Who will be this season's Radioshack GT GC Leader

[Cobblestoned]

Do you think Kloeden will ride the Tour of Kalifornia in preparation for being team leader in Le Tour?

I don't think Johan will send him to Giro, because he is too fragile for these possibly harder conditions and that hard Giro. Risk would be too high, if he wants to do something at Le Tour. And doing both "fullspeed" won't work.
So he will ride in Kalifornien after Romandie I think.
If Klöden can prepare this season without ANY problems, he could have a last shot for perhaps Top5.
If he wants to.
I think the first mountain stage will show, who will be RS's GC hope.
Possible that Brajko will be 1st leader and strongest rider in the first mountains and first 2 weeks, but it is also possible that he collapses in third week. So there should be some backup.

 

[Ryaguas]

I dont think that Jani has wood for GT... I'll put my bet in Tiago but not for Le Tour but Il Giro and La Vuelta...

This is good news because it means Machado might not be stopped from doing what he does best, which is make Vino look like Leipheimer

hahahahahaha LOLed big time!

 

[Parrulo]

I dont think that Jani has wood for GT... I'll put my bet in Tiago but not for Le Tour but Il Giro and La Vuelta...



hahahahahaha LOLed big time!

ya that was funny but also kind of the truth. lets hope 1 year with the hog hasn't killed that tiago already.

i hope he does well in GT's but the truth is he is yet to ride one. even tho he has already top 10'd the volta at a very young age more then once. even while doing some silly tactical errors.

the problem is being good at the volta is a sign of GT potential but it doesn't mean anything. just look at tondo. . . even tho his volta win wasn't the strongest ever imo. after all second place that year was candido barbosa

 

[The Hitch]

Janez is interesting. he definately has potential and it will be interesting to see how he does as a gt leader.

But wasnt Janez time on Alpe (when he was on peak form) pretty average? I assume he was on peak because he was nowhere to be seen 3 weeks later.

 

[Ryaguas]

But wasnt Janez time on Alpe (when he was on peak form) pretty average? I assume he was on peak because he was nowhere to be seen 3 weeks later.

Ye He was dropped before avoriaz... also the heat affected him too much...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

ya that was funny but also kind of the truth. lets hope 1 year with the hog hasn't killed that tiago already.

i hope he does well in GT's but the truth is he is yet to ride one. even tho he has already top 10'd the volta at a very young age more then once. even while doing some silly tactical errors.

the problem is being good at the volta is a sign of GT potential but it doesn't mean anything. just look at tondo. . . even tho his volta win wasn't the strongest ever imo. after all second place that year was candido barbosa

I was watching the 2007 stage to Torre earlier. Barbosa is hilarious in that race. People like Blanco, Sevilla, Bernabéu, Azevedo dropping like flies, and there's this 80kg sprinter sitting in there. Plus Héctor Guerra had to stop for him about eight hundred times in the final km.

 

[Parrulo]

I was watching the 2007 stage to Torre earlier. Barbosa is hilarious in that race. People like Blanco, Sevilla, Bernabéu, Azevedo dropping like flies, and there's this 80kg sprinter sitting in there. Plus Héctor Guerra had to stop for him about eight hundred times in the final km.

ya i also remember that. i wanted that volta to go for azevedo

 

[Ferminal]

As for Brajkovic never having proven himself over 3 weeks... he's never really been given much of a shot.

He's ridden in 3 GT's... the 2006 Vuelta (30th), the 2009 Giro (18th) and the 2010 Tour (43rd). He never got to ride for himself in any of them.

Yes, exactly... so why should he be given his "first go as leader" in the fastest and most important race on the calendar? Go to the Vuelta where he would be a genuine contender for the minor placings and earn outright leadership in future seasons. If HTC said Peter Velits was going to lead their Tour team last year we would have all laughed but this year we will say they are stupid if they don't. Why feed Janez to the wolves in July when there's zero chance he can outperform and equally prepared Klöden/Leipheimer.

 

[kurtinsc]

Yes, exactly... so why should he be given his "first go as leader" in the fastest and most important race on the calendar? Go to the Vuelta where he would be a genuine contender for the minor placings and earn outright leadership in future seasons. If HTC said Peter Velits was going to lead their Tour team last year we would have all laughed but this year we will say they are stupid if they don't.

Because RS pretty much knows that their older riders don't have the ability to podium at the Tour anymore, so why not give Brajkovic his shot... a rider who may have his best years coming up rather then in the rear?

