Who will win 2012 Tour de France

[TeoSheva]

What about Levi?
I think he can be a good contender...

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

What about Levi?
I think he can be a good contender...

Dout he will tt any better than neither Evans, MEnchov or Wiggins.
Highly doubt he will climb better than them, so meh not much of a chance....

 

[TeoSheva]

Wiggins? Seriously? I'd love him to win, but I'm just not sure he can hack the big climbs. He'll crack just like he did in the Vuelta last year.

in the Vuelta he creacked just on the last km of the Angliru...and Angliru is only in Spain...

 

[TeoSheva]

Dout he will tt any better than neither Evans, MEnchov or Wiggins.
Highly doubt he will climb better than them, so meh not much of a chance....

I think that only Wiggins can TT better than him... with Evans will be close, Menchov is overrated...

 

[will10]

in the Vuelta he creacked just on the last km of the Angliru...and Angliru is only in Spain...

+ Pena Carbarga

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

I think that only Wiggins can TT better than him... with Evans will be close, Menchov is overrated...

perhaps, perhaps not, we will see

 

[greenedge]

Evans can win this year but he will struggle to beat Contador in a mountainous Tour next year and maybe will try to win the Giro instead before he retires.

The funny thing is Evans could have won the Giro this year, the way they rode. He is even better at ITT's than Hesjedal/ has won F-W so he could have got bonus seconds too.

 

[TeoSheva]

+ Pena Carbarga

there he was already an helper for Froome... but, still, in the tour there are not climbs like that...

 

[Lexman]

What about Levi?
I think he can be a good contender...

Levi will have no doubt some bike crash which rules him out of contention just like Gesink

I hope, really hope all main contenders don't suffer as last year with all the crashes

 

[dlwssonic]

lol wiggins
I hope you all are kidding.
well this talk will go on about him till the first real big mountain stage

I actually see nibali and gesink as huge threats to evans.
Gesink is back and as strong as ever. He looked great at california.

 

[dlwssonic]

I disagree. There are clearly favorites and outsiders, and then you have guys who won't even come close. Contador isn't riding, that means the field is relatively wide open. I would think the main contender would be Wiggins if he brings his best form. Unless Martin can take 2 times 5 minutes in the ITT on ALL of the others, i don't see him as a viable option. Hesjedal is no contador, and might very well not make the top 10 (just like last year). He won't do the double, he won't even come close.

Outside of Wiggins, the others that are great ITT'ers, are nearing retirement. A lot of the others (Gesink, Nibali, JvdB...) are actually very close. So if you really want to go with the guys that are clearly the best candidates and have a real shot at winning this, the poll should just have one name: Wiggins. Or rename it to "will Wiggins win the TDF"?

omg, well I can't wait to see him crack so your blind views will be changed about him.

 

[The Hitch]

I think that only Wiggins can TT better than him... with Evans will be close, Menchov is overrated...

Menchov overrated?

What?

Is there a more underated guy in the history of cycling?

Considering he is a guy who has won 3 gts, podiumed his last tour and one of the guys who beat him isnt there and the other got absolutely destroed in the tt and it was a tt light course, and most give Menchov not a hope in hell, i would say he is very underrated.

In fact odds on him winning just a couple months back were all between 50-1 and 80-1

 

[dlwssonic]

Menchov overrated?

What?

Is there a more underated guy in the history of cycling?

Considering he is a guy who has won 3 gts, podiumed his last tour and one of the guys who beat him isnt there and the other got absolutely destroed in the tt and it was a tt light course, and most give Menchov not a hope in hell, i would say he is very underrated.

In fact odds on him winning just a couple months back were all between 50-1 and 80-1

Yes menchov is not overrated. He will perform well in the tdf despite not showing anything at all just like andy. However I fear age could be a factor for him. wiggins is the real overrated one here.

 

[Lanark]

Menchov overrated?

What?

Is there a more underated guy in the history of cycling?

Considering he is a guy who has won 3 gts, podiumed his last tour and one of the guys who beat him isnt there and the other got absolutely destroed in the tt and it was a tt light course, and most give Menchov not a hope in hell, i would say he is very underrated.

In fact odds on him winning just a couple months back were all between 50-1 and 80-1

He also won mountain top finishes in all three grand tours (and that was by beating the heads of state, not by being in a long break), and won ITT's in the Giro and Vuelta (and should have won one in the Tour without changing conditions). It's ridiculous to call him overrated.

I'm not entirely confinced he'll have his old greatness this Tour, but his palmares is fantastic already.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

How accurate was PCM in predicting the Giro this year?

With the actual startlist used he became 3rd here. Scarponi 1st and Rodriguez 2nd

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Never forget the black swans. Aside of the traditional names some riders are out there to put in some surprising stellar performance.

The guys that pop up in my mind are Velits, Westra, Rolland and Brajkovic.

Though they yet have to confirm their TdF GC abilities, why not at this july? Would be fun to see one of them do the trick.

I wonder how Westra will go in a 3 week stage-race. I doubt he can handle a 3rd week. And then the big cols are still a major questionmark as well

 

[Froome19]

Tough, though one way is this Martin on the Grenoble course performed almost the same, one could argue that means his conditions were similar, and Wiggins pushed in the Dauphine and finished 11 seconds down, and Evans pushed at the Tour and finished 7 seconds down. from that reckoningthey are pretty close.

There is a colossal difference between a TT at the end of a GT and a TT on stage 3 or so of a week long race.

 

[dlwssonic]

There is a colossal difference between a TT at the end of a GT and a TT on stage 3 or so of a week long race.

still i don't expect evans to lose much time to wiggins in the TT.
And wiggins is not spectecular in the mountains.

 

[Gloin22]

still i don't expect evans to lose much time to wiggins in the TT.
And wiggins is not spectecular in the mountains.

We'll see in the first MTF as you said

 

[dlwssonic]

We'll see in the first MTF as you said

nahh..
I think he will do fine in the first one anyway I don't even expect the favourites to race aggressively on that one.
Its the later mountain stages I expect him to suffer on.
the real hard ones with many mountains and the last week.

 

[dlwssonic]

there he was already an helper for Froome... but, still, in the tour there are not climbs like that...

In le tour they race so much harder than the vuelta and the calibre of the race favourites are so much higher.
come on wiggins was racing against cobo and froome.
In the tour he has to race against the likes of evans, gesink, nibali and the schlecks.
plus the stages in le tour have more climbs and not just a single MTF like the vuelta.

 

[dlwssonic]

there are a few stages this year which ends on descents.
It will be cool to see samu, nibali and evans go.
They can gain some real time if the descents and technical enough and there is some rain to spice things up

 

[cineteq]

there are a few stages this year which ends on descents.
It will be cool to see samu, nibali and evans go.
They can gain some real time if the descents and technical enough and there is some rain to spice things up

I wouldn't be surprised if they go for it, especially Sanchez and Nibali. They need to take time somewhere...

 

[dlwssonic]

I wouldn't be surprised if they go for it, especially Sanchez and Nibali. They need to take time somewhere...

don't forget evans.
He descended great on stage 16 last year.

 

[cineteq]

don't forget evans.
He descended great on stage 16 last year.

yeah, but he can TT, so most likely he wouldn't risk it...especially if those guys are behind him on GC.