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Tour de France 2012

The 2012 Tour de France will start in Liège, Belgium on 30 June and finish as usual on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July.

So, having had a look at Wiggins odds a month ago I was tempted to lump on him at 4/1 but backed off in case he got injured. You can't get 2's on him now, best on oddschecker is 8/5 with bwin!

Cadel Evans was the early favorite but I fancy Andy Schleck ew at 9/1 as the best value bet at the moment.

Any other dark horses out there (apart from Black Beauty)........

ps If want a REAL punt £100 will make you a millionaire if you put it on Mark Cavendish to win the overall !
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    edited June 2012
    Cannot wait for it to start. Will be glued to the TV.

    Wiggins is looking in top form at the moment. We got him at 8s a few months back. The worry is that he has peaked too early.

    My money will be on Garmin Barracuda in the TTTs. They were different class in the Giro. (EDIT - having just seen the schedule, there isnt a TTT in it this year, so ignore that)
    Having said that Hesjedal looked in top form in the Giro. 66/1 to win the TdF. Now that much be worth an e/w bet.
    Would be interested to see the odds on Scarponi, who came 4th in the Giro.

    Wouldnt touch the Shlecks with a barge pole, both seem to be struggling for form.

    (and as a disclaimer, everything I seem to touch betting wise fails miserably at the moment, so would suggest doing the opposite, am half expecting Wiggins to fall and break a collar bone like last year!)
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    Good thread. Wiggo is in the form of his life at the moment and his win in the Critérium du Dauphiné last week was a warning to his rivals.

    It will be interesting to see if Cav can win the green jersey this year without his HTC lead out train, personally I dont think Sky have the same edge in the last 500 meters but we will have to wait and see.

    Agree with you about the Shlecks Johnboy, their form is in backward mode at the moment

    Roll on the 30th
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    edited June 2012
    Me and Mrs M were in Verona for the Giro TTT and the Garmin team were something else that day, just about the only team which made it around together.

    It's about time Nibali came up with the goods, not much so far this season but might punt him e/w for podium finish.

    Wiggo's retention of the Criterium can only be a good thing, I don't think he's peaked to early, the Sky team have done a great job up to now and long may it continue.

    Bring it on.


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    Don't know anything about cycling but get addicted to The Tour every year whatever you say these guys are iron men.
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    I think one of the stages finishes in my local town this year. Look out for the CAFC ST Georges Cross!
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    Which town Rob?
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    Brive
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    As long as they don't project any offensive stuff on the Arc de Triomphe I will be happy
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    Brive
    -la - Gaillard? Know it. Sister has a place in Anglars Nozac just south, near Gourdon.
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    As long as they don't project any offensive stuff on the Arc de Triomphe I will be happy

    Like the sight of Cavendish's arse as he rockets past? I doubt it will happen this year.
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    Having just asked one of the guys at my cycling club who's life is cycling and he watches every race on TV, he tells me the following:

    Wiggins: If he does not win it this year he never will as the parcour ( course) really suits him, lots of TT and the mountains are easier than previous so I would pick him to win it hands down…..

    Schleck: Has not even finished a race yet this year, well off form, too much TT for him ( big weakness which he has not improved on) plus lots of infighting with Bryneel at Radioshack…DO NOT EVEN PLACE HIM TOP 10 !!!

    Evans: Will probably come second to Wiggo, coming into form. Stronger in the mountains than wiggo but not quite as good as him in the TT.


    Outsiders for a podium.

    Really fancy Tom Danielson (150/1) to place third behind Evans. Good all-round Yank coming into good form and a cracking outside bet….or Van Den Broueck (20/1)…..or Gesink (33/1). Both these guys good all-rounders may be worth a flutter…

    Hesjedal- may be a bit too much for him to win the Giro and Tour.

    Scarponi- not in the same league, may make top 10 but that’s it…..


    Hope that helps some of you




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    Now there's a rumour on Twitter that Schelck is out of the Tour with a broken vertebrae!

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    Now there's a rumour on Twitter that Schelck is out of the Tour with a broken vertebrae!

