Good Evaluation of 2010 Road Scene

[JayZee]

http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/

I just hope all the top Tour GC contenders (Contador, A. Schleck, F. Schleck, Armstrong, Evans (if BMC gets in), Wiggins, CVV, etc.) stay healthy because the 2010 Tour could be awesome. Love Lance or hate him, his presence at the Tour makes it interesting.

 

[UpTheRoad]

I hope that the strategy of Team Lance is to send either Kloden or Leipheimer up the road in hopes of a counter by Lance when the attackers are caught.

I further hope that the rest of the contenders let them go, just waiting for Lance to hammer in an effort to bring the RS guys back. Not really sold on his role of a good teammate. Contador could even ride up alongside him a let him know that his dreams of an 8th yellow are flying up the road away from him. Even better, have Vino say it to him.

 

[BroDeal]

I hope that the strategy of Team Lance is to send either Kloden or Leipheimer up the road in hopes of a counter by Lance when the attackers are caught.

I just cannot see this happening. If Kloden or Leecheimer are sent up the road then Armstrong will never see them again. Kloden should have been third last year.

 

[Publicus]

I just cannot see this happening. If Kloden or Leecheimer are sent up the road then Armstrong will never see them again. Kloden should have been third last year.

He will. At the team bus.

 

[richwagmn]

I hope that the strategy of Team Lance is to send either Kloden or Leipheimer up the road in hopes of a counter by Lance when the attackers are caught.

I further hope that the rest of the contenders let them go, just waiting for Lance to hammer in an effort to bring the RS guys back. Not really sold on his role of a good teammate. Contador could even ride up alongside him a let him know that his dreams of an 8th yellow are flying up the road away from him. Even better, have Vino say it to him.

Imagine Oscar and Vino hammering at the front with AC sitting in. Then imagine Vino putting the hammer down with one his ferocious attacks followed by AC hitting the afterburners. Team Schleck follows AC and they absolutely shell RadioShack while Levi looks over at LA with sad puppy eyes saying "can I go boss, can I go, can I. Ima a co-leader right, isn't that what you said?" followed by a back hand from LA.

 

[David Suro]

Fun thread.

The fact that there is much speculation about what will happen in next year's TdF is good for the sport.

There will be many contenders, most of them secure in their position as team leader. I hope this breeds a recing environment where attacks of significance occure on the majority of the stages.

Columbia working hard through the flats to place Cav in position for sprint wins will make for a good "pace car" from who's draft the power players will be able to launch attacks.

There will be many strong climbers who know they will not have the ability to hang with AC or Schleck on the mountain-top finishes. This should lead to early attacks on the mountain stages.

The time trials will be very important for all of the contenders.

It should be a great tour with plenty of strange alliances created and destroyed between teams as the weeks unfold. I am hopeful that doping will not be a large topic of discussion, as it was not this past TdF.

Three American-based teams! A Brittish-based team! A Khazach team with Kazach riders! It should be fun to watch.

 

[thehog]

I hope that the strategy of Team Lance is to send either Kloden or Leipheimer up the road in hopes of a counter by Lance when the attackers are caught.

I further hope that the rest of the contenders let them go, just waiting for Lance to hammer in an effort to bring the RS guys back. Not really sold on his role of a good teammate. Contador could even ride up alongside him a let him know that his dreams of an 8th yellow are flying up the road away from him. Even better, have Vino say it to him.

Why do Lance fans write such drival? Team Lance will ride defesively the entire Tour. The old man can't attack like the kids so the boys will sit on the front on fresh cells to keep the tempo nice and high. You saw the way Astana rode last year. No rider was allowed to attack. They controlled to Tour to the point of boredom. Thank god for Alberto breaking the team rules.

 

[UpTheRoad]

Not sure how you saw my hope that Lance is forced to chase down teammates with the others basically ridiculing him characterizes me as as Lance fan.