Brajkovic won the DL last year... even able to hang with Contador on the Alpe D'Huez. Other then Landaluze (who tested positive while winning) there is a pretty long string of good GT riders who've won the DL.

Valverde (won Vuelta), Moreau (4th in Tour), Leipheimer (2nd in Vuelta), Mayo (5th in Vuelta), Armstrong (won tour), Hamilton (2nd in Giro), Vino (won Vuelta), de Las Cuevas (9th in Giro), Bolts (9th in Tour), Indurain (won Tour and Giro), Dufaux (2nd in Vuelta), Mottet (4th in Tour), Herrera (won Vuelta), Millar (2nd in Giro and Vuelta), Zimmermann (3rd in Giro and Tour), and Anderson (5th in Tour).

That's every winner other then Landaluze (who tested positive during the race) since 1985 having a top 10 in a grand tour. Botero was second that year... who had a 4th place finish in the Tour.


Quite frankly... winning the D-L is a pretty darn good predictor of becoming a good GT rider. He's RS's best shot at this point in my opinion. 4 years ago... yeah, go with Levi and Kloden. But I think their time is past.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Bruyneel already said Brajkovic will be the main leader.

Yeah this. Probably there best.. Potentially anyway. Hornet and co should just retire already.

 

[Ferminal]

Brajkovic won the DL last year... even able to hang with Contador on the Alpe D'Huez. Other then Landaluze (who tested positive while winning) there is a pretty long string of good GT riders who've won the DL.

Valverde (won Vuelta), Moreau (4th in Tour), Leipheimer (2nd in Vuelta), Mayo (5th in Vuelta), Armstrong (won tour), Hamilton (2nd in Giro), Vino (won Vuelta), de Las Cuevas (9th in Giro), Bolts (9th in Tour), Indurain (won Tour and Giro), Dufaux (2nd in Vuelta), Mottet (4th in Tour), Herrera (won Vuelta), Millar (2nd in Giro and Vuelta), Zimmermann (3rd in Giro and Tour), and Anderson (5th in Tour).

That's every winner other then Landaluze (who tested positive during the race) since 1985 having a top 10 in a grand tour. Botero was second that year... who had a 4th place finish in the Tour.


Quite frankly... winning the D-L is a pretty darn good predictor of becoming a good GT rider. He's RS's best shot at this point in my opinion. 4 years ago... yeah, go with Levi and Kloden. But I think their time is past.

This isn't what I'm arguing at all, where have I said that Brajkovic doesn't have the potential to be a podium/top5 contender in GTs? I'm simply saying that he's not in 2011, and needs more experience as a leader before pursuing more ambitious goals.

There is a huge difference between June and July. There is no way you can correlate form between the two. If Janez showed up to the Tour last year in his Dauphine form he still would have been nowhere.

All things being equal, can we agree that Levi/Klöden would finish higher in the 2011 Tour?

Do we think Brajkovic could do a good top10 in the Vuelta?

Could Levi/Klöden really be convinced to peak for the Vuelta (if we were to reverse their roles with Janez)? Horner could be one for the Vuelta though.

If I was running the team and looking for the highest placings in 2011, there's no way I would have Levi/Klöden playing second fiddle to a lesser rider in the Tour. I would prefer to send my next-tier riders to the easier of the GTs where they could get a much higher placing.

The only reason I can see for Brajkovic being declared outright leader for the Tour (over the Vuelta), is that for some reason it will be a huge boost to his development. But I have no idea how or why that would be the case, so would need to be convinced.

Note: I am judging Levi/Klöden on their 2007/2008/2009 form, so if for some reason their preparation was not as good as those years then I would be a lot less confident in their ability to outplace Janez.

 

[Galic Ho]

Brajkovic
Leipheimer
Horner
Kloden?

Will Ben King ride any of the big 3?

That is easy.

Brajkovic is 27.
Levi is 38.
Horner is 39.
Kloden is 36 or 37...I think it is the former.

Andy Schleck is 25. Alberto Contador is 28. The oldest potential Tour challenger is Cadel Evans. He's just turned 34. Basso is 32 or 33, Menchov is the same age. Nibali is 26, turning 27. Kreuziger (won't be there) but he is 25. Gesink is 24, turning 25. Jurgen Van den Broucke is 27 (might be 28) last time I checked, same with Igor Anton. Emmanuelle Sella is 30 (I like him and he can climb as well if not better than Brajkovic).

