Getting awfully close

[bagtagley]

Le Tour is just around the corner, and there's clearly a large roadie contingent on here. Where are the predictors, the shit talkers, the Armstrongers?

I really don't know. I've been certain about Armstrong for the past 3 tours, but this is the first one that I have some doubts in my mind. Indurain was the favorite in 1996, but didn't pull it off. All it takes is a couple weak mountain stages and he could lose it. Plus, Hamilton's gonna come back w/ a vengeance this year. 4th w/ a broken collar bone!...just imagine what that little bastard can do when he's in one piece.

There is one thing that is certain...Phil Ligget will make a stupid prediction at least once per stage, and will then take credit for being right.

Viva le Tour

[Telephil]

So stoked for it, I can't wait. I'm going to have to avoid this place though, any internet or news for that matter until I can get home to watch it.

[lph]

ya, no results in the title of threads please! in three years i have only ever attacked one person on this board, i don't know who it was, but they had listed the results in detail in a title.

i don't follow the road bike races to know which team is doing well, etc, so can't make predictions. but i do think that this will be lance's toughest year as far as competition goes. Ulrich will be strong and hamilton is going to attack this year. so we will see.

can't wait though.

[p-tex]

Just got the new Boobke book. Kinda fun read - good for the bathroom.

the combo team of Ulrich and Vinakurov (sp?) will be a tought one but maybe the egos will collide.

[Artie Fufkin]

LA has won five in row, so until he loses he is the king. Lance is obviously on the downhill side of his career, but he's freak and a smart rider, and has a strong team, Floyd, George, Eki, et al. Iban Mayo is looking good, but how strong is his supporting cast?

Predictions:
-Lance will win his 6th
-Tyler will crash and break something(he bloodied himself up
at the Dauphine, so he getting ready to bust himself up in the
tour)
-Jan will be 2nd

I need to call the cable co and set up OLN.

[fondigley]

You know we would all probably love to see Armstrong get his 6th, at least I know I would. Especially if the US Postal service is pulling out there sponsorship soon. But the Tour is pretty unpredictable, and Lance has been on Television a lot, especially with his new show "Chronicles." And you never can tell with Sheryll being thrown in the mix as an extra distraction. But all in all I got to say his team will pull him to victory, somehow. He is just not as human as the other competition. And even though he may be on the downstroke, he is still going to be beastly. It should be a good Tour, can't wait to see it.

[tywhy]

Originally posted by p-tex
Just got the new Boobke book. Kinda fun read - good for the bathroom.

the combo team of Ulrich and Vinakurov (sp?) will be a tought one but maybe the egos will collide.

Vinokourov is out as well as Beloki, can't remember the specific reason for Vino, but Beloki apparently has had a real hard time recovering from last years crash.

I think Hamilton's going to charge super hard and be a threat to Lance. Not sure about Ullrich, he faultered in the Tour de Suisse today and I don't know if he can really blow Lance away in the mountains like he needs to.

It's going to be a hell of a tour to watch for sure, I'm counting the days til it starts! I'm cheering for him to win so I can watch him go for 7 when I'm following the tour in person next year.

edit: how sweet is it going to be to watch an individual time trial on Alp D'Huez for stage 16????

[InspectorGadget]

Originally posted by tywhy
... Beloki apparently has had a real hard time recovering from last years crash.

... an individual time trial on Alp D'Huez for stage 16????

I'm not surprised to hear that Beloki is having a difficult time recovering - his crash looked like a career ender.

If Lance is riding well, an Alp D'Huez TT is tailor-made for him.


This year's Tour is going to be an epic battle. If anyone else were to win, I'd hope it would be Tyler . . . . but I'm rooting for Lance all the way.

[snow_slider]

It's just too hard to predict. There are WAY too many factors that could come into play. He could crash out, he could injure himself, he could get sick, other key posties could crash out, injure themselves, get sick, etc. Just too many variables.

I'd say that, if he REALLY wants it, Lance has a good shot for 6 in a row.

I don't think Tyler's team is up to the task of getting Tyler across the final finish line in the yellow. Telecom has both Ullrich and Vinokourov, so I'm not sure how two big egos will work together.

I don't think Beloki is ready yet after his horible crash last year. I think he'll blink during some of the fast mountain descents.

Iban Mayo on team Euskaltel is a threat, but again I don't think his team is deep enough to put him in yellow.

Petacchi could be a threat. Fassa Bortolo has a good team and they have Aitor Gonzalez for the mountains.

Whatever, it'll be a great tour to watch. I can't wait for the D'Huez time trial.

[tywhy]

Originally posted by snow_slider
Petacchi could be a threat. Fassa Bortolo has a good team and they have Aitor Gonzalez for the mountains.

Petacchi's not a threat to Lance, he's just a sprinter. He didn't even finish the race last year, I think it was the first tough climb in the Pyrenees when he dropped out. That fukker can sprint though, unreal speed. I watched a couple of Giro stages when he massacred everyone else.

[snow_slider]

I don't know. Petacchi won NINE stages in the Tour of Italy this year and 4 stages in last years Tour de France.

He's got a strong team and some good climbers to help him through the mountains.

With the rule changes this year limiting total time loss in the time trials stages, he's got a chance.

[ulty_guy]

s_s- you're nuts. pettachi will be lucky if he even finishes the mtn stages.

if the recent mt ventoux time trial means anything, you've gotta believe that mayo can do it. he was simply amazing and is in the form of his life. however, the alpe TT is not as steep and that'll favor lance who has more power, but also more weight than mayo. the reduction in time that a team can lose in the team time trial (2:30) will really help his basque team. i just can't see tyler riding away from lance, if anything, i think he's too similar of a rider but w/out the explosiveness to pull away.