chico Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 He is unlucky there have been two British major winners at the golf. He wasn't near it last year as some jockey got it as a 'lifetime achievement' award. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Great race this year. Man of the match without question was Tommy Voeckler. Fantastic stuff from him. He should get a special jersey made for him. Chapeau to Cav, Thor Hushovd, Tony Martin, Cadel (slightly gritted teeth) and of course Jean Christophe Peraud (wish he had gone to the road cycling game a few years earlier). Honourable mentions for Contador (would have won by miles if he hadn't ridded Giro), Hubert Dupont (only other Giro rider to emerge with credit) and Pierrre Rolland (1st French winner since the Professor), Johhny Hoogerland and Juan Antonio Flecha. Big rasperries to the clueless brothers, Basso, Cunego (sort your TT out fella), Gadret (shouldn't have bothered his arse), Roche (never a team leader) and Pettachi. All in all a very fun three weeks. Cav to win today to round things off nicely. Agreed, agreed, agreed! Gonna stick up for the Little Prince Cunego though, and not just because he won me a tidy little few pounds! Great to see him back at the front of a major race. For me he is one of the most naturally gifted riders in the peloton. He rides on guts and instinct, and is not afraid to suffer. His renaissance would certainly hint at a cleaner peloton. I don't doubt he was juiced before, his Giro win for instance, but you don't just lose talent like he has, which is why I think he may(May!!) have been riding clean for a while. Ultimately you are right though, his chronic TT ability has cost him victory in the Tour de Suisse & 5th place in Paris. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Agreed, agreed, agreed! Gonna stick up for the Little Prince Cunego though, and not just because he won me a tidy little few pounds! Great to see him back at the front of a major race. For me he is one of the most naturally gifted riders in the peloton. He rides on guts and instinct, and is not afraid to suffer. His renaissance would certainly hint at a cleaner peloton. I don't doubt he was juiced before, his Giro win for instance, but you don't just lose talent like he has, which is why I think he may(May!!) have been riding clean for a while. Ultimately you are right though, his chronic TT ability has cost him victory in the Tour de Suisse & 5th place in Paris. Bearing in mind Cunego had a major bout of Epstein-Barr virus following his Giro win, losing close on two seasons, &, classics apart, this tour is the closest he's come to discovering that form of 2004. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musketeer Gripweed Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Phil Taylor won tonight as well. Cav has no chance now. He should walk it as well, shame really. He is the best sprinter in the world, ever. Even better than my hero Abdou. It hurts me a wee bit to say that as well. Anyway, a question. We have seen the same half dozen top class guys contest the Yellow Jersey over the last 2 or 3 years, and Andy Schleck as well at times. Who do you see coming through in the next year or two to contend the GC? I would say EBH looks a stick on be in with a shout as well as Rigoberto Uran and probably Pierre Rolland. Being French though, I doubt it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 He wasn't near it last year as some jockey got it as a 'lifetime achievement' award. Wasn't near it last year as he only won the Green Jersey in the Vuelta last year. Suppose he might have a chance next year if he takes the Maglia Rosso in the Giro, becoming only the 5th man to do so in all 3 Grand Tours. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Ach well, now to look forward to this, hope Wiggins will be fit for it 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Phil Taylor won tonight as well. Cav has no chance now. He should walk it as well, shame really. He is the best sprinter in the world, ever. Even better than my hero Abdou. It hurts me a wee bit to say that as well. Anyway, a question. We have seen the same half dozen top class guys contest the Yellow Jersey over the last 2 or 3 years, and Andy Schleck as well at times. Who do you see coming through in the next year or two to contend the GC? I would say EBH looks a stick on be in with a shout as well as Rigoberto Uran and probably Pierre Rolland. Being French though, I doubt it. Very impressed with this guy, can climb & TT. A lot of promise but will he move to a Pro-Tour team, or stay at Europcar? Could do well to stay for another year & pick up valuable experience from Voeckler. It may be he in supporting role for the young guy next years race. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Phil Taylor won tonight as well. Cav has no chance now. He should walk it as well, shame really. He is the best sprinter in the world, ever. Even better than my hero Abdou. It hurts me a wee bit to say that as well. Anyway, a question. We have seen the same half dozen top class guys contest the Yellow Jersey over the last 2 or 3 years, and Andy Schleck as well at times. Who do you see coming through in the next year or two to contend the GC? I would say EBH looks a stick on be in with a shout as well as Rigoberto Uran and probably Pierre Rolland. Being French though, I doubt it. Vincenzo Nibali, although I expect a Giro win is what he really wants. Possibly Igor Anton, we'll see how he goes in La Vuelta. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Vincenzo Nibali, although I expect a Giro win is what he really wants. Possibly Igor Anton, we'll see how he goes in La Vuelta. The man who did win a GT & the guy who should have won that GT. I take it both will be riding the Vuelta. Would have to be a turn around on their respective teams rosters for the Tour next year, as I can't see them riding for Basso & Sanchez respectively & vice versa. