Le Tour de France 2011 - the big one is coming

[just some guy]

okay... thanks, man. Hesjedel should be Plan B.

I think if you asked JV he would say both are plan A until one of them become Super mtn domestique.

Be also go to see Tommy D get a start after 10 years. Garmin will be there or there abouts

 

[auscyclefan94]

French tour teams, or at least guesses, from L'equipe.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/french-teams-reveal-tour-de-france-squads

Team Gadret not sure if he is going to ride yet or not. Bit surprised there is no mention of Monier for Cofidis after his stage win in the Giro last year

No Sulzberger for FDJ? That is a surprise.

Anyway, I think Allan Davis can say goodbye to tour selection

Evans has no chance of beating AC. Ever. This is definitely Andy's TdF to lose at this point.

****er!

 

[inri2000]

I was just having a look at the list of Australian riders who will make teams for the tdf.

Definetly
Evans
Goss
O'Grady
Renshaw
Hayman

Maybe
Wurf
S. Clarke
Davis
hansen
Haussler
McEwen
Roberts
Rogers
Gerrans


Any changes to that list? Who will and won't to those lists will ride le tour?

I personally think we might have a few less than past years.

Richie Porte definitely, he will eventually (not this year) surpass Evans achievements.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I have no admiration for Andy Schleck. He comes across as a whiner to me. He can't TT, can't descend well, barely knows how to shift his bike even when it's electronic. He's a great climber though. Almost as good as Matt Busche.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

I want Hoogerland to ride so he can go on his 'WTF' attacks.

someone has to pick up the slack after vino got all tactical on us.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

@ACF

is the tour magazine program out here yet? I know you mentioned in a couple weeks ago..

 

[auscyclefan94]

@ACF

is the tour magazine program out here yet? I know you mentioned in a couple weeks ago..

Suppose to be out today. I haven't been to the newsagency today s don't know if it actually is. I don't sucribe anymore because I see it in the shops before I actually get it.

EDIT: It is out now, according to the site.

 

[just some guy]

No Sulzberger for FDJ? That is a surprise.

Anyway, I think Allan Davis can say goodbye to tour selection

Alby out now no tour for him

re Sulzberger not a surprise at all he was 2nd in the tour of ... can´t remember after 2-3 stages and the team did not ride for him.

Points you see and brotherly love - all the Sulzberger boys will be at Greenedge next year, and FDJ need those world tour points and sponsor money.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Was just having a look at stage 1's finishing profile. The last 4 km's are at 3.2% and the last km is at 5%. I highly doubt Cav will win that. Seems like a stage for pettachi, Goss and possibly even Gilbert.

Also had a look at Mur de bretagne. 1st km is at 9.7% but last km is @ 4.7%

TTT course is just through some fields and little towns.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Was just having a look at stage 1's finishing profile. The last 4 km's are at 3.2% and the last km is at 5%. I highly doubt Cav will win that. Seems like a stage for pettachi, Goss and possibly even Gilbert.

Also had a look at Mur de bretagne. 1st km is at 9.7% but last km is @ 4.7%

TTT course is just through some fields and little towns.

I just went to the store (hadn't seen your post).

Got a TDF guide book. Waste of money.. The profiles are ok, but limited info on the mountains and gradients. Which is what I mainly want it for, also the articles are dribbble. Think it's from the makers of cycling weekly or something.

They rated the teams.

Saxo will be the strongest team at tour apparently. 5 stars.
HTC have 4 which is fair enough, and of course they are accompanied by team sky, the only other 4 star team. Makes sense

It gets better tho. On 3 stars we have rabo, radio, fdj, quickstep, bmc and a few others. Those teams all seem pretty even yep. :|

And of course we had Liquigas and Movistar on 2 stars, yep, BMC and Q/step are much better then them.

terrible.

Anyway whom publishes the magazine acf, got a link maybe?
cheers.

 

[dlwssonic]

Was just having a look at stage 1's finishing profile. The last 4 km's are at 3.2% and the last km is at 5%. I highly doubt Cav will win that. Seems like a stage for pettachi, Goss and possibly even Gilbert.

