who is gonna win the white jersey in the tour de france

[HemmoBosscher]

No love for Van Garderen? 100km+ in ITT and not terrible in the mountains..

 

[eric_vv]

I agree. Pinot will indeed be very interesting to follow. As Dekker_Tifosi mentions, his consistency could be an issue though. Tour de l'Ain a case in point here. Stage win - lose 6 mins - stage win, on three adjacent stages. If that'll happen during the Tour any chances of white will be gone. Seeing him in top10 or maybe even top5 in a few of the mountain stages would fulfill my expectations

I don't think inconsistency is necessarily a problem for the white jersey. Most of the time the lower top 10 has at least 1 rider who makes the top 10 because of a breakaway, while the better (more consistent) riders aren't allowed much leeway. A top 10 might not even be necessary this year.

It depends who's in the fight for white and if they have the luxury to defend the jersey. I can easily imagine Kruiswijk having the jersey with a comfortable 5 minute margin and losing it because someone like Pinot is in a non threatening break gaining 15 min. Rabobank will only defend the white jersey if that's the last prize left.

 

[Lanark]

I don't think inconsistency is necessarily a problem for the white jersey. Most of the time the lower top 10 has at least 1 rider who makes the top 10 because of a breakaway, while the better (more consistent) riders aren't allowed much leeway. A top 10 might not even be necessary this year.

It depends who's in the fight for white and if they have the luxury to defend the jersey. I can easily imagine Kruiswijk having the jersey with a comfortable 5 minute margin and losing it because someone like Pinot is in a non threatening break gaining 15 min. Rabobank will only defend the white jersey if that's the last prize left.

Unless Gesink is in yellow, or very, very close to it, there's no way they're gonna give a way a white jersey without a fight. Remember, this is the Tour, people sacrifice their team to defend their 13th place in the GC here.

 

[Pentacycle]

No love for Van Garderen? 100km+ in ITT and not terrible in the mountains..

What is TJ's closest finish on a real mountaintop? To win the white jersey you'll still have to be close to the best in the mountains.

 

[will10]

No love for Van Garderen? 100km+ in ITT and not terrible in the mountains..

No freedom unless Cadel has problems. Oh and he can't climb well enough.

 

[Leonardus]

So, Kruiswijk the only topfavorite for the white jersey?
Van Garderen has to work for Evans, Poels will target a stage win, Pinot very young and inconsistent, Taaramae still recovering and not at his best.
Kruiswijk is consistent, not bad in the TT's and Rabo will definitely protect a white jersey.

 

[Parrulo]

No love for Van Garderen? 100km+ in ITT and not terrible in the mountains..

unless he suddenly learned how to climb he has about as much chances as marcel kittel

i hope Taaramae is back to his usual level, because if he was he would win it imo. but at the moment kruiswijk is the big favorite imo

 

[theyoungest]

So, Kruiswijk the only topfavorite for the white jersey?
Van Garderen has to work for Evans, Poels will target a stage win, Pinot very young and inconsistent, Taaramae still recovering and not at his best.
Kruiswijk is consistent, not bad in the TT's and Rabo will definitely protect a white jersey.

It's the Tour, it never goes as planned. Let him first survive the first week carnage, that's a feat in itself.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's the Tour, it never goes as planned. Let him first survive the first week carnage, that's a feat in itself.

I can already imagine the worst scenario happening. Gesink falls. Mollema gets ill and Kruijswijk loses time due to a badly timed mechanical and is out of the GC as well

 

[will10]

So, Kruiswijk the only topfavorite for the white jersey?
Van Garderen has to work for Evans, Poels will target a stage win, Pinot very young and inconsistent, Taaramae still recovering and not at his best.
Kruiswijk is consistent, not bad in the TT's and Rabo will definitely protect a white jersey.

Any of the white jersey contenders could take 10 minutes back and get back into GC if they pick the right break in week 2. It's never nailed on

 

[K-0tic]

Riders like Taaramae and Poels both know there's not a lot of competition for the white jersey. I've heard another statement that Poels will be the main man for Vacansoleil for the GC so I expect him to try and target the jersey. If Taaramae can get through the first week and recover well, he might be targetting it then anyway. Kruijswijk remains the favourite yes, but I still expect the others to try and take it.

 

[theyoungest]

I can already imagine the worst scenario happening. Gesink falls. Mollema gets ill and Kruijswijk loses time due to a badly timed mechanical and is out of the GC as well

Well, two thirds of that already happened last year, so it's not that unrealistic

 

[gustienordic]

Unless Gesink is in yellow, or very, very close to it, there's no way they're gonna give a way a white jersey without a fight. Remember, this is the Tour, people sacrifice their team to defend their 13th place in the GC here.

Some riders do that Others do not seem to care. There is much less racing to be 10th than in the Giro!

 

[greenedge]

Taaramae only 2 seconds ahead of Pinot- who did a good ride for him.

TJVG i think could win the white if he did not have to ride for Cadel ( but the same might be said about Kruisjwijk ).

 

[Moviefan1203]

Tejay has already said that white is not a concern. He wants to learn how to win a Tour from Cadel instead.

 

[Parrulo]

Tejay has already said that white is not a concern. He wants to learn how to win a Tour from Cadel instead.

easy. . . lesson number 1: learn how to climb

right how he has about as much chances of winning the white jersey as chris horner

 

[dlwssonic]

easy. . . lesson number 1: learn how to climb

right how he has about as much chances of winning the white jersey as chris horner

I wonder how successful he could be if he concentrated on becoming a TT specialist.

But he is still young and there is time to improve the climbing.

 

[auscyclefan94]

easy. . . lesson number 1: learn how to climb

right how he has about as much chances of winning the white jersey as chris horner

I don't agree with some of the comments towards TJVG and his climbing. I don't think he is that bad as some people say. The hate of many Anglo and especially American riders is a lot to do with people's dislike of Armstrong and the hyping up of Anglo riders by Liggett and Sherwen.