Wiggo at the 2010 Tour

[Clemson Cycling]

Where will he finish?

 

[lucybears]

will Wiggo even be there?

 

[Anonymous]

In alphabetical order, my early prediction of top 5 will be:

Armstrong
Basso
Contador
Evans
Schleck, A.

At this stage, the Twig aint in there, but he may well squeeze in after seeing if he does the Giro and how he performs there.

At this stage, I ticked the 5-10 box, but there are about 15 other riders who can push their way into the 5-10 box

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Assuming the other contenders stay healthy, he won't break the top 5 unless one of the contenders seriosuly breaks down in the cobbles.

Not in this particular order, but I expect the top 5 to look something like this:
A. Schleck
Contador
Armstrong
Leipheimer
Basso

And fighting to to get in
F. Schleck
Kloeden
VDV
Evans (assuming BMC gets wildcard entry)

All of these guys will finish before Wiggins.

 

[Moondance]

While I'd like to give Wiggins the benefit of the doubt, the Tour looks ferocious next year in terms of the potential field, with guys like Basso and Valverde returning, and more of the young guys coming through like Nibali, Kreuziger, Gesink & Martin. Also it's not likely that guys like Evans, Sastre and Menchov will tank again next year, because if those guys are on form I'd rate all of them over Wiggins. Don't forget that there are fewer time-trial kilometers as well.

He'll certainly do v. respectably I imagine if he's able to give the same type of effort. But being on a weaker team and next year's parcours looking trickier will work against him. I'll slot him in somewhere around 7th-9th, could be a little higher, could be lower, but a podium spot in Paris, I can't see it happening.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

While I'd like to give Wiggins the benefit of the doubt, the Tour looks ferocious next year in terms of the potential field, with guys like Basso and Valverde returning

Good call. I forgot Valverde was coming back next year.

 

[ScottinPhilly]

For many of the reasons already mentioned I picked him to finish out of the top ten. This is not so much a knock on him as it as a testament to the potential quality of the 2010 field. I just think that he will find life a lot more difficult being a marked man in the TDF. Plus, as some of you guys already mentioned we have to take into account the potential return of Valverde and the definite return of Basso and Sammy Sanchez who didn't race last year. Just way too much really good competition on strong teams.

 

[ArtVandelay]

Outside of the top ten. Next year's tour will be much more competitive than this year with the likes of Basso and Valverde coming back. Not to mention the Mountainous profile. He got lucky this year and is now a bit too cocky for my liking. I think and hope he'll finish 20th. Also, I highly doubt Team Sky will have the firepower to drag him through the mountains.

Top 5:
1) Contadope
2) Armstrong
3) Evans
4) Schleck
5) Basso

 

[phillop]

i dont think wiggo will do well, there are far to many mountains, and with the amount of great climbers on different teams there will be attacks every where, my top 5 is
1. A.Schleck
2.C.Sastre (remember how fast he can ride up hills?)
3.A.Contador (the new astana will be nothing with out the hog)
4.Lance
5.D.Menchov

 

[maltiv]

i dont think wiggo will do well, there are far to many mountains, and with the amount of great climbers on different teams there will be attacks every where, my top 5 is
1. A.Schleck
2.C.Sastre (remember how fast he can ride up hills?)
3.A.Contador (the new astana will be nothing with out the hog)
4.Lance
5.D.Menchov

Cervelo is a lot weaker than the new Astana. Do you really believe that Sastre is stronger than Contador individually?

 

[blackcat]

I reckon Wiggins can win. He is the only one that can beat Contador, until Cancellara loses 8 kgs. But I dont think 2010 is his year. '11.

Schleck will need 90 seconds on Contador, for the final tt. Wiggins could pull back 60 seconds on Contador.

Watch the Australians "claim" him as their own. Since his late father was an Australian pro, whenever the Australian's unearth "foreign talent" like Russell Crowe, they always put their hand up, and make them their own. With Sunderland and Sutton, they will claim a win.

 

[phillop]

Cervelo is a lot weaker than the new Astana. Do you really believe that Sastre is stronger than Contador individually?

dumb coment

how often do you think cervelo will be required to work on the front? so the strength of his team will have minimal effect. sastre will not be expected to cover every one elses attacks, contador will be the one forced to shut all the gaps and because he wont have a strong team to keep the pace where he wants it, there will be alot more attacks.
have you ever watched sastre race? he will just sit on the back of the group and watch every one until he decides its time for him to attack.
and to awnser your question, yes i do think he will beat him individually, i expect contador to flop with out JB.

 

[**Uru**]

I suspect Wiggo will count himself lucky if he cracks the top 10. There are too many good riders expected to return to the tour or return to form. A 38 year old Armstrong out rode him when it counted in the mountains and I suspect that will not change next year. Leipheimer would have had 4th at this years tour if he did not crash out. Wiggo also got lucky in that Sastre, Menchov (although he did really well in the hitting the pavement portion of the competition), and Evans had sub-par tours and Valvarde and Basso were not there. I think that VDV is actually a better rider than Wiggo but he also was coming off injury last time.

