Predict the Top 5 GC in Tour de France

[Choppy Warburton]

Froome
Quintana
Nibbles
Contador, I think may fade
Bardet

 

[Carols]

Contador
Nibali
Quintana
Valverde
Bardet

Froome to DNF

 

[indianfanboy]

Contador
Quintana
Froome
Nibali
Pinot

 

[LaFlorecita]

But Nibali's coach said he's 64kg

 

[Dedelou]

Re:

But Nibali's coach said he's 64kg

Unless we could peek at the scale and know for sure, whatever Nibali's coach will say can be taken with a grain of salt.. (although water retention could be a problem there. what's Ramūnas Butauta credibility? )

 

[bassano]

Re: Re:

Bassano - like I said I am very happy for fairness to you that IF Valverde does not finish the race for ANY reason the bet is void? So that covers everything possible, if Valverde does not cross the line in Paris the bet is off. OK? good on ya!

OK that sounds fair enough, definition if he will cross the line in Paris is straight and easy
also good luck and lot of fun with watching tour, this year should be lot of fun

 

[dacooley]

Re:

Contador
Nibali
Quintana
Valverde
Bardet

Froome to DNF

huh pretty harsh to wish one of the top guys to dnf, well...

 

[nelsonsmen71]

Re: Re:

Bassano - like I said I am very happy for fairness to you that IF Valverde does not finish the race for ANY reason the bet is void? So that covers everything possible, if Valverde does not cross the line in Paris the bet is off. OK? good on ya!

OK that sounds fair enough, definition if he will cross the line in Paris is straight and easy
also good luck and lot of fun with watching tour, this year should be lot of fun

Hi Bassano, Yes crossing line in Paris is fairest and simplest way to do it, I cant wait for the TDF to start so excited and very excited to see my favourite rider Pinot despite being english my favourite is not Froome or Thomas, Pinot to surprise cycling fanatics/experts and get another podium Have fun

 

[qwer]

Re: Re:

Bassano - like I said I am very happy for fairness to you that IF Valverde does not finish the race for ANY reason the bet is void? So that covers everything possible, if Valverde does not cross the line in Paris the bet is off. OK? good on ya!

OK that sounds fair enough, definition if he will cross the line in Paris is straight and easy
also good luck and lot of fun with watching tour, this year should be lot of fun

Hi Bassano, Yes crossing line in Paris is fairest and simplest way to do it, I cant wait for the TDF to start so excited and very excited to see my favourite rider Pinot despite being english my favourite is not Froome or Thomas, Pinot to surprise cycling fanatics/experts and get another podium Have fun

pinot will not make top6...

 

[Taxus4a]

Re: Re:

I'm wondering if there's one rider outside of the big 4 who's capable of finishing ahead of one of the big four..
Froome,Contador and Quintana in top form are unbeatable, Nibali must be in the same shape as last year, otherwise he can even be dropped by Pinot and Van Garderen because he is not a natural climber which allows him to have a good performance even when he's not fit.

Bardet and Majka for the polka dot jersey. They have the climbing ability and the typical drive of two young riders, unless they will be worn out from helping their captains

I don't even know who will be the captain: Bardet or Peraud

I can't believe some people still saying this even in this day of age.

Nibali is a great climber but does not have the agility nor the body structure of Aru,Contador,Pantani,Schleck
That's why I said "not natural climber",I'm not talking about performances but phenotypes. He's more of a Passista-Scalatore...(I don't know if there is a similar english term..I've yet to find a translation)

I get your point, and in fact Nibali started more as a passista than a scalatore competing often in TT at the beginning of his career.For instance he represented Italy at 2006 and 2007 TT WC and 2008 TT OG.
But at the moment he has the frame of a pure climber. To give you an idea, here is a 2009 picture of him:

And in 2015:

Moreover here you can read height/weights of the cyclists you mentioned:
Nibali: 181cm, 62kg
Aru: 181cm, 61.5kg
Contador: 176cm, 62kg
Pantani: 172cm, 57 kg
Andy Schleck: 186cm, 68kg

I was celebrating with Nibali his victory en 2010 Vuelta in the final party in Madrid and when I took his shoulder to jump in a song I would say he was like me, no more, and I am 1 78. He was thin, but it was the end of la Vuelta and he was wearing a track suit and a t shirt...when I took a picture to Contador in Vuelta Castilla y León he was thiner.

 

[Matteo.]

Reading the pages, I notice that many put Valverde in the top 3. Now, it may even be his fans, but how do you put it on the podium after years of failures? Are at least 10 years in each tour he arrived in Paris with a mountain of minutes , nevertheless many continue see him at the top. Incredible.
He had the chance of life last year ( whitout C,F,Q) and it became a new fail , always beaten by French. So now in 2015, with the faboluous 4 in good shape and a lot of good riders , you will want to tell me he has some oppurtunity?!
Maybe only because he won Liege ans FW in spring?! Bah

 

[franic]

Re: Re:

I was celebrating with Nibali his victory en 2010 Vuelta in the final party in Madrid and when I took his shoulder to jump in a song I would say he was like me, no more, and I am 1 78. He was thin, but it was the end of la Vuelta and he was wearing a track suit and a t shirt...when I took a picture to Contador in Vuelta Castilla y León he was thiner.