Put them all together and what do you get? An idiot DS. Bruyneel should have stuck with AC and turfed out Lance's loyal cronies. He decided the Spanish group were bad. Idiot. Look at the ages. Only Brajkovic should be worked on. The others all have to hold on and help him REGARDLESS of whatever crap happens because they are done and they know it. Kloden should be assigned to protect him. Send Horner up the road to try and get some time back. Have Levi tag along and try and focus on staying upright because the guy has issues. The old guard is too old to do any good. They were mostly just protecting Lance, he's gone, so focus on someone who can do some good if you protect him. Try and get Brajkovic up there with Jurgen and Gesink at the Tour. Despite the Dutch sentiment and whatever Belgians wander in here, I doubt either can podium at the Tour. They'll be pushing for 5th or there abouts, so the Shack should try and get Brajkovic as close to these two as possible. That is the best there team can do in the current climate.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Lots of interesting comment on this thread.

Maybe it would be possible to convince Levi and Andreas to have a go at the Vuelta if there were more TT kms (especially Levi as he has placed 2nd there before). But alas, there are only 56 kms (like The Giro and Tour it greatly favours the pure climbers). If there was 100+ then a podium for either rider there would be more achievable. So I think that they both should go for the Tour and do their best, whatever that might be - top 5, 10, 20....

Jani obviously has great potential - I can recall him doing alright for a youngster in the '06 Vuelta, and the point about DL winners eventually being strong GT riders is noted. Unfortunately he hasn't proved himself over 3 weeks yet. In fact last year he was arguably the Tour's biggest disappointment (I had thought a top 10 finish from him was very possible) as he didn't have any decent mountain stage results.

If all the potential RS leaders go in The Tour and have decent form, then Jani could go in as a tentative leader rather than a rubber stamped one. So he may start as leader, but then you also have Levi and Andreas as protected riders in case Jani cracks badly. There doesn't need to be a clearly defined team leader until stage 12; where the mountain top finish will likely tell us who it is.

I hope it is Klodi!

It would be suicidal for Kloden to ride the Giro before the Tour, or to ride it instead of the Tour (too many tough mountain stages). For preparation it could be okay to ride the first week or 10 days of it, but I don't think that a race as big as the Giro should be used for just preparation. So Romandie (which he has won before) and probably Tour Of Swiss just before the TDF would be best.

 

[movingtarget]

Yeah this. Probably there best.. Potentially anyway. Hornet and co should just retire already.

Why should Horner retire ? Still a great domestique considering his age. Every team needs riders like Horner. Works all day and still manages to finish above quality riders at the finish. Obviously loves to compete. I can't see Popovych doing much in the Giro. Top 10 would surprise me although still a good team rider but not as effective as Horner at toughing it out. He had some good results in the Giro years ago but not the same rider now.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I'd say no one. They don't have a clear leader, it's better to wait and see, and to give everybody full liberty for trying to get into breakaways and the like (and by everybody obviously I don't mean Klödi and Levi).

I go back to what hrotha said... no clear leader for the major GTs. If I was JB I'd put it in the hands of the guy who is stronger in any given race for the overall. For individual stages, they could play tag team... today you're the guy, then see what happens. The next day it could be another guy.

 

[Ferminal]

I go back to what hrotha said... no clear leader for the major GTs. If I was JB I'd put it in the hands of the guy who is stronger in any given race for the overall. For individual stages, they could play tag team... today you're the guy, then see what happens. The next day it could be another guy.

Yep... and it's the best strategy from a spectator's point of view!

 

[jaylew]

Why should Horner retire ? Still a great domestique considering his age. Every team needs riders like Horner. Works all day and still manages to finish above quality riders at the finish. Obviously loves to compete. I can't see Popovych doing much in the Giro. Top 10 would surprise me although still a good team rider but not as effective as Horner at toughing it out. He had some good results in the Giro years ago but not the same rider now.

I doubt TLR was serious, at least from a competitive standpoint. No one is going to retire after their best year as a pro.

And I don't think you can call someone who won Pais Vasco, finished 10th at the Tour, 4th at ToC, 7th at Critérium International, 9th at the Dauphiné, 2nd at Sardegna and went top 10 in all three Ardennes classics a domestique, no matter how old he is.

Surely his age will catch up to him at some point, but until it actually does you've got to let a guy with those kind of results race for himself. That said, I think he'd be an ideal domestique for a top 5 GT guy. Unfortunately for them, RS probably doesn't have one.

 

[The Hitch]

Brajkovic is 27.
Levi is 38.
Horner is 39.
Kloden is 36 or 37...I think it is the former.

