Team Sky lead out train?

[mwallack3]

Are they going to have any real lead out train in this year's tour? If so, who is going to be the guy for Renshaw? Or is it just going to be Cav on his own for the most part? He has shown in the past he can win stages like that.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Great chance that Cav will be quite a lone wolf i the 'few' days he expects to stay in the race.

 

[ingsve]

Well, they could have a pretty good train if they wanted too with Porte, Rogers, Eisel, EBH and Cav.

Chances are we'll mainly see Knees, Eisel and EBH helping out in the sprints.

 

[Catwhoorg]

I was thinking he would probably use Goss as his leadout man.

 

[greenedge]

Sky i think will only hit the front with 5km or so. The train might consist of Siutsou, Rogers, Knees, Eisel, EBH then Cav.

 

[ElChingon]

I'm sure Wiggins will be up there as well to get it started and to stay out of the mess behind, or he should if he wants to be around win week 2 and 3.

 

[Dr.Sahl]

I think cav will be on his own, most likely he will drop out very early this year, to focus on the OL.

 

[movingtarget]

Sky i think will only hit the front with 5km or so. The train might consist of Siutsou, Rogers, Knees, Eisel, EBH then Cav.

I think the only help will come from EBH and Eisel. He can win on his own anyway.

 

[Andy99]

There will be no train.

GC is their main ambition. The likes of GE will provide trains for Cav. Such teams have nothing else to ride for.

Cav has also slimmed down considerably for his big target - the Olympics RR. He's not going to be such a prolific winner in the TDF this year, so the other teams will need to take charge whilst they can.

 

[LugHugger]

I predict Cav to win stages 2,4,5 & 6 before retiring to fine tune for the Olympics. He'll get support on these stages from his team with the possible exception of stage 6 when EBH, Siutsou and Porte will be kept back to keep them fresh for the next days stage.

 

[Netserk]

Cav will win stage 1, but fail to win stage 2. He will have Knees, Eisel and EBH as his lead out.

 

[Wilba60]

He only needs one to look after him and then just jump on the trains of Lotto or Greenedge, their main men are two of Cav's old teammates anyway, so he shouldn't have a problem knowing their styles. Gossy does seem to get in the best position, so he may be located in a similar position as he was in the World Champs last year.

I am sure Renshaw and possibly even Farrar will also be battling for similar spots, behind Goss, Greipel or Kittel and their trains.

 

[johnnycash]

I don't think Cav has slimmed down just for the Olympics, I think he knows he's going to have to work harder in certain stages and is willing to lose a fraction of his sprint for that. In the Giro and with his recent GC victory, he's showing he's more than just a finisher and he will need to be with Sky's limited train.

My concern is that certain teams will get away and Sky haven't got the resources to chase down many breaks and why would Greenedge do that if Cav is tagged on the back of them? Would you fancy Goss over Cav? I wouldn't.

His aim is the Green jersey in 2013 for Sky, but in 2012, I actually think he will still win all the bunch sprints. Probabyl 3-4 stages, which I think he will consider a sucessful tour. But he won't win the Green.

 

[will10]

I can't see Cav pulling out before the stage to Pau before the 2nd rest day. Yes he doesn't want to be tired for the Olympics, but riding the Tour is still an essential part of that preparation. He isn't going to just ride for 8 or 9 days.

 

[Wilba60]

I don't think Cav has slimmed down just for the Olympics, I think he knows he's going to have to work harder in certain stages and is willing to lose a fraction of his sprint for that. In the Giro and with his recent GC victory, he's showing he's more than just a finisher and he will need to be with Sky's limited train.

My concern is that certain teams will get away and Sky haven't got the resources to chase down many breaks and why would Greenedge do that if Cav is tagged on the back of them? Would you fancy Goss over Cav? I wouldn't.

His aim is the Green jersey in 2013 for Sky, but in 2012, I actually think he will still win all the bunch sprints. Probabyl 3-4 stages, which I think he will consider a sucessful tour. But he won't win the Green.

Greenedge have stated plainly that they are after stage wins and their number one for those is Gossy. They have a team built around him and will race in a similar vane to the Giro where Goss had a win over Cav. If Cav tags on to the back of them, so be it, it isn't anything they can control but it certainly won't stop the GE team working where they see the need for it. Plenty of others like Sagan, Greipel and Kittel to worry about besides Cav and both Greipel and Kittel have teams built around their sprinters, who will be working in conjunction with Greenedge.

 

[theyoungest]

Renshaw still rides like a leadout man, Cav will have no problems following his wheel.

 

[patterson_hood]

for some reason I think this might be the year of the gorilla...

 

[Jaunty Monty]

Sky should make it clear from the off that they are willing to let breaks stay away if they get no help with the chasing. The likes of Greenedge and Argos-Shimano aren't going to sit idly in the peloton unless they have riders in the break.

Besides Cav isn't expected to dominate this year and as such I expect teams to contribute to the chase from the off. Sky are only likely to find they are without help if Cav starts winning.

Are there lots of points on offer at the intermediate sprints as there was last year?

 

[patterson_hood]

Sky should make it clear from the off that they are willing to let breaks stay away if they get no help with the chasing. The likes of Greenedge and Argos-Shimano aren't going to sit idly in the peloton unless they have riders in the break.

Besides Cav isn't expected to dominate this year and as such I expect teams to contribute to the chase from the off. Sky are only likely to find they are without help if Cav starts winning.

Are there lots of points on offer at the intermediate sprints as there was last year?

I think the points are the same.

There are enough teams looking for sprint wins to mean Sky won't have to chase breaks unless a GC contender tries to slip off the front.

Even if Cav is winning other teams will chase the break, otherwise there is no point in them taking sprinters.

 

[Frosty]

Hopefully the uncertainty over who will chase will encourage more people to try and break away in the first few stages.

Could end up in a stand-off but I think it will just end up with the teams of the main sprinters having one or two men on the front and the breaks coming back.

 

[Froome19]

It matters how much strength they use to pull the break back.
Ideally Sky wont want to waste anything on pulling the break back yet this may be problematic, and will depend on what form Cavendish displays in the first sprints compared to his rivals.

Of course EBH will be his leadoiut with Bernie in there as well; I heard from a source claiming to have seen it in a Brailsford interview that Wiggins will partake in the leadout which will also serve to act as BMC did last year in orderto keep him out of trouble. Even if he doesnt I am sure Porte and Rogers 2 very strong pullers will be in the leadout on most stages and Svistov the others may be depending on the work and Froome's overall position so overall the leadout seems to be pretty strong. Not HTC exactly but enough that I think they will be able to compete with the Greenedge, Lotto and Argos Shimano leadouts and even surpass them possibly.