It seems he has lost some weight when he moved to Astana. Regarding the height, I’ve seen him many times and frankly I can’t tell you the difference between 1.81m and 1.78m

 

[franic]

Re:

Reading the pages, I notice that many put Valverde in the top 3. Now, it may even be his fans, but how do you put it on the podium after years of failures? Are at least 10 years in each tour he arrived in Paris with a mountain of minutes , nevertheless many continue see him at the top. Incredible.
He had the chance of life last year ( whitout C,F,Q) and it became a new fail , always beaten by French. So now in 2015, with the faboluous 4 in good shape and a lot of good riders , you will want to tell me he has some oppurtunity?!
Maybe only because he won Liege ans FW in spring?! Bah

I guess because he won the Vuelta in 2009 and had some podiums(2003,2006,2012,2013,2014). For me he has no chance of winning, but he can maybe make it to the podium. Having Quintana in the same team doesn’t make him a favour, though.

 

[Matteo.]

Re: Re:

Reading the pages, I notice that many put Valverde in the top 3. Now, it may even be his fans, but how do you put it on the podium after years of failures? Are at least 10 years in each tour he arrived in Paris with a mountain of minutes , nevertheless many continue see him at the top. Incredible.
He had the chance of life last year ( whitout C,F,Q) and it became a new fail , always beaten by French. So now in 2015, with the faboluous 4 in good shape and a lot of good riders , you will want to tell me he has some oppurtunity?!
Maybe only because he won Liege ans FW in spring?! Bah

I guess because he won the Vuelta in 2009 and had some podiums(2003,2006,2012,2013,2014). For me he has no chance of winning, but he can maybe make it to the podium. Having Quintana in the same team doesn’t make him a favour, though.

Vuelta is not Tour. it's quite simple actually,

 

[nelsonsmen71]

Re: Re:

Bassano - like I said I am very happy for fairness to you that IF Valverde does not finish the race for ANY reason the bet is void? So that covers everything possible, if Valverde does not cross the line in Paris the bet is off. OK? good on ya!

OK that sounds fair enough, definition if he will cross the line in Paris is straight and easy
also good luck and lot of fun with watching tour, this year should be lot of fun

Hi Bassano, Yes crossing line in Paris is fairest and simplest way to do it, I cant wait for the TDF to start so excited and very excited to see my favourite rider Pinot despite being english my favourite is not Froome or Thomas, Pinot to surprise cycling fanatics/experts and get another podium Have fun

pinot will not make top6...

Watch n learn son, watch n learn Top 3 for Thibaut

 

[PedalCastro]

Where do people think Simon Yates will finish?!

 

[bassano]

Re:

Where do people think Simon Yates will finish?!

somewhere between Huy and Pyrenees

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

Where do people think Simon Yates will finish?!

somewhere between Huy and Pyrenees

lol

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

Where do people think Simon Yates will finish?!

Matt White continues to insist the twins won't be going for GC but just stage wins. It does take the pressure off but I'd like to see how they do. If they have a bad day they can always hunt for wins later in the Tour.

On Dauphine form Simon is the obvious bet to be better however Adam was returning from injury and before that had put in a great show at Tirreno and climbed well.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

Contador
Nibali
Quintana
Valverde
Bardet

Froome to DNF

huh pretty harsh to wish one of the top guys to dnf, well...

Predictions and wishes are not the same.

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Contador
Nibali
Quintana
Valverde
Bardet

Froome to DNF

huh pretty harsh to wish one of the top guys to dnf, well...

Predictions and wishes are not the same.

Thanks Angliru! I don't wish it to happen, just think it is very possible to occur.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

Where do people think Simon Yates will finish?!

10-20 if healthy.

 

[WheelofGear]

Placing the big four in the first four spots is not only wishful thinking, it's plain stupid.

One of the big guys DNF or showing weakness and losing the GC is more possible than not. Remember the Giro? It didn't went up well for Porte and Uran who was a part of the big 4. Landa who wasn't even in people's top 10, ended up as the strongest climber. Remember the Tour last year? There will always be surprises.

I don't hope will end like this, but in a realistic top 10 there should be an element of surprise.

1. Froome
2. Tejay
3. Quintana
4. Rolland
5. Pinot
6. Yates
7. Bardet
8. Valls
9. Sepúlveda
10. Kruijswijk

Now that's a top 10.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Re:

Placing the big four in the first four spots is not only wishful thinking, it's plain stupid.

One of the big guys DNF or showing weakness and losing the GC is more possible than not. Remember the Giro? It didn't went up well for Porte and Uran who was a part of the big 4. Landa who wasn't even in people's top 10, ended up as the strongest climber. Remember the Tour last year? There will always be surprises.

I don't hope will end like this, but in a realistic top 10 there should be an element of surprise.

1. Froome
2. Tejay
3. Quintana
4. Rolland
5. Pinot
6. Yates
7. Bardet
8. Valls
9. Sepúlveda
10. Kruijswijk

Now that's a top 10.

You missed a Yates

 

[Squirbos_19]

Re:

I've yet to make a prediction yet because there are just so many riders this Tour who can top 10 and even top 5. Of course there are the obvious choices, but some guys could show up in monster form.
Alberto Contador
Vincenzo Nibali
Chris Froome
Nairo Quintana
Pinot
Rodriguez
Valverde
Rolland
Barguil
Van Garderen
Peraud
Bardet
Mollema
Gesink
Kelderman
Costa
Talansky
Martin
Meintjes
Sepulveda
Frank
Nerz

And this isn't counting the surprise riders or the super domestic he's such as Poels, Majka or Fuglsang for example. Just to finish top 10 in this Tour will be an incredible achievement.