A.Schlek has pulled out and B.Wiggins is now 5/4 which is no value now! Good luck and well done to all who have 4/1+ on Wiggins.Dont think C.Evans is a bad price at 3/1 or D.Menchov at 20/1
Frandy have no chance too many tt's for either of them. I'd be very surprised if Sagan makes the top ten at such a young age, in his first French/Italian grand tour: the finish to the Vuelta is very different to the challenges of the last week of the Tour and Giro, so many teams and riders are on peak form it shreds anyone suffering.
Nibali, has no chance imo. Like him as a rider, but Liquigas never seem to prepare or support him right. He should have gone to Sky when he negotiated with them after his great 2009 tour. Understandably he wanted to stay in an Italian team, just that the whole team is geared towards Basso and he get's much less support.
I'd love to see Froome got top five, he's such a great rider to watch right from his early days at Barloworld when he attacked on nasty Giro climbs. He's incidentally worth a cheaky bet at 30 to 1.
Great prologue - Cancellera's fifth win in a prologue and Wiggins has laid down the challenge. Good to see Cadel Evans giving it a go - he road a decent Dauphine espite not being 100% fit and perhaps he's doing a Lance Armstrong and saving himself for the Le Tour.
What will Cavendish do in this year's Tour? The Olympic road race is less than a week after the Tour finishes and it seems he's going to retain a bit for that race.
It doesn't look like being a physical Tour this year - unsurprising with the Olympics just around the corner and most of the famous mountain stages are getting the year off.
I doubt Cav will finish the Tour. A couple or three stage wins and he'll be more than happy. The Sky boys just can't give him the support he had last year can they? (unless they sign Renshaw?) The Olympics are only every four years and will only be here once in his lifetime. I reckon that's his focus this year.
There's no chance Cav will not finish the tour unless unless injury strikes. The tour is his main focus.
No top road cyclist will be aiming just for the Olympic road race. It's a sprinter's race and all sprinters would prefer a TDF stage win over the Olympics. TDF stage wins gets you contracts and pays your domestiques, Olympics do very little for your career. He's slimmed down and going for intermediates.
There's no chance Cav will not finish the tour unless unless injury strikes. The tour is his main focus.
No top road cyclist will be aiming just for the Olympic road race. It's a sprinter's race and all sprinters would prefer a TDF stage win over the Olympics. TDF stage wins gets you contracts and pays your domestiques, Olympics do very little for your career. He's slimmed down and going for intermediates.
Cav's already stated that The Olympics are his main focus this year...
A great start to le tour. Wiggins will be pleased to gain some time on Evans as everything helps. As for the prologue its self it was always going to be between Martin and Cancellera and that was soon settled by Martin's bike which is a shame for him because he would've been in with a chance of getting yellow for tomorrow's stage.
As for Cav he has said that his aim for the tour is to help Wiggins win the GC and for himself to try and pick a few stage wins. He was the only rider in Beijing who didn't pick up a medal for team GB and has said that his main aim for this season is to get gold at the games.
A good first stage that really livened up in the last 15Km when the break away finally got caught as there were 2 crashes that really splintered the peloton in two. Then Cancellera put the win on a plate for Sagan with his incredible burst of pace at the end which Sagan just caught on to and sprinted past Cancellera at the line.
Wiggins looked comfortable but didn't have any team members around him to help him which I thought was strange.
Wiggins looked comfortable but didn't have any team members around him to help him which I thought was strange.
I think that hill just before the finish messed things up a bit and then Cancellara, Boassan-Hagen and Sagen went early. Why Sky let Boassan-Hagen go with the breakaway is anyone's guess, but Cancellara will not be challenging for the GC in Paris and I doubt Sagen will either.
first time ive seen Peter Sagan after all the hype he's been getting recently, and deservedly so with what he's won in the last year. Stated as the best rider for a generation. he looked good in the time trial. if he didn't fall of he would be up amongst the top 3. then he wins yesterdays. I see why people have been talking about him. not sure about his celebration crossing the line though.