Andy Schleck is 25. Alberto Contador is 28. The oldest potential Tour challenger is Cadel Evans. He's just turned 34. Basso is 32 or 33, Menchov is the same age. Nibali is 26, turning 27. Kreuziger (won't be there) but he is 25. Gesink is 24, turning 25. Jurgen Van den Broucke is 27 (might be 28) last time I checked, same with Igor Anton. Emmanuelle Sella is 30 (I like him and he can climb as well if not better than Brajkovic).

You go through such a big list of ages of gt contenders and don’t include Samuel Sanchez. Jeez. Some people just never learn.

The fact that all the lists that exclude Samu, have JVDB or Gesink or both, is one of the reasons i find it difficult to like those 2.

Seriously. Samu is clearly better than half of that list, and arguably better than a further 3rd.

The fact that people think of the likes of Kreuziger, Sella, Anton, VDB when naming contenders but dont think of Samu is absolutely mindblowing.

Some people are going to be in for a surprise in July. Probably in the Giro as well with Scarponi and the classics with Haussler. If the commentators dont mention someone, they then could pretty much surpass 90% of the chosen contenders in the mountains and some people wouldnt notice them.
.

Which is exactly what Samu and Michele have done and exactly how the story has played out.

 

[flicker]

Why should Horner retire ? Still a great domestique considering his age. Every team needs riders like Horner. Works all day and still manages to finish above quality riders at the finish. Obviously loves to compete. I can't see Popovych doing much in the Giro. Top 10 would surprise me although still a good team rider but not as effective as Horner at toughing it out. He had some good results in the Giro years ago but not the same rider now.

Horner is a tough cookie, great results last year. As he is top tier, even at 39 why retire? He loves his profession and shows great enthusiasm. He beat Valverde in Basque, nuff said!

 

[Race Radio]

It appears the Jani will be the leader at the Tour....3 weeks is a long time

 

[BroDeal]

Leecheimer is too busy preparing for his Tour of Utah defense to perform well in Europe. Also the Tour of Gila beckons. His days as a contender are over.

Judging by what we saw last year at the Tour, I don't think RS will be much of a factor. Management is running scared, and every "act" would start the statute of limitation anew.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Leecheimer is too busy preparing for his Tour of Utah defense to perform well in Europe. Also the Tour of Gila beckons. His days as a contender are over.

Judging by what we saw last year at the Tour, I don't think RS will be much of a factor. Management is running scared, and every "act" would start the statute of limitation anew.

Congrats that you finally found your way to the Professional road racing-forum.
Feel welcome here.

 

[BroDeal]

Congrats that you finally found your way to the Professional road racing-forum.
Feel welcome here.

I have thousands of posts in this forum. If you did not spend all your time trolling The Clinic, you might have noticed. So far this year, I have not had time to watch any racing; hence I have not posted much here.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That is easy.

Brajkovic is 27.
Levi is 38.
Horner is 39.
Kloden is 36 or 37...I think it is the former.

Andy Schleck is 25. Alberto Contador is 28. The oldest potential Tour challenger is Cadel Evans. He's just turned 34. Basso is 32 or 33, Menchov is the same age. Nibali is 26, turning 27. Kreuziger (won't be there) but he is 25. Gesink is 24, turning 25. Jurgen Van den Broucke is 27 (might be 28) last time I checked, same with Igor Anton. Emmanuelle Sella is 30 (I like him and he can climb as well if not better than Brajkovic).

I get your point, but we should also point out that it isn't a matter of Brajkovic or bust in terms of prospects with more than a year in them; Tiago Machado is 25, and in Michał Kwiatkowski they have an enormous prospect on their hands that Unzué would have had if he hadn't had demands for Latin American presence - he's huge on the guy.

No, they're not proven. Kwiatkowski may be allowed to do the Vuelta if that - but Machado could feasibly lead the Giro or Vuelta team, but the team should give him the freedom to hold on as long as he can, then let him come in with the autobus and hunt stages once he can't.

Not that it matters, since Radioshack will be over as of next year, Kwiatkowski will probably wind up back with Unzué and Machado will likely be a decent prospect on the open market.

 

[Polish]

We are witnessing the End of an Era.

What started as USPS and continued as Discovery and then Astana2.0 will come to an End as RadioShack.

What a ride!

Who will lead the Shack in this years Grand Tours?

It will be the Ghosts of All the Winners that Johann has led to the Grand Tour Podiums.

The Giro. The Vuelta. The Tour de France.




And oh yea, Levi to lead the Shack at this years Amgen Tour of California.