Also had a look at Mur de bretagne. 1st km is at 9.7% but last km is @ 4.7%

TTT course is just through some fields and little towns.

you forgot GVA or evans. I believe these steep hill finishes are the only time where evans can gain time on his contenders. But it depends if he is willing to spend his energy.

 

[dlwssonic]

I just went to the store (hadn't seen your post).

Got a TDF guide book. Waste of money.. The profiles are ok, but limited info on the mountains and gradients. Which is what I mainly want it for, also the articles are dribbble. Think it's from the makers of cycling weekly or something.

They rated the teams.

Saxo will be the strongest team at tour apparently. 5 stars.
HTC have 4 which is fair enough, and of course they are accompanied by team sky, the only other 4 star team. Makes sense

It gets better tho. On 3 stars we have rabo, radio, fdj, quickstep, bmc and a few others. Those teams all seem pretty even yep. :|

And of course we had Liquigas and Movistar on 2 stars, yep, BMC and Q/step are much better then them.

terrible.

Anyway whom publishes the magazine acf, got a link maybe?
cheers.

what on earth is this?! saxo strongest!? they are strong but no way the strongest. leopard should be the strongest. liquigas and movistar are much stronger than two stars.

 

[Woody22]

I know this has been talked about a bit already but who will be the nine riders for BMC??

Having just watched the apparent 'climbers' (and I use the term very loosely), I am not so sure who they will choose. I think the following are definates:

Evans (obviously)
Hincapie
Bookwalter
Morabito
Moinard
Quinziato
Santamarita

I also think that they will select Ballan. The timing of his ban just prior to the start of the Giro and then it's lifting just after is too coincidental for me and I think they wanted a fresh Ballan for the Tour.

That leaves one more place and I hope it goes to GVA.

In the early climbs of the Tour de Swiss Frank and Tschopp have looked better than Morabito and Moinard but they just completed the Giro.

Maybe they should just pick Evans and the 8 best Time Trialers. Doesn't look like poor Cadel is going to get much help from any of the 'Muppets' (as ACF has labeled them) when the road heads up.

 

[Ferminal]

Was just having a look at stage 1's finishing profile. The last 4 km's are at 3.2% and the last km is at 5%. I highly doubt Cav will win that. Seems like a stage for pettachi, Goss and possibly even Gilbert.

Similar to Stage 3 (I think) of the Vuelta last year, at least in terms of gradient. Gilbert will win, unless it's a straight road.

 

[El Pistolero]

what on earth is this?! saxo strongest!? they are strong but no way the strongest. leopard should be the strongest. liquigas and movistar are much stronger than two stars.

With CAS and Contador they have a very strong team. Navarro and Hernandez will probably also be part of the team along with Gustav Larson and CAS his brother. It actually is a very strong team.

 

[just some guy]

With CAS and Contador they have a very strong team. Navarro and Hernandez will probably also be part of the team along with Gustav Larson and CAS his brother. It actually is a very strong team.

CAS and Nicky Sorensson 99.9 % sure they are not brothers just same last name.

 

[El Pistolero]

CAS and Nicky Sorensson 99.9 % sure they are not brothers just same last name.

Haha, epic fail. Always thought they were brothers. Thanks for telling me.

 

[auscyclefan94]

you forgot GVA or evans. I believe these steep hill finishes are the only time where evans can gain time on his contenders. But it depends if he is willing to spend his energy.

Worlds are big target for GVA so he is doing vuelta.

Similar to Stage 3 (I think) of the Vuelta last year, at least in terms of gradient. Gilbert will win, unless it's a straight road.

Well Mur de Bretagne is completely straight all the way. When I looked it up on Google maps there were still riders names suchas 'Hinault' painted on the road!

I know this has been talked about a bit already but who will be the nine riders for BMC??

Having just watched the apparent 'climbers' (and I use the term very loosely), I am not so sure who they will choose. I think the following are definates:

Evans (obviously)
Hincapie
Bookwalter
Morabito
Moinard
Quinziato
Santamarita

I also think that they will select Ballan. The timing of his ban just prior to the start of the Giro and then it's lifting just after is too coincidental for me and I think they wanted a fresh Ballan for the Tour.

