Pick your top 3 for the ITT

[taiwan]

Definately not guys like Wiggins and Martin who look wrecked to me.

It's the second last day of the Tour. It will be the fittest making up the rankings, not the specialists. Certainly if the peloton is really cleaner. The fatigue levels will be much higher

Like who? The course itself favours the specialists. The final TT in the Giro was won by a specialist. Specialists will have been targetting the stage, and wouldn't have had to ride near the front during the last few days.

 

[movingtarget]

Cancellara
Contador
Leipheimer
Sanchez
Menchov
Evans
VDB
Vino
Hejesdal
Armstrong
Schleck

 

[Indurrey]

Contador
Wiggins
Cancellara

 

[nia O'Malley]

Discussions are fine, but pick your top 3 for the record. If I have to suffer the humiliation of being wrong about it (because I am quite adept at picking the top 3 wrong in any given situation), everyone else has to put into the pot also.

Okkkk

Cancellara
Wiggins
Armstrong
Contador
Menchov
Martin

 

[dsut4392]

Cancellara
Evans
Contador

 

[koolkinks]

How about a ITT specialist like Bert Grabsch or Michael Rogers to do well?? Both have been riding in the autobus for last few stages.

 

[joy118118]

How about a ITT specialist like Bert Grabsch or Michael Rogers to do well?? Both have been riding in the autobus for last few stages.

rogers never comes back to his peak years.

 

[euanli]

I would not expect Evans to do so well on that arm

 

[Connor Pass]

How about a ITT specialist like Bert Grabsch or Michael Rogers to do well?? Both have been riding in the autobus for last few stages.

Was thinking of Grabsch myself - will go off first and could lead for a long time - if not the whole thing.

I'll go for

Grabsch, Cancellara and Menchov.

Brajkovic could do well too but it's really hard to know what he's been doing in this Tour. Doesn't seem to have done much domestique work either.

 

[hrotha]

How about a ITT specialist like Bert Grabsch or Michael Rogers to do well?? Both have been riding in the autobus for last few stages.

Didn't Grabsch spend some 120 km alone with Robbie McEwen trying to catch the autobus in one of those mountain stages? I doubt he was saving himself.

 

[michaeld]

Cancellara
Contador
Hesjedal
Menchov

 

[khardung la]

Menchov
Hesjedal
Contador

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Aren't you guys overrating Hesjedal's ITT now a bit?

I know he is in the form in his life and already surpassed his own abilities uphill.
But really, top 3 in the time trial?

Longer TT's 2010
18th Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Orio - Orio I.T.T. (worse than Gesink (15th) even)
14th Tour of California, Stage 7 : Los Angeles - Los Angeles I.T.T. (behind great specialists like Jeremy venell, Scott Zwizanski and Robert Hunter)

Longer tt's 2009
24th Tirreno - Adriatico, Stage 5 : Loreto - Macerata I.T.T. (this was a hilly TT where guys like Gesink and Scarponi rode top 10....)
49th Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Zalla - Zalla I.T.T. (again, a hilly TT which normally should suit him..)
20th Tour de Suisse, Stage 9 : Bern - Bern I.T.T. (arguably his best TT in a big field, but still behind guys like Cunego and Andy Schleck..)
42th Tour de France, Stage 18 : Annecy I.T.T

With all good will in the world, I can't imagine him doing a top 3.
A top 10 would already be a huge effort and a nice suprise.
But anything beyond would become downright suspicious to me.

 

[indurain666]

Aren't you guys overrating Hesjedal's ITT now a bit?

I know he is in the form in his life and already surpassed his own abilities uphill.
But really, top 3 in the time trial?

Longer TT's 2010
18th Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Orio - Orio I.T.T. (worse than Gesink (15th) even)
14th Tour of California, Stage 7 : Los Angeles - Los Angeles I.T.T. (behind great specialists like Jeremy venell, Scott Zwizanski and Robert Hunter)

Longer tt's 2009
24th Tirreno - Adriatico, Stage 5 : Loreto - Macerata I.T.T. (this was a hilly TT where guys like Gesink and Scarponi rode top 10....)
49th Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Zalla - Zalla I.T.T. (again, a hilly TT which normally should suit him..)
20th Tour de Suisse, Stage 9 : Bern - Bern I.T.T. (arguably his best TT in a big field, but still behind guys like Cunego and Andy Schleck..)
42th Tour de France, Stage 18 : Annecy I.T.T

With all good will in the world, I can't imagine him doing a top 3.
A top 10 would already be a huge effort and a nice suprise.
But anything beyond would become downright suspicious to me.

I agree with you, I don't see Hesjedal breaking top 5, maybe top 10.

I have a feeling that Cancellara really wants this one after losing last year to Contadar.

 

[ttrider]

Martin
Cancellara
Menchov

 

[marinoni]

Can He Do It?

Does anyone out there think Schleck can do it? Pantani in the 98 Giro and Sastre in 08 defended small leads against superior TT riders Tonkov and Evans, but does Schleck have any chance at all of beating Conti by 9 secs tomorrow?

 

[nia O'Malley]

Does anyone out there think Schleck can do it? Pantani in the 98 Giro and Sastre in 08 defended small leads against superior TT riders Tonkov and Evans, but does Schleck have any chance at all of beating Conti by 9 secs tomorrow?

No.

But I'll cheer on him trying. All the way.

 

[Publicus]

Mick Rogers gives some good insight:

The time trial on Saturday will be interesting. Time trials in the third week of a Grand Tour are completely different to any other time trials. It doesn’t matter if you’re a specialist or not. The favourite for the TT at this point just comes down to whether you’ve still got the energy.

When I was UCI World Time Trial Champion a few years back I was always considered one of the favourites for the time trials in the Tour, but I remember vividly the 2005 time trial where I almost struggled to finish it. So Saturday will come down to the general classification riders who are fighting for overall and of course time trial specialists who still have something left. Everyone else will just be worried about getting to the finish.

 

[Nick C.]

Cancellara
Contador
Martin

 

[Sophistic]

Cancellara
Martin
Menchov

Contador hasn't show great wattage output(in absolute terms) this year, can't see him kicking *** in long and flat ITT, also the wind might affect the race.

 

[Deagol]

Cancellara
Wiggins
Leipheimer

 

[Dundee]

Cancellara
Contador
Schleck

 

[menlo_guy]

This topic proves that CyclingNews.com could really benefit from a fantasy cycling section. CyclingNews folks please take note.

 

[Signor Corleone]

Signor Corleone

I agree! So here's my " Fantasy Selection "
1 Dave Millar
2 Denis Menchov
3 Robert Gesink

Have a good laugh!!

 

[maltiv]

This topic proves that CyclingNews.com could really benefit from a fantasy cycling section. CyclingNews folks please take note.

They've been doing a lot of competitions like this earlier. Maybe you should take notes and pay attention outside of TDF!