    Sounds like as good as excuse as he has ever used........the bloke is a knob, he wont be missed
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    Brive
    -la - Gaillard? Know it. Sister has a place in Anglars Nozac just south, near Gourdon.
    I'm about 20km north of Brive. I think The Tour is there around 20th?
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    Wiggins will be favourite, and Sky as a team are looking brutally good, Froome, Rogers and Porter, as well as Uran are in great form so will get Wiggins up top. I think Cav might struggle this year, he'll only have Boasson Hagen and Eisel to lead him out, and he'll miss Thomas (so will Brad).

    If Brad nails the TTs and doesn't come off, he'll win it
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    Correct, stage 18 on Friday 20th July starts in Blagnac and finishes in Brive-la-Gaillarde. Its a plain/flat stage suited for the sprinters and is the second longest stage of the race at 222.5km
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    Wiggins will be favourite, and Sky as a team are looking brutally good, Froome, Rogers and Porter, as well as Uran are in great form so will get Wiggins up top. I think Cav might struggle this year, he'll only have Boasson Hagen and Eisel to lead him out, and he'll miss Thomas (so will Brad).

    If Brad nails the TTs and doesn't come off, he'll win it
    Thats the thing isnt it. How do TeamSky split their riders? Presumably they have to look after Wiggo first and then Cav second. I guess its the same thing come the Olympics and the Road Race. Do the GB squad look after Cav or do they look at Wiggo? I see the rules are that the Olympic TT riders have to ride in the road race and vice-verca.

    I dont know enough about cycling to understand how the team dynamics works.

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    at the Olympics its a sprinters race at the end, Wiggins, Millar, Froome and probably Stannard will have to do the work for Cav on Box Hill and set him up for the run down Constitution Hill for the sprint against Matt Goss. Again the real miss is Thomas who will be on the track.

    For the TT it'll be all about Wiggo
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    Dave Brailsford is probably the only person who can answer this. Rock and a hard thing this dilemma.
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    edited June 2012
    Now there's a rumour on Twitter that Schelck is out of the Tour with a broken vertebrae!

    Good job I didn't back him. I thought he was saving himself...........!

    Wiggins now in at 6/4. He'll end up evens at this rate.
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    A great event but I always remember the tragedy of Tommy Simpson when I think of it.

    Let's hope the pressures of winning expectation don't affect any of these guys in the same way.

    RIP
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    A great event but I always remember the tragedy of Tommy Simpson when I think of it.

    Let's hope the pressures of winning expectation don't affect any of these guys in the same way.

    RIP
    Well said Len, I watched it again the other night and to see him collapse and die on the mountain still brings a lump to my throat even though he was drugged up

    RIP Tom
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    Just as an aside, we stayed in the same Hotel as the Saxo Bank team on one stage of the Giro this year.
    Breakfast for the team was unbeleivable and I take my hat off to them how they do that each day.

    Starters - One large bowl of plain, boiled rice with an omlette and what looked to be half a bottle of ketchup (for taste presumably). Followed by copius amounts of bread, muesli, jam and marmalade. Lots of porridge.

    Not content with the contents of their own table, they raided the 'public' breakfast table of all the cake they could get their hands on, then finished off with a small amount of parma ham and eggs.

    I don't think I could get on my bike after that lot, let alone cycle 150k+

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    Back in 1997 I went to den Bosch (is that what they call it?) to see the prologue and 1st stage. On the Sunday we picked up a freebie newspaper which appeared to announce that the next year's tour would be starting in "Dublin ob Luik". The "Dublin" piece we understood. It was only when I got back to the UK that I found someone to translate the rest. It appears "ob Luik" is Dutch for "or Liege".

    The 1998 tour did start in Dublin. It looks like ob Luik is finally coming around after all these years.
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    Going out to see a stage in July should be good fun
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    Wiggins is coming into his form at the right time again after winning the Dauphine. Also the route really gives him an advantage this year with many time trials which Wiggins is very good at and if Schelck is out then well he will be the favourite to win along with Cadel Evans.

    Plus look out for Froome, I don't know how well he has done this year but he was immense in the Veulta last year and destroyed Wiggins on some of the climbs.
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    Chris Froome came 4th overall in the Dauphine, Sky had 3 riders in the top 4
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    The local Luxembourg newspaper was reporting a rumour this week that the Schlecks will soon be joining up with Bjarne Riis again (at SaxoBank).
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