That leaves one more place and I hope it goes to GVA.

In the early climbs of the Tour de Swiss Frank and Tschopp have looked better than Morabito and Moinard but they just completed the Giro.

Maybe they should just pick Evans and the 8 best Time Trialers. Doesn't look like poor Cadel is going to get much help from any of the 'Muppets' (as ACF has labeled them) when the road heads up.

Pretty much your team that you have selected plus two out of Schar, Kroon, Ballan and Burghardt. Ochcowicz said there is a squad of 11 that they are selecting the team from. I'd imagine it is the above 7 and the 4 I have listed. Ballan and Burghardt are definetly on that list and I'd imagine Schar and Kroon are on there as well. As I said earlier, I don't think GVA is in the squad.

I personally think that even though Schar is a lesser name, he definetly should get a spot. He has proven to be a very good workhorse not just throughout the Dauphine but also during races such as RVV in the later stages. Kroon was riding alright in the Dauphine though I think he may miss out. Burghardt haven't really done much so far at Suisse though I think it is possible that they may seelct those two based on reputation and not form.

Yes, I am worried about BMC's mountain domestiques. Kroon, Quinziato and Schar looked better on the climbs than the rest of them!

Frank has really impressed me and tschopp just came off a strong 16th overall. Those two seem to be climbing much better than the Dauphine bmc climbers. Frank could be handy in the ttt as well.

 

[bjaelkesex]

Haha, epic fail. Always thought they were brothers. Thanks for telling me.

It's one of the more common surnames in Denmark and no, they're not related.

 

[Tuarts]

I just went to the store (hadn't seen your post).

Got a TDF guide book. Waste of money.. The profiles are ok, but limited info on the mountains and gradients. Which is what I mainly want it for, also the articles are dribbble. Think it's from the makers of cycling weekly or something.

They rated the teams.

Saxo will be the strongest team at tour apparently. 5 stars.
HTC have 4 which is fair enough, and of course they are accompanied by team sky, the only other 4 star team. Makes sense

It gets better tho. On 3 stars we have rabo, radio, fdj, quickstep, bmc and a few others. Those teams all seem pretty even yep. :|

And of course we had Liquigas and Movistar on 2 stars, yep, BMC and Q/step are much better then them.

terrible.

Anyway whom publishes the magazine acf, got a link maybe?
cheers.

ITYS lol

RIDE media I think make it. This one?

 

[dlwssonic]

With CAS and Contador they have a very strong team. Navarro and Hernandez will probably also be part of the team along with Gustav Larson and CAS his brother. It actually is a very strong team.

navarro and hernandez im not so sure they have certainly been a bit off this season. But its very strong but i still think leopard is stronger.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I just went to the store (hadn't seen your post).

Got a TDF guide book. Waste of money.. The profiles are ok, but limited info on the mountains and gradients. Which is what I mainly want it for, also the articles are dribbble. Think it's from the makers of cycling weekly or something.

They rated the teams.

Saxo will be the strongest team at tour apparently. 5 stars.
HTC have 4 which is fair enough, and of course they are accompanied by team sky, the only other 4 star team. Makes sense

It gets better tho. On 3 stars we have rabo, radio, fdj, quickstep, bmc and a few others. Those teams all seem pretty even yep. :|

And of course we had Liquigas and Movistar on 2 stars, yep, BMC and Q/step are much better then them.

terrible.

Anyway whom publishes the magazine acf, got a link maybe?
cheers.

After reading your review of RIDE's tdf guide I am not sure I will get it. Generally the interviews are quite good, stage reviews are interesting and all the stage profiles, diagrams and pcitures are good. I always have found the rratings of the teams and riders stupid. Regarding the team ratings, how do you rate a team. On the criteria as a gc team Saxo is definetly not the strongest. Sky is one of the very good stage hunting teams and looks strong but certainly doesn't measure up to other teams regarding gc quality. Regarding Liquigas, maybe a bit below what i thought but their team at the tour will be much weaker than the giro team imo.