I'll go further. Before it hits the mountains, I hope that Lance gets in a break on a flat stage and has a chance to take yellow if he can get to the line in time. If that situation unfolds, I hope that Big George is pulling the peloton and giving it everything he's got to make sure that doesn't happen. That goes double if another team is in yellow and Hincapie has no reason to ride hard but does anyway.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

I think Lance would be alright letting Levi take the crown. Other then that not so much.

 

[bianchigirl]

Which rather presupposes that an equally aging Leipheimer has the ability to match Contador. Sorry, that's about as laughable as Armstrong allowing any of his 'teammates' any glory whatsoever

 

[zapata]

Which rather presupposes that an equally aging Leipheimer has the ability to match Contador. Sorry, that's about as laughable as Armstrong allowing any of his 'teammates' any glory whatsoever

Watch out for zubeldia..

 

[Clemson Cycling]

Which rather presupposes that an equally aging Leipheimer has the ability to match Contador. Sorry, that's about as laughable as Armstrong allowing any of his 'teammates' any glory whatsoever

Levi is one of the few contenders that can hang with Contador in the time trial. That is where Lance is going to bleed a lot of time if his form where it was at this year.

 

[ScottyMuser]

Levi is one of the few contenders that can hang with Contador in the time trial. That is where Lance is going to bleed a lot of time if his form where it was at this year.

Whilst that may be true, with a more mountainous parcours, I can't see Levi (or Lance) staying with AC if h bothers to attack in any mountain stage - so its pretty irrelevant if either can stay with him during a TT

 

[bianchigirl]

Sorry, just don't buy it with Leipheimer - another rider with middling to insignificant palmares who suddenly gets talked up as a GT winner on scant evidence.

 

[Publicus]

Levi is one of the few contenders that can hang with Contador in the time trial. That is where Lance is going to bleed a lot of time if his form where it was at this year.

Fair point, though I wonder if that is still the case. Consider that AC is still growing into his prime. At the 2007 TdF, didn't Levi put a pretty good stomping on him in the final time trial? I know AC's time trialing has improved considerably since then. It may be that AC continues to improve this year (consider how important it will be with the final TT). Plus, I'll have to see where Levi's form is. He's pushing to do well at the Tour of California and the Dauphine, so he may be burned out similar to the way he was at the Giro.

I'm not going to go into the fact that AC will probably look to get time wherever he can in the mountains, since I presume everyone understands that.

 

[maltiv]

At the 2007 TdF, didn't Levi put a pretty good stomping on him in the final time trial?

Yup, and Levi even won the stage. Contador has improved massively since then though.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I'm not going to go into the fact that AC will probably look to get time wherever he can in the mountains, since I presume everyone understands that.

Everyone except for those criticizing him for attacking on Arcalis.

Contador did the cycling world a favor by telling the Hog to f**k off that day.

 

[Señor_Contador]

Imagine Oscar and Vino hammering at the front with AC sitting in. Then imagine Vino putting the hammer down with one his ferocious attacks followed by AC hitting the afterburners. Team Schleck follows AC and they absolutely shell RadioShack while Levi looks over at LA with sad puppy eyes saying "can I go boss, can I go, can I. Ima a co-leader right, isn't that what you said?" followed by a back hand from LA.

Back hand??

More like a bítch-slap.

 

[bianchigirl]

What Contador showed that day was that the Boss Hog orthodoxy 'win by percentages/calculate every attack/you can only win with a strong team' is not the only way to win the Tour (and was not the way the race was won pre 99 - even Banesto didn't race it that way).

 

[Anonymous]

What Contador showed that day was that the Boss Hog orthodoxy 'win by percentages/calculate every attack/you can only win with a strong team' is not the only way to win the Tour (and was not the way the race was won pre 99 - even Banesto didn't race it that way).

The "you can only win with a strong team" thing never really made much sense to me. Why would not having a strong team materially disadvantage the guy who can climb and TT the best? Discounting team TTs of course, which are relatively rare in the years LA doesn't ride.

Unless by "strong team" he means "sign all the leader's rivals to stop them from challenging him.