 

[zapata]

dumb coment

how often do you think cervelo will be required to work on the front? so the strength of his team will have minimal effect. sastre will not be expected to cover every one elses attacks, contador will be the one forced to shut all the gaps and because he wont have a strong team to keep the pace where he wants it, there will be alot more attacks.
have you ever watched sastre race? he will just sit on the back of the group and watch every one until he decides its time for him to attack.
and to awnser your question, yes i do think he will beat him individually, i expect contador to flop with out JB.

well, I wouldn't dream of calling anyone dumb, but if you think sastre is a match for contador individually, you are..what's the word? Optimistic?

 

[Hugh Januss]

dumb coment

how often do you think cervelo will be required to work on the front? so the strength of his team will have minimal effect. sastre will not be expected to cover every one elses attacks, contador will be the one forced to shut all the gaps and because he wont have a strong team to keep the pace where he wants it, there will be alot more attacks.
have you ever watched sastre race? he will just sit on the back of the group and watch every one until he decides its time for him to attack.
and to awnser your question, yes i do think he will beat him individually, i expect contador to flop with out JB.

................

 

[Hugh Januss]

well, I wouldn't dream of calling anyone dumb, but if you think sastre is a match for contador individually, you are..what's the word?

***?.........

 

[zapata]

I wouldn't say that! Might think it, though.

 

[Anonymous]

i expect contador to flop with out JB.

i would agree with that.. tactical awareness of a pregnant frog with no eyes and its legs cut off..

 

[zapata]

i would agree with that.. tactical awareness of a pregnant frog with no eyes and its legs cut off..

He! That's well put! Not necessarily accurate, but well put.

 

[Anonymous]

He! That's well put! Not necessarily accurate, but well put.

great descenders though..

 

[Publicus]

dumb coment

how often do you think cervelo will be required to work on the front? so the strength of his team will have minimal effect. sastre will not be expected to cover every one elses attacks, contador will be the one forced to shut all the gaps and because he wont have a strong team to keep the pace where he wants it, there will be alot more attacks.
have you ever watched sastre race? he will just sit on the back of the group and watch every one until he decides its time for him to attack.
and to awnser your question, yes i do think he will beat him individually, i expect contador to flop with out JB.

Same question to you . . . how often will Astana will be required to work on the front? Until AC gets yellow, I'd say never. Let Radio Shack and Saxo Bank do the work . . . I expect Spartacus to be looking for yellow at the prologue and Radio Shack is going to want to control the race and set a high tempo to discourage attacks--and if it's not high enough, Saxo Bank will ramp it up for Andy's attack. In either case, it works to AC's advantage.

AC will be the favorite, but no one expects his team to do work the first two weeks of the TdF. It will only be the 3rd where they have to be ready. Frankly, I don't think Sastre has the legs to beat him. Certainly not the style of racing to do so.

Oh and if you are going to call someone's comment dumb, you should probably try to avoid misspelling one of the words in the process. Just a suggestion.

 

[Cogombre]

I say no Top 10 for Wiggo. He's benefited of a pretty neutralized Tour. Astana provoked a Tour with too few attacks in order to get Armstrong in the podium, and I'm not sure if RadioShack would do it again. If the rest of the teams leave all the responsibility to Astana, and they attack hard, I think that Brad has no chances. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[Angliru]

great descenders though..

Is this your opinion of Contador or all Spanish riders? I ask because you used the plural "descenders". We're all fully aware of your opinion of Spanish and Italian waiters (was it "slimey"?).

As far as Wiggins and the 2010 goes, I doubt that he'll finish ahead of his former teammate Vandevelde. His support will be minimal and he lacks the acceleration to match riders like Sastre, Contador, Menchov, Andy Schleck and even Evans. I think he'll be hovering in the same area of the gc as Leipheimer who'll be Armstrong's valet as will Kloden although both will likely be better bets on the Shack.

 

[Hugh Januss]

i would agree with that.. tactical awareness of a pregnant frog with no eyes and its legs cut off..

I'm afraid you might be letting your Spainophobia cloud your judgement just a little there Dim.

This just in http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/martinelli-contador-and-astana-better-without-armstrong

Let the war of words commence!

 

[Anonymous]

Is this your opinion of Contador or all Spanish riders? I ask because you used the plural "descenders"?

erm i was actually talking about blind legless pregnant amphibians..

I'm afraid you might be letting your Spainophobia cloud your judgement just a little there Dim.

This just in http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/martinelli-contador-and-astana-better-without-armstrong

Let the war of words commence!

nothing to do with him being spanish.. i think paris-nice, and the famous windy split day in the tour are perfect examples of his ineptness, or is it ineptity