Who will TT better in this years tour. Evans, Menchov or Wiggins?

[Havetts]

I think Wiggins is best in the prologue. Menchov will be the best on the hilly TT, and on the flat it will be Menchov again simply because it is late in the race and Menchov recovers like a beast.

Nothing more needs to be said, +1.

 

[The Hitch]

There's a time and a place for big dramatic post intros - this isn't it.

Oh right

 

[airstream]

wiggo but with much lesser advantage than many people think. the climbs wont be passed without a trace. theres a serious suspicion if hes able to recover as well as the others 2. i offer to forget about magnificent wc tt's, but a great prologue is possible

 

[stefrees]

Wiggins has never had horrendous time trials late in grand tours, including an unlucky 2nd in giro 09 and the best out if the last 30 riders in tdf 2010 when the wind changed.

 

[movingtarget]

All three are very close and we should not forget Leipheimer who has a very good record in TTs. It could just come down to which one peaks at the right time. This could be a year where Evans has to make time in the mountains on the other three and minimise any losses to Schleck. Race won't be won until the final TT.

 

[straydog]

Wiggins has never had horrendous time trials late in grand tours, including an unlucky 2nd in giro 09 and the best out if the last 30 riders in tdf 2010 when the wind changed.

Seriously, though, how anyone is seriously questioning Wiggin's pedigree in GT time trials is absolutely beyond sane comprehension. Sure he hasn't proved himself as a climber over 3 weeks yet, but to doubt he will be there or there abouts against the clock is frankly daft.

 

[Woody22]

Wiggins for mine. Evans next then Menchov.

Although if Evans rides like he did in Grenoble then not even Wiggins will beat him.

So much is bound to happen between now and the final Tour TT that I will be very suprised if all 3 are still in the running and motivated to do a geat TT.

Be great to see all 3 of them plus some others all within striking distance come the last TT.

 

[Swede1]

All three are very close and we should not forget Leipheimer who has a very good record in TTs. It could just come down to which one peaks at the right time. This could be a year where Evans has to make time in the mountains on the other three and minimise any losses to Schleck. Race won't be won until the final TT.

Haha well you can never be sure about that. Think about the Giro in 2011. Everyone said it wouldn't be won until the last climb. It was won after the first climb... (sort of)

 

[auscyclefan94]

Wiggins for mine. Evans next then Menchov.

Although if Evans rides like he did in Grenoble then not even Wiggins will beat him.

So much is bound to happen between now and the final Tour TT that I will be very suprised if all 3 are still in the running and motivated to do a geat TT.

Be great to see all 3 of them plus some others all within striking distance come the last TT.

The tt around Besancon is actually quite hilly which I think will make things interesting. I think the reason wh Wiggins is leading this poll quite easily at the moment is due to his performance over night when people need to remember that Wiggins has openly said that he has strong form atm and was better than last year of which he came 2nd in Paris Nice. People should also remember to consider Sanchez who is a good time trialler in a Grand tour especially the hilly tts.

 

[no_slipstream]

Froome19 wrote
"Bradley showed with his world silver, his Grenoble second amongst various other top time trial results such as beating Cancellara in Bayern-Rundefhart that he is a top time triallist but in GT's his pedigree isn't as great as those of Evans and Menchov."

Menchov almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Giro 2009, wet roads and white lines will halt him in his tracks. Evans relies on those ex Red Bull and Toyota F1 engineers for his bike and TT position, do not think he is as fast on flat roads as Wiggins, Cancellara and Martin. But if it is hilly, would
favour Evans. Certainly Menchov not in same league as the other four as far as TT goes.

I vote Wiggins, he is the 10mile record holder, divide the TT distance by his 10mile time, add on 10-15% and this will be his predicted time, says Dr Ferrari !

 

[The Hitch]

The tt around Besancon is actually quite hilly which I think will make things interesting. I think the reason wh Wiggins is leading this poll quite easily at the moment is due to his performance over night when people need to remember that Wiggins has openly said that he has strong form atm and was better than last year of which he came 2nd in Paris Nice. People should also remember to consider Sanchez who is a good time trialler in a Grand tour especially the hilly tts.

Very nice of you to consider Samuel . Samuel won't beat these guys but his hope is to limit his losses to maybe 1 and a half over 3 tts and regain that in the mountains.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Very nice of you to consider Samuel . Samuel won't beat these guys but his hope is to limit his losses to maybe 1 and a half over 3 tts and regain that in the mountains.

I don't think he will ibeat any of those guys in the 1st and 3rd tt's but in the 2nd where it is hilly he certainly can contend and possibly take some time.

