kiddy Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) Who says an uphill drag doesn't suit Cav? Fair to say he was pretty spot on, with the "Only person I fear" quote, in regards to Matt Goss. The two of them were well clear of the rest at the line. Don't know how they managed to split Greipel & Cancellara for 3rd. Edited September 27, 2011 by kiddy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) Oops!!! Tour route leaked ahead of presentation next week. 3 time trials, only 4 mountain stages, only 2 MTF`s, looks a very weak route, set to be utterly dominated by Cavendish. Taylor made for an Evans repeat, Schleck has no chance, & should thus focus on the Giro, which will be far more to his liking, & won`t have Contador. Wiggans/Froome must be in with a huge shout also. Edited October 10, 2011 by Desert Nomad 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Oops!!! Tour route leaked ahead of presentation next week. 3 time trials, only 4 mountain stages, only 2 MTF`s, looks a very weak route, set to be utterly dominated by Cavendish. Taylor made for an Evans repeat, Schleck has no chance, & should thus focus on the Giro, which will be far more to his liking, & won`t have Contador. Wiggans/Froome must be in with a huge shout also. Should that not be "& might not have Contador"? Looks a route more suited to a Giro/Tour double this year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 that sucks. only 3 real mountain stages in a full GT? wtf. nobody wants to see a dozen bunch sprints, what the are the aso thinking? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) that sucks. only 3 real mountain stages in a full GT? wtf. nobody wants to see a dozen bunch sprints, what the are the aso thinking? One can only guess. Cavendish seems to be the pin-up boy at the minute. Contador will still be the favourite, Evans a chance, also Wiggins and Froome. Nobody else should even bother. Schleck should do the sensible thing and hit the Giro in form, looks like it`ll be far more suited to him. Stage 7 finishes on a hill of sorts, not a real mountain. Stages 8 and 10 will be rolling. Stage 12 is a waste of time, as the mountains will be too far from the finish. One real Alpine stage and two in the Pyrenees. Reminds me a bit of 1999 when Armstrong won his first Tour, when their were only 3 proper mountain stages, although they were all MTF. Edit Giro route also leaked Although the three big mountain stages in the final week had alraedy been announced. Edited October 11, 2011 by Desert Nomad 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Just saw Cavs first interview as a Team Sky rider on SSN. He's got them down as winning green and yellow next year, I doubt it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Just saw Cavs first interview as a Team Sky rider on SSN. He's got them down as winning green and yellow next year, I doubt it. Green is a certainty unless he crashes. Yellow, well Wiggins or Froome will never have a better chance than with that leaked route. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Green is a certainty unless he crashes. Yellow, well Wiggins or Froome will never have a better chance than with that leaked route. I think Cav is a certainty for green, unless as you say, he crashes out. As for yellow? Can't see it. If Sky does get yellow, I don't think it will be Wiggins. He will crack when the pressure is on. Froome? Well I'd say he's untested, I mean apart from the Vuelta he hasn't done anything. There's no way I can see them finishing above Contador, the Schlecks, Evans and the likes. Do they even have the team to go for both? Has it been done in the recent past? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I think Cav is a certainty for green, unless as you say, he crashes out. As for yellow? Can't see it. If Sky does get yellow, I don't think it will be Wiggins. He will crack when the pressure is on. Froome? Well I'd say he's untested, I mean apart from the Vuelta he hasn't done anything. There's no way I can see them finishing above Contador, the Schlecks, Evans and the likes. Do they even have the team to go for both? Has it been done in the recent past? Off the top of my head Zabel/Ullrich in 97 would be the last pair to do it in the same team, Telekom. The rumoured weak route for the Tour next year, with a more ITT km than recent years immediatly writes the Schleck brothers out of contention, they have NO chance. Who knows what may happen to Contador, might he still get a ban? Wiggins/Froome would only then have to contend with Evans. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 For me, classics apart, Cav only really has the Giro points jersey & Olympic Gold left to target for his Palmares. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) For me, classics apart, Cav only really has the Giro points jersey & Olympic Gold left to target for his Palmares. At the rate he's gobbling up Tour stage wins there are records to be broken. I'm sure he'd love to wear yellow at some point. Would need a favourable route at the beginning of a Tour obviously. Edited October 11, 2011 by Desert Nomad 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 At the rate he's gobbling up Tour stage wins there are records to be broken. I'm sure he'd love to wear yellow at some point. Would need a favourable route at the beginning of a Tour obviously. True, but with the Olympics only coming round once every 4 years, the Giro points jersey might seem a better option than the Tour's. Given that this years Giro was a stinker from a sprinters point of view. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 True, but with the Olympics only coming round once every 4 years, the Giro points jersey might seem a better option than the Tour's. Given that this years Giro was a stinker from a sprinters point of view. I think he'll do the Giro, the route does have a few sprint stages early, but will drop out again to prepare for the Tour. Is the Olympic road route suited to sprinters? Not seen a profile yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McQueen Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I think he'll do the Giro, the route does have a few sprint stages early, but will drop out again to prepare for the Tour. Is the Olympic road route suited to sprinters? Not seen a profile yet. Did Cavendish not win the test event earlier this year on the olympic course? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Did Cavendish not win the test event earlier this year on the olympic course? Yes, think they only did two or three laps of it though. Missed out about another five IIRC. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Yes, think they only did two or three laps of it though. Missed out about another five IIRC. Would suggest it`ll be a major goal for him then. As I say he`ll start the Giro, bag a couple of stages, then ride a Tour where I can see him taking more stages than ever, then finish his season at the Olympics. CONI request 12 year ban for Ricco hopefully this ban is imposed, more for the sake of the guys health than anything else. I really think it`s got to the stage where he doesn`t care if he kills himself. Last major race of the season this weekend with "the race of the falling leaves" aka Tour of Lombardy. Can anyone stop Gilbert? Dan Martin, Uran, Cunego, Sanchez, Mollema are perhaps the best bets to try and stop the Belgian classics king. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshkin Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Tour de France parcours looks even more boring than usual next year. Two long time trials – what a turn off for the fans that actually like watching them race. On the plus side another chance for the Giro to cement its position as the premier grand tour in the world. The worry for ASO is that even the Vuelta is finding better routes than it now. They really have to find a Zoncolan or an Angliru quickly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Tour de France parcours looks even more boring than usual next year. Two long time trials – what a turn off for the fans that actually like watching them race. On the plus side another chance for the Giro to cement its position as the premier grand tour in the world. The worry for ASO is that even the Vuelta is finding better routes than it now. They really have to find a Zoncolan or an Angliru quickly. Yeah they are stuck with Ventoux and Alp d`huez as their premier summit finishes, and they are nothing compared with what the Giro has to offer. Even next year in the Giro, no Zoncalon, no Marmolada, no Finnestre, but they`ve pulled it out of the bag with a summit finish on the fearsome Stelvio. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 i don't think you need super tough mountains. having 3 or 4 cat ones in the same stage usually makes for exciting racing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshkin Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Reading what Prudhomme had to say about the route is encouraging. Looks like they have found some tough climbs that haven’t been used before. Think I might have been a bit harsh in my disappointment at seeing two time trials. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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