Just seen on Sky that Tony Martin broke his hand yesterday after losing his chance of yellow in the first stage due to having bike change mid-course. What today for his hat-trick?
having a look at the tour website, they have got a competition to win singed jerseys and a couple of tickets. so i think yeah i'll enter that. only problem when you try and put a post code in it doesn't except it. due to me living in England i guess. which is poor. what's the point of having it on an English written website if you can enter if you live in England. This is what you could win if you were french. but your not. haha. racists.
Today's stage - Vise to Tournai 207KM, very flat so should be a good day for the sprinters. One cat 4 climb apart from that nothing else to worry about.
Great finish by Cavendish - not as fast as he has been in previous years, but timed to perfection which was enough. Curious that Team Sky didn't lead him out again though. Are they saving themselves for Bradley Wiggins?
Great finish by Cavendish - not as fast as he has been in previous years, but timed to perfection which was enough. Curious that Team Sky didn't lead him out again though. Are they saving themselves for Bradley Wiggins?
Yep. Cavendish say's he's going for the stage win record but isn't going for the Green jersey as he's keeping himself for the Olympics and the team is trying for the yellow jersey win.
Stage three: Orchies-Boulogne - 197KM a few more climbs especially towards the finish, this stage should start to sort things out a bit at the front in the GC. I can't see Cancellara lasting in yellow, but who will replace him? It should suit the likes of Evans, Sagan, Wiggins and Menchov. Evans and Sagan are probably a bit too far back to take the overall lead unless they get a breakaway going but the other two are well placed.
Funny emotions tonight. Regardless how many stages we win this year, I won't be happy unless we have the yellow jersey in Paris #allezwiggo
No Schleck this year and Sagan looks like he'll dominate the Tour for years to come and in a year Bradley Wiggins will be 33. This is the best year for Team Sky to win the race. They'll walk away with the team prize, but whoever remembers that?
Comments
Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won todays stage just beating Ben Swift from Sky.
overall rui da costa has the lead (yellow jersey) just ahead of frank schleck.
Nibali, has no chance imo. Like him as a rider, but Liquigas never seem to prepare or support him right. He should have gone to Sky when he negotiated with them after his great 2009 tour. Understandably he wanted to stay in an Italian team, just that the whole team is geared towards Basso and he get's much less support.
I'd love to see Froome got top five, he's such a great rider to watch right from his early days at Barloworld when he attacked on nasty Giro climbs. He's incidentally worth a cheaky bet at 30 to 1.
Tony Martin must be gutted having to change his bike.
Wiggo will be well happy with that.
What will Cavendish do in this year's Tour? The Olympic road race is less than a week after the Tour finishes and it seems he's going to retain a bit for that race.
http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html
It doesn't look like being a physical Tour this year - unsurprising with the Olympics just around the corner and most of the famous mountain stages are getting the year off.
The Olympics are only every four years and will only be here once in his lifetime. I reckon that's his focus this year.
.
No top road cyclist will be aiming just for the Olympic road race. It's a sprinter's race and all sprinters would prefer a TDF stage win over the Olympics. TDF stage wins gets you contracts and pays your domestiques, Olympics do very little for your career. He's slimmed down and going for intermediates.
As for Cav he has said that his aim for the tour is to help Wiggins win the GC and for himself to try and pick a few stage wins. He was the only rider in Beijing who didn't pick up a medal for team GB and has said that his main aim for this season is to get gold at the games.
7 seconds difference??
nuff said.
Wiggins looked comfortable but didn't have any team members around him to help him which I thought was strange.
Stated as the best rider for a generation.
he looked good in the time trial. if he didn't fall of he would be up amongst the top 3. then he wins yesterdays. I see why people have been talking about him. not sure about his celebration crossing the line though.
having a look at the tour website, they have got a competition to win singed jerseys and a couple of tickets. so i think yeah i'll enter that. only problem when you try and put a post code in it doesn't except it. due to me living in England i guess. which is poor. what's the point of having it on an English written website if you can enter if you live in England. This is what you could win if you were french. but your not. haha. racists.
Not as fast as last year but fast enough. I reckon he'll win a couple more stages but won't get the green jersey.
Tomorrows stage should be good with a number of climbs towards the end and an up hill finish that will probably split the peloton.
Funny emotions tonight. Regardless how many stages we win this year, I won't be happy unless we have the yellow jersey in Paris #allezwiggo