I got a Triathlon magazine's TDF guide recently (it was quite cheap) and trust me, it was absolute garbage. They had Luis leon Sanchez and Richie Porte as overall contenders but Cadel and Samu as not being gc favourites. Also for the green jersey they didn't include Farrar as a favorutite but Thor as one. Reading some of the articles, I couldn't beleive how bad and inaccurate it was.

From reports over the past few days, it seems that hayman, Sulzberger, hansen, S Clarke, Gerrans and Mcewen will all miss out on Tour selection. I think the most unlucky riders out of that group are Clarke and Sulzberger as I think they definetly deserved selections in their teams.

 

[Reverend_T_Preedy]

From reports over the past few days, it seems that hayman, Sulzberger, hansen, S Clarke, Gerrans and Mcewen will all miss out on Tour selection. I think the most unlucky riders out of that group are Clarke and Sulzberger as I think they definetly deserved selections in their teams.

Where have you read that about Gerrans. I'm sure he'll go. First week could be good for him. He was on the recent altitude training camp with Uran, Zandio, Wiggins and Thomas so would be very surprised if he didn't go. He's also in Sestriere with the Dauphine team doing more altitude work.

Hayman deserves a shot but there's some competition for his role. He's up against Arveson, Barry, Knees and possibly Stannard.

I'd say Sky's team will be:
1) Uran
2) Zandio
3) Wiggins
4) EBH
5) Thomas
6) Henderson
7) Gerrans
8) Flecha
9) Arveson

Froome has a chance if they feel they need a little more support in the mountains, possibly in place of Flecha or Arveson.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

After reading your review of RIDE's tdf guide I am not sure I will get it. Generally the interviews are quite good, stage reviews are interesting and all the stage profiles, diagrams and pcitures are good. I always have found the rratings of the teams and riders stupid. Regarding the team ratings, how do you rate a team. On the criteria as a gc team Saxo is definetly not the strongest. Sky is one of the very good stage hunting teams and looks strong but certainly doesn't measure up to other teams regarding gc quality. Regarding Liquigas, maybe a bit below what i thought but their team at the tour will be much weaker than the giro team imo.

I got a Triathlon magazine's TDF guide recently (it was quite cheap) and trust me, it was absolute garbage. They had Luis leon Sanchez and Richie Porte as overall contenders but Cadel and Samu as not being gc favourites. Also for the green jersey they didn't include Farrar as a favorutite but Thor as one. Reading some of the articles, I couldn't beleive how bad and inaccurate it was.

From reports over the past few days, it seems that hayman, Sulzberger, hansen, S Clarke, Gerrans and Mcewen will all miss out on Tour selection. I think the most unlucky riders out of that group are Clarke and Sulzberger as I think they definetly deserved selections in their teams.

I guess it depends.
But you gotta base it on
1) GC and depth.
2) Stage wins

their ratings were terrible, it was a brittish mag I think.
Explains the sky and wiggo hype.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Where have you read that about Gerrans. I'm sure he'll go. First week could be good for him. He was on the recent altitude training camp with Uran, Zandio, Wiggins and Thomas so would be very surprised if he didn't go. He's also in Sestriere with the Dauphine team doing more altitude work.

Hayman deserves a shot but there's some competition for his role. He's up against Arveson, Barry, Knees and possibly Stannard.

I'd say Sky's team will be:
1) Uran
2) Zandio
3) Wiggins
4) EBH
5) Thomas
6) Henderson
7) Gerrans
8) Flecha
9) Arveson

Froome has a chance if they feel they need a little more support in the mountains, possibly in place of Flecha or Arveson.

TSF doesn't think he'll go. Looking at the Sky squad I wouldn't take him. There are better guys for the climbs on sky and there are better guys for the flats and leadouts at sky than him. He is an allrounder and can get a stage win but I definetly don't think his spot is secure.

I'd take

Arvesen
Boasson Hagen
Flecha
Knees
Swift
Thomas
Uran
Wiggins
Zandio

I don't see how you couldn't possibly have Henderson and Gerrans over Swift and Knees.

I guess it depends.
But you gotta base it on
1) GC and depth.
2) Stage wins

their ratings were terrible, it was a brittish mag I think.
Explains the sky and wiggo hype.

RIDE is definetly not British. It is made in NSW by an aussie, Rob Arnold.