 

[hfer07]

I have doubts on Wiggins, since his specialization in TT'ing has not yet produced the results he's expected to do-He always comes short in the ITT'ing during a GT, when the results must come-therefore I have to incline my vote towards Evans, not because his record is splendid either- In fact he lost two Tours because of his ITT performance, but I believe he's learned the lesson from those past failures & seems to have more control over the time gaps & how to get there with a better positioning to defeat them. Menchov- being a great ITT'er has this syndrome of inconsistency where crashes, bad shape or any other factor screws his options. If he gets there in good shape & close to the top 3, he would kill himself on the bike for the win-no doubt- but until then, I cannot give him the leverage to rank the top.

 

[diggercuz]

Ive gone for Evans based purely on the final TT in last years TDF... that was epic... I dont think you will see an Evans like in 09 when it came down to the final TT with Sastre and he had nothing in the tank at all before the start of the TT..

Having said that a healthy fit wiggins and Menchov will be hard to beat, but man, last year Evans smoked that TT...

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Animating the race

If Radioshack manage to animate the race as they promise (something which actually seems highly likely) then it may be everyman for himself and imo only Cadel on the evidence of last years tour will be able to keep to Andy, so Wiggins will be dropped in the process.
Still can only dream of a Wiggins win, but it would make the olympics utterly boring, what could match up to a Briton winning the tour?

Who will animate the race? Andy Schleck? Gain 20-60 secs on two or three stages? I don't think BMC and Sky cares much. They will drive the group up the mountains at a very fast pace limiting any gaps. Later Evans and Wiggins will take any gaps back by a factor of 2-3 in the TT's. Simple and workable tactic.

 

[greenedge]

Wiggins is the better ITTer but Evans has come through at TDF ITTs' more. Also i expect Evans to go better in the prologue and him to be better than Wiggins on the Hilly ITT. Fatigue/ recovery will also play a role so therefore i voted for Evans.

 

[movingtarget]

Haha well you can never be sure about that. Think about the Giro in 2011. Everyone said it wouldn't be won until the last climb. It was won after the first climb... (sort of)

Different circumstances. Contador won the Giro on one leg, gave away two stages and did not go flat out in the final TT. His domination was absolute. No Contador in TDF 2012 so unless someone suddenly becomes a great climber or Schleck suddenly becomes a great TT rider, I think it has to be decided in the final TT because the contenders for the podium this year are evenly matched on paper anyway. Of course it only takes one stage for it all to go pear shaped. I still think Evan's consistency will be hard to beat. Obviously R/Shack will be trying to shake up the diesels in the mountains as that is Schleck's only hope but he will need decent time gaps on the MTFs.

 

[Froome19]

Haha well you can never be sure about that. Think about the Giro in 2011. Everyone said it wouldn't be won until the last climb. It was won after the first climb... (sort of)

Climbs are totally different as the amount of damage done on them depends on the riders themselves (see last years pyrenees). Whilst time trials are guaranteed to create time gaps and change GC.
After seeing last years tour there is certainly not one standout climber of the GC favorites (besides possibly Schleck yet he will lose time in the TT) and likewise with the time trial, so it will go down to the wire probably between the better time trialists of the GC contenders.

 

[Midnightfright]

If this was a single day time trial then Wiggo for sure but i will be leaning towards Evans in the final Time-trial.

 

[DenisMenchov]

Wiggins is good on MTFs, but we won't see much of him after this stage which features more HC mountains.

 

[El Pistolero]

Surprised to see Wiggins dominate this poll. Considering he has never dominated a time trial in a GT, even if we ignore Martin/Cancellara.

 

[jens_attacks]

i'm going with wiggins.but if evans version 2011 or menchov version 2009 are there,it will be tough

 

[gilbertador]

Wiggins is far superior in a tt, he will definitely beat Evans in the prologue by a tiny amount but should be able to put 30 into Evans in a hilly one and a minute on the flat, other GC favorites who may place up there in a tt....Nibali as he has a great historic record and has put in a lot of work, Levi holder of the best tt position these days and he can definitely bat Evans in long tts if on form, Jusrgen Van den Broeck...same as Nibali: an excellent junior, a big build and 3 days a week on the tt rig this winter

 

[Froome19]

Jusrgen Van den Broeck...same as Nibali: an excellent junior, a big build and 3 days a week on the tt rig this winter

Granted JVDB may give some suprises in the TT but i would be incredibly suprised if he could truly star (top 10) in the TTs except possibly the hilly one (yet that would only be if his TT improvement really is genuine)
Anyway if he has improved that much in TT the chances are he won't be as good a climber so it would be difficult for him to challenge for podium, yet even so, so far signs are looking good for JVDB

 

[goggalor]

Surprised to see Wiggins dominate this poll. Considering he has never dominated a time trial in a GT, even if we ignore Martin/Cancellara.

Yup, Wiggins has basically been a top ten rider in GT ITTs in the past.