This years unsung hero's

[uphillstruggle]

I though I'd see who people have been impressed with but won't be going home with trophies, jersey etc. Just the kudos of their team mates and the watching public.

My vote is for Daniel Navarro. He has pretty much been the busiest man in the peloton when the road goes upwards and has frankly been pace setting all the way through the mountain stages for his man AC, always the last Astana man with Alberto. And to top it off, I just love the face of suffering he wears when he's working on the front, the kind of face that says: why on earth am I here, when is this stage going to finish. That I can relate to.

 

[lone_cowboy]

Damiano Cunego. Just keeps trying to crack it for that elusive stage win.

 

[Anonymous]

The domestique who has had the most impact on the race is hands down Navarro. Noone else comes close, although a case can be made for Cancellara's efforts on the cobbles but that was as much a result of the crash as spartacus himself.

 

[TahoeNL]

Jani - he is one Radio Shack guy to stick with LA on all climbs when LA was sucking wind... He could been way up on GC otherwise...

 

[theyoungest]

Jani - he is one Radio Shack guy to stick with LA on all climbs when LA was sucking wind... He could been way up on GC otherwise...

Nope. On the Morzine stage (Armstrong's downfall) he was dropped even before Armstrong was. And this pattern hasn't changed since.

 

[uphillstruggle]

Damiano Cunego. Just keeps trying to crack it for that elusive stage win.

Yeah Cunego is always good value, it's the guy who animate the race or who seem human that I enjoy watching.

Renshaw was one that sprang to mind when I was thinking of this. Cav owe's his victories to Renshaw's hard work.

 

[Christian]

Damiano Cunego. Just keeps trying to crack it for that elusive stage win.

IMO he mostly sat back and didn't collaborate in those breakaways and thereby p*ssed the others off ... and still didn't win.
Other than those 2 breakaways he really has nothing worth noting in this year's Tour.

My vote goes to Stuart O'Grady - put in a ton of work after a very short recovery, didn't expect him to be able to do that.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Danilo Hondo - tore apart Columbia's leadout train on stage 4; before the race Lampre's leadout train consisted solely of Hondo.

Rubén Plaza - lost several minutes on the cobbles, and came top 10 to Les Rousses, in between the heads of state and Wiggins on Morzine, in the Armstrong group on Col de la Madeleine at the rear of the lead group in Mende, top 30 to Ax-3-Domaines, just behind the Armstrong group to Bagneres-du-Luchon, then in the break to Pau moving up to an almost unnoticed 12th overall. Even before then he was ahead of the likes of Wiggins and Evans despite losing six minutes to them on the cobbles.

Kevin de Weert - similarly quiet accumulation of good results - lies 19th overall.

Kanstantin Siutsou - repeatedly being the one to do all the work to peg back the break totally on his own. He has made flat stages interminably boring but there can be no denying the job he's done.

 

[Roland Rat]

Of those not mentioned above, Chris Anker Sørensen.

 

[Big GMaC]

Nope. On the Morzine stage (Armstrong's downfall) he was dropped even before Armstrong was. And this pattern hasn't changed since.

Win Dauphine --> suck at Tour...

 

[Bordercollie1]

It's Roche, it's Nicholas Roche.

He is a young guy riding for the overall instead of chasing stage wins and he is 5 mins ahead of Wiggins. He shoots off his mouth, he can climb and sprint and is quickly replacing Cunego as my fav rider.

He is cycling rotyalty but he barely gets a mention on the TV (do Paul and Phil know who he is?)

Really interested to see how he does on the tourmalet and the time trial.

 

[craig1985]

The French spell it without the 'h'. Now where were we...

 

[rxgqgxnyfz]

Win Dauphine --> suck at Tour...

Aforementioned Navarro doesn't think so.

As to me -- it's Kiriyenka.

I mean -- how many times he can get snubbed on the last km of the stage? He's been in what -- three breaks with no result?
________
Lovely Wendie99

 

[Ibanez]

Aforementioned Navarro doesn't think so.

As to me -- it's Kiriyenka.

I mean -- how many times he can get snubbed on the last km of the stage? He's been in what -- three breaks with no result?

First guy that came to mind for me as well. What a beast.

