not Phil terrain at all. More like big gear men...

Are you going to watch it out on course?

Phinney ftw in the prologue

 

[will10]

Sadly Tony Martin isn't here, would have loved to see him get crushed on the hilly stage

Like last year?

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Its going to rain cats and dogs tomorrow, even thunder is expected. Should be good.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Are you going to watch it out on course?

Phinney ftw in the prologue

Yeah it's only about 1km from my home in the inner city.

but im going to watch on the bridge (straight out of the start). Bit of a creative TT course with a lot of corners, should suit Boom actually. Short and lots of corners.

Same with the prologue

 

[maltiv]

Like last year?

Not even Greipel was dropped on last years most hilly stage, in fact he won it, and the only one who tried to attack Martin on the ardennes stages was EBH. But to be fair, Martin looked quite strong, particularly on stage 3. Anyhow, this year the hills are a little closer to the finish, not like last year where the most hilly stage had its last hill, mur de hoy, like 30 km from the finish...

Are there any cobbles this year by the way?

 

[Mambo95]

Boasson or a random breakaway to win.

That's how I see it.

I think Alex Rasmussen will be in contention too.

 

[AussieGoddess]

Phil FTW

He wants to be world no 1 .... this and GdL are his big chances at getting enough points.

Its going to rain cats and dogs tomorrow, even thunder is expected. Should be good.

and this is even more reason why he will do ok

 

[KassyC]

Would love to see De Gendt win!! ... but it is difficult to see past Gilbert to be honest.

Am hoping from a good showing from Vacansoleil all around really. (but then I always am, whether they have a chance or not )

 

[Ferminal]

Is Boom fit?

 

[Kwibus]

Is Boom fit?

That always seems to be a question mark. I think he is fit, but I have no idea about his form. He left the TdF with achilles problems, but he had no problems riding a bunch of criteriums after the TdF. Actually got critised by Boogers because of that. He doubted Boom was really injured since achilles injuries usually last longer.

If Boom can survive the Ardenne stage he does have a chance for overall though. The prologue and TT suit him pretty well.

 

[Kwibus]

Would love to see De Gendt win!! ... but it is difficult to see past Gilbert to be honest.

Am hoping from a good showing from Vacansoleil all around really. (but then I always am, whether they have a chance or not )

Same here. Always cheering for Vacans.
Let's hope De Gendt can take his end TdF form with him.

 

[Kwibus]

The big favourites are Gilbert and EBH.

If Phil has good form he should be able to take quite some time on the ardennes stage. I doubt he has April form though.

 

[the asian]

Usually a good time trialist wins here. Not sure whether Gibert can get a sizeable lead on the ardennes stage. EBH is certainly a good bet.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Prologue:

1. Boom
2. Hagen
3. De Gendt

Overall:

1. Hagen
2. De Gendt
3. Gilbert

 

[Gloin22]

I think Hagen should win this, every stage suits him quite well. Expect Sky to make big train with the sqaud they have, G should be up there as well.

 

[Kwibus]

I think Hagen should win this, every stage suits him quite well. Expect Sky to make big train with the sqaud they have, G should be up there as well.

I'm not sure how much it will matter, but keep in mind that EBH has been really good since the Dauphine. It's a long time to keep good form, allthough EBH is pretty much always good.

 

[theyoungest]

That always seems to be a question mark. I think he is fit, but I have no idea about his form. He left the TdF with achilles problems, but he had no problems riding a bunch of criteriums after the TdF. Actually got critised by Boogers because of that. He doubted Boom was really injured since achilles injuries usually last longer.

If Boom can survive the Ardenne stage he does have a chance for overall though. The prologue and TT suit him pretty well.

That was such BS by Boogerd, you don't fake an injury to leave the Tour. Boom is very inconsistent, and generally not a Tour rider, that's true.

 

[Kwibus]

That was such BS by Boogerd, you don't fake an injury to leave the Tour. Boom is very inconsistent, and generally not a Tour rider, that's true.

Every attacker isn't a Tour rider. Chances of winning a stage are about 0 unless there is a big crash in the bunch. Only Costa managed to win by staying clear of the bunch. LuLu won because there was a huge crash in the bunch. It's really sad imo.

btw there were riders faking injury or fatigue during the Tour in the past.
This year Dirk de Wolf was a guest in either the belgian or dutch daily Tour show and he actually hid somewhere along the course so that he barely managed to pass the line within the time limit. The interview after he finished is really funny if you know that he was faking. Saying he was dead tired and couldn't go on this way.

 

[El Pistolero]

That was such BS by Boogerd, you don't fake an injury to leave the Tour. Boom is very inconsistent, and generally not a Tour rider, that's true.

Say that to Dirk de Wolf lol

 

[LaFleur]

What time does it start? Will we see start to finish live tv coverage?

 

[search]

What time does it start? Will we see start to finish live tv coverage?

first rider starts off the ramp at 13:50 cet, tv coverage to start at 14:30 cet on éét/sporza (15:00 cet eurosport)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Phil FTW

He wants to be world no 1 .... this and GdL are his big chances at getting enough points.



and this is even more reason why he will do ok

Quebec and Montreal are his biggest chances. Races fit like a glove to Gilbert

 

[maltiv]

I think Sky's best chance to screw this up is to make EBH do leadout for Ben Swift or Henderson, because he really needs those bonus seconds. That could very well happen though.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Quebec and Montreal are his biggest chances. Races fit like a glove to Gilbert

Lombardia as well; he can win this though, there are 3 stages that fit him like a glove as well. He can do a good prologue and he won't lose to much time in the ITT. This Eneco tour is his for the taking

 

[AussieGoddess]

omg I cant beleive it ....

actually getting tv coverage on Eurosport