Who will win the 2014 Tour de Suisse?

[The Hitch]

Horner out. He's to skip TdS to continue preparing for the Tour. Lampre is fearful that he could suffer serious injury should he crash and reinjure his ribs.

So is Horner is doing the tour?

 

[christopherrowe]

So is Horner is doing the tour?

According to this article at CN that's the plan.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Cadel (and I'm a great fan of his) holding his form is the reason I'm surprised. To my untutored eye he looked to be following the arc of the diver as the Giro progressed, and I was thinking the old man would hunker down in Stabio with Chiara and sleep late for a month or two.

Kelderman posted consistent performance data from the last week.

Evans beat him in the MTT, but dropped 1 minute on Zoncolan.

Evans was tired, but his form didn't drop much, instead others upped the game imo.

So I think he can carry the baseline form across to TdS, but will it be enough to be in contention? We shall see.

 

[Anderis]

I really like the roster Garmin sends here.

Slagter is having great season.

Dennis has shown in California he can be a factor in one-week races.

Acevedo has shown his form is improving.

Cardoso was really decent in the 3rd week of Giro.

I'm curious how this will pan out.

 

[christopherrowe]

So I think he can carry the baseline form across to TdS, but will it be enough to be in contention? We shall see.

Indeed. I would love to see him competitive here!

 

[Parrulo]

Good call not putting Valverde on the poll.

A shame he is not racing tho.

 

[christopherrowe]

The start list of this race continues to be refined, but is probably largely set now. The big news, of course, is the non-participation of Carlos Betancur, as has been widely discussed everywhere.

I note with some amusement that today Team Katusha added Alexander Porsev to their roster, where he joins Alexander Kristoff, Alexandr Kolobnev, and Aliaksandr Kuchynski to make a fifty percent Alexander team. I checked their full team roster, and there are no more Alexanders available to them, alas.

 

[alspacka]

I really wanted to include Pierre Rolland in the options, but surely he's exhausted.

I don't know, look how Kelderman's riding. I think Rolland has a good chance.

Hope Pinot wins, but went for Mollema.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Wiggins of course

Want Wiggins to win because I always do, but also so he can stick two fingers up to Froome, Brailsford, Walsh etc.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

The start list of this race continues to be refined, but is probably largely set now. The big news, of course, is the non-participation of Carlos Betancur, as has been widely discussed everywhere.

I note with some amusement that today Team Katusha added Alexander Porsev to their roster, where he joins Alexander Kristoff, Alexandr Kolobnev, and Aliaksandr Kuchynski to make a fifty percent Alexander team. I checked their full team roster, and there are no more Alexanders available to them, alas.

That will make team radio interesting.

 

[christopherrowe]

Oh, something else to be finalized is the roster for Team Sky. Now that they've cleared Sergio Luis Henao to ride, somebody else will be told they've lost their slot. Henao's inclusion, taken in concert with Sir Bradley's recent weight gain and track time in service of the upcoming Commonwealth Games, have led some to speculate that Wiggins won't be acting as team leader in Switzerland.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Oh, something else to be finalized is the roster for Team Sky. Now that they've cleared Sergio Luis Henao to ride, somebody else will be told they've lost their slot. Henao's inclusion, taken in concert with Sir Bradley's recent weight gain and track time in service of the upcoming Commonwealth Games, have led some to speculate that Wiggins won't be acting as team leader in Switzerland.

Jeez I hope not. WTF is he going for the Commonwealth games for!? Hasn't he got enough Olympic Gold FFS????

 

[christopherrowe]

Just to clarify, I haven't seen any speculation that Wiggins won't be riding the Tour de Suisse at all, just that he might not be riding as the leader, looking for a high place on GC and so on.

And to be sure, even that has just been speculation.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Oh, something else to be finalized is the roster for Team Sky. Now that they've cleared Sergio Luis Henao to ride, somebody else will be told they've lost their slot. Henao's inclusion, taken in concert with Sir Bradley's recent weight gain and track time in service of the upcoming Commonwealth Games, have led some to speculate that Wiggins won't be acting as team leader in Switzerland.

Why wouldn't Wiggo be co leader?
I mean its not like we are talking difficult MTF's at TdS.

Still think Wiggo is overriding favorite for the win.

 

[Jspear]

Why wouldn't Wiggo be co leader?
I mean its not like we are talking difficult MTF's at TdS.

Still think Wiggo is overriding favorite for the win.

Wiggins couldn't even "crush" the field in California...If he has gained any weight he will have a even harder time climbing here. Plus, there is a stronger field here. I could see him maybe podiuming but I doubt he'll win. He should target the TT and then ride support.

 

[Siriuscat]

Roman's GC target, I think he'll be in with a big shout

 

[Jspear]

Roman's GC target, I think he'll be in with a big shout

I certainly hope so! Personally I'd like to see him win it - Don't know how likely that is, but....whether he wins or not he needs to do well. We need to know that he will be strong for the Tour!

 

[auscyclefan94]

Evans beat him in the MTT, but dropped 1 minute on Zoncolan.

Evans was tired, but his form didn't drop much, instead others upped the game imo.

Rubbish, I don't think you can honestly claim that Evans' form held up for the entire of the Giro. It clearly dipped quite a fair bit as he was not climbing at the level he was at Trentino.

I don't expect much from Evans here but I am surprised he is riding tbh.

 

[xanadu]

Under different circumstances i would have said Roman Kreuziger, but Brad has every reason to be fired up. If he is anywhere near his form of old he might just want this real bad.
Of course failure here will vindicate Sky.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Under different circumstances i would have said Roman Kreuziger, but Brad has every reason to be fired up. If he is anywhere near his form of old he might just want this real bad.
Of course failure here will vindicate Sky.

I agree. As much as Wiggo can have the determination of an Ox, he can still be a prima donna at times as we saw in the Giro last year.

If he doesn't give it full beans I will be terribly dissapointed and as you say, he will exonerate any descision Sky et al make against him.

However, I think on this occasion he will rise to the challenge and with a wet towel, flick the balls of adversity !!

 

[christopherrowe]

More refinements of the start list as given at Pro Cycling Stats. Almost all teams have the green check mark that I believe indicates that the rosters are confirmed as final.

An interesting late addition is Moreno Moser, who Cannondale added along with Daniele Ratto (so Cameron Wurf and Alberto Bettiol are no longer riding in Switzerland).

And as far as Henao goes, it looks like he took the slot originally occupied by Dario Cataldo. It'll be interesting to see how Henao goes in competition after his break. And of course Team Sky's tactics should be fascinating.

(Not that I'll get to see any of this until after the fact. I've got the DVR set to record all the stages but I'm away from television, internet, and even phone for a week starting tomorrow. I should have looked at the race calendar more carefully when planning this retreat!)

 

[Miburo]

Sir Brad

 

[Parrulo]

Dat Lampre team

Will Costa have any rider with him in a group of 50?

 

[Roude Leiw]

Voted Frank, the guy was strong last year without much support. He rides his home race for the home team and will be really motivated. Did a great TdS last year.

Not convinced about everybody rooting for Sir Bradley. He can be a contender if his team keeps a lid on things in the mountains, which i highly doubt. This is not the ToC, but the last preparation for a lot of people with ambitions in the TdF, so it will be raced harder. Guys like Mollema, Pinot, Costa will test themselves and Frank will gun for glory.

 

[Parrulo]

Frank was nowhere near strong enough to win last year. Why would he improve so much this year?

He barely made the top 20 on the MTT