 

[The Hitch]

bole - beat hushovd in a sprint to stop him getting full points

Chris Horner - 39 years young, doing domestique work for Amrstron even though hes ahead of him.

and those astana guys, who was the one that stayed with andy and alberto for a few seconds after everyone else was dreopped

Jens voigt

 

[sublimit]

Yeah I go with Chris Horner, also riders like Renshaw, Kiriyenka,

 

[ingsve]

Thomas Löfkvist. Looks like he will finally manage to complete a GT without bonking into the grupetto and finish in the top 20. Very good improvement for him.

 

[sublimit]

It's Roche, it's Nicholas Roche.

He is a young guy riding for the overall instead of chasing stage wins and he is 5 mins ahead of Wiggins. He shoots off his mouth, he can climb and sprint and is quickly replacing Cunego as my fav rider.

He is cycling rotyalty but he barely gets a mention on the TV (do Paul and Phil know who he is?)

Really interested to see how he does on the tourmalet and the time trial.

Last year he had plenty of coverage because he was in breaks so many times and going for bunch gallops. this year he is anonymous though doing well on GC.

I prefer the way he rode last time.

 

[erader]

The domestique who has had the most impact on the race is hands down Navarro. Noone else comes close, although a case can be made for Cancellara's efforts on the cobbles but that was as much a result of the crash as spartacus himself.

also, cancellara's neutralizing a stage was huge.

erader

 

[WinterRider]

Ryder Hesjedal.

I can recall people talking about how he was hanging on for dear life in the team time trial last year to be the fifth man over the line. Then this year both his teams leaders are taken out and he seems to have saved Garmin's Tour almost single handed.

When I saw him emerge from the fog 4th on the Tourmalet, my first thought was that I must have blacked out and missed 20 other guys coming in ahead of him.

Can't wait to see if he can do anything in the ITT.

 

[Ripper]

Ryder Hesjedal.

I can recall people talking about how he was hanging on for dear life in the team time trial last year to be the fifth man over the line. Then this year both his teams leaders are taken out and he seems to have saved Garmin's Tour almost single handed.

When I saw him emerge from the fog 4th on the Tourmalet, my first thought was that I must have blacked out and missed 20 other guys coming in ahead of him.

Can't wait to see if he can do anything in the ITT.

+1,000,000 Although, to be fair, I am Canadian (and therefore biased ) and he is getting some airplay now This said, he has not raced conservatively at all, which is great to see.

 

[nowhereman]

OK, so how is it that everyone has skipped over Jurgen Van den Broeck?
He has had an outstandingly quiet tour for the 5th place he is currently occupying. This man was all but invisible on the Discovery Channel Squad. (Johan could have used him this year) Then had to suffer in the shadows of the more popular Cadel Evans, and Phillipe Gilbert most of last year. But this year he looks to be coming of age, and this Tour de France result is showing just that. And with his ITT skills I feel he has an outside chance of snatching 4th place from Samuel Sanchez (when Menchov puts him off the podium in the final ITT).

My other favorite is Ryder Hesjedal, Mountain Biking Champion turned Top notch Roadie!
Good Going, eh?

 

[skidmark]

+1,000,000 Although, to be fair, I am Canadian (and therefore biased ) and he is getting some airplay now This said, he has not raced conservatively at all, which is great to see.

Although I agree that he has had a fantastic tour (and am also Canadian, so a little bit influenced by patriotism), I don't know if he's really an unsung hero. I think he's pretty sung. Garmin's ecstatic with his performance, and it's getting alot of notice in the media in Canada, and getting alot of notice in the english-language cycling news.

Chris Anker Sorenson was a good mention, when he's on the front on a climb it makes it fun to watch for 10 minutes or so while he pulls faces and gasps for air.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

Navarro and Vino. They need a huge raise (well, Navarro does.) Vino has all the mutton, wool and wild boar ham to last him through winter.

And of course, Lance.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I'm really not sure VDB's time trial prowess is enough to overhaul over a minute on a Sánchez. I'm sorry, I'm just not. Sánchez has vastly improved against the clock and beat all the GC contenders at the Vuelta - which included a couple of people like Evans and Valverde who I'd back to beat VDB against the clock more often than not. Yes, VDB beat Sánchez over a similar distance at the Dauphiné, but Sánchez wasn't peaking for the Dauphiné.