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuggie_Murray7 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 As for GC contenders of the future? I don't see Boasson Hagen being there. I mean he's very good, but he's what I'd call a strong man. Decent in the sprints and decent in the smaller climbs, similar to Gilbert. Pierre Roland will for sure. The French are crying out for a hero and after the way he rode for Voeckler and for himself he will be a top contender after a couple of seasons as a team leader. Outside of Roland I reckon Uran and Tejay Van Garderen will be challengers eventually. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshkin Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Yes, it's been fantastic entertainment. Well done to the organisers, although it would be great if there's some way they could reduce the number of crashes. Copy the Giro. Get them uphill right from the start. Nothing slows down a peloton like a few early climbs. Agreed, agreed, agreed! Gonna stick up for the Little Prince Cunego though, and not just because he won me a tidy little few pounds! Great to see him back at the front of a major race. For me he is one of the most naturally gifted riders in the peloton. He rides on guts and instinct, and is not afraid to suffer. His renaissance would certainly hint at a cleaner peloton. I don't doubt he was juiced before, his Giro win for instance, but you don't just lose talent like he has, which is why I think he may(May!!) have been riding clean for a while. Ultimately you are right though, his chronic TT ability has cost him victory in the Tour de Suisse & 5th place in Paris. Speaking through my pocket as I had him for top six although had the presence of mind to lay off before the TT. Rode a good race though. I didn't mean he and Basso were the clueless brothers incidentally. I meant Frandy the tactically inept Siamese Luxembourgers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshkin Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Phil Taylor won tonight as well. Cav has no chance now. He should walk it as well, shame really. He is the best sprinter in the world, ever. Even better than my hero Abdou. It hurts me a wee bit to say that as well. Anyway, a question. We have seen the same half dozen top class guys contest the Yellow Jersey over the last 2 or 3 years, and Andy Schleck as well at times. Who do you see coming through in the next year or two to contend the GC? I would say EBH looks a stick on be in with a shout as well as Rigoberto Uran and probably Pierre Rolland. Being French though, I doubt it. Agreed with those that memtioned Igor Anton. He just needs a bit of luck. Don't rule out Sam Sanchez either, he seems to be getting better with age. Their team mate at Euskaltel Mikael Nieve has also been very impressive in the last two seasons. One other rider who has been very impressive this season - Steven Kruijswijk of Rabobank. He could be their first serious yellow jersey contender since Dennis Menchov. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojo Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 it's been another epic tour. I've thoughtouly enjoyed it. special mention for voeckler and my hero of the tour was hoogerland. absolute hero. It's a shame about wiggins when you look back because he probably would have condende, and defo would be in top 8 or 7. ah well 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Ach well, now to look forward to this, hope Wiggins will be fit for it A whopping 56km of ITT in the Vuelta copared with 43km in the Tour & 39km in the Giro. Race organisers seem reluctant to include very much thesedays. Favourites for the Vuelta would currently be Anton(with Nieve as possible backup), Nibali, Wiggins, Jurgen Vandenbroucke(if he rides), Menchov, Rodriguez 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 BBC sportsday 1708: CYCLING - Olympic gold medal winner Chris Boardman believes Bradley Wiggins should prioritise the 2012 Tour de France ahead of the London Olympics, reports BBC Sport. "He's done the gold medal thing. This [the Tour] should be more important for him," said Boardman 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I agree for what it`s worth. Brailsford saying he thinks Wiggans would`ve finished top 3, had he made Paris. If that is the case, he has to come back & focus on the Tour next year. I`m pretty sure with other abandonment he would`ve finished top 10 anyway, his superior TT mibbe edging him ahead of the likes of Cunego, Basso & Sanchez. Will be interesting to see how he goes in the Spain. The Vuelta is nothing like the Tour, & if riders aren`t going well(especially non Spanish ones), they tend to lose focus. Easier to hide away in the pack the Vuelta. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandcowden Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 cant wait for the vuelta,i always feel,as a spectator,it feels more laid back after thye intensity of the TDF.it will be interesting to see who rides it,after Mosquera last year i hope its a clean ride 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Contador CAS hearing postponed until NOVEMBER!!! Cycling News 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Contador CAS hearing postponed until NOVEMBER!!! Cycling News I've had the feeling , for a long time now, that this will eventually get dropped. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Terrible. contador has got away with it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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