Tour de France 2015
Can Chris Froome return to England with the Yellow jersey whilst can Mark Cavendish reclaim the sprint crown from Marcel Kittel and with four possible stage wins, climb to 2nd in the records for number of Tour wins.
Anyone planning to make the trip over to Holland or France for it at all?
Comments
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No Kittel in this year's tour0
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Seriously? - Is he out with injury...shirty5 said:No Kittel in this year's tour
To be honest when I wrote this I didnt check to see which of his rivals were in the Tour, shame in a way as we've never really seen a strong Cavendish v Kittel sprint, one of them has always been out of form or injured0 -
Kittel has not been picked because of lack of form0
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Looking forward to it this year 10 British riders in it, Sky using majority British team, shame they are pulling the plug on sponsorship of the team after next year.
Can Froome handle the cobbles? If he can't will sky go with Porte?0 -
Cough cough (drugs) cough cough...5_12_2004at1752 said:Kittel has not been picked because of lack of form
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Can't see past Quintana for the GC. Contador will still be f***ked from the Giro (he was blowing out of his arse chasing Aru up the last two mountain stages), Nibali is fantastic but won't repeat last year and Froome will probably crash out on the cobbles cos he's got worse bike handling than me - and even if he successfully negotiates then, Sky's team isn't good enough to shepherd him through a tour in the mountains.
Quintana is an absolute monster, and the lack of TTs this year definitely works in his favour
Sprint wise it's going to be difficult for Cav to dominate - even with Kittel not there. A lot of the 'gimme' sprint stages at the beginning of this year's route are complicated by cobbles, late climbs or ramps up to the finish - if he doesn't win the straightforward sprints he won't win any of them. Degenkolb is in superb form and Bouhanni will have a point to prove. Heart says Cav will win three stages, head says only one1 -
Yep, kept his powder dry this season so far, expect big things from him this year, but wouldn't by surprised to see Nibali on the podium once more.Leroy Ambrose said:Can't see past Quintana for the GC. Contador will still be f***ked from the Giro (he was blowing out of his arse chasing Aru up the last two mountain stages), Nibali is fantastic but won't repeat last year and Froome will probably crash out on the cobbles cos he's got worse bike handling than me - and even if he successfully negotiates then, Sky's team isn't good enough to shepherd him through a tour in the mountains.
Quintana is an absolute monster, and the lack of TTs this year definitely works in his favour
Sprint wise it's going to be difficult for Cav to dominate - even with Kittel not there. A lot of the 'gimme' sprint stages at the beginning of this year's route are complicated by cobbles, late climbs or ramps up to the finish - if he doesn't win the straightforward sprints he won't win any of them. Degenkolb is in superb form and Bouhanni will have a point to prove. Heart says Cav will win three stages, head says only one
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Agree with most of this but I think Sky are stronger than you give them credit for. They have Porte, Konig and Roche. All of whom have finished in the top ten of grand tours in recent years and all very capable in the mountains.Leroy Ambrose said:Can't see past Quintana for the GC. Contador will still be f***ked from the Giro (he was blowing out of his arse chasing Aru up the last two mountain stages), Nibali is fantastic but won't repeat last year and Froome will probably crash out on the cobbles cos he's got worse bike handling than me - and even if he successfully negotiates then, Sky's team isn't good enough to shepherd him through a tour in the mountains.
Quintana is an absolute monster, and the lack of TTs this year definitely works in his favour
Sprint wise it's going to be difficult for Cav to dominate - even with Kittel not there. A lot of the 'gimme' sprint stages at the beginning of this year's route are complicated by cobbles, late climbs or ramps up to the finish - if he doesn't win the straightforward sprints he won't win any of them. Degenkolb is in superb form and Bouhanni will have a point to prove. Heart says Cav will win three stages, head says only one0 -
Froome, Nibali and Quintana are a great three-some to have vying for the GC in this years tour. If Contador is there pushing them all too it would be even better, but he's a cheat so we don't want him to win! It will be funny to see the main men sitting back over the first week or so, possibly not even in the top ten, but once the mounatin stages start, all will change, slowly but surely.
Cav will have chances this tour; he is desperate after last years crash, and his form is excellent. Agree that Degenkolb is the main sprinter to concern him, but Sagan will probably be winning stages early on too, and maybe some of those that have semi-sprint finishes.0 -
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Personally I can't wait to see how Simon Yates does after the Dauphine this year, he was on great form and it would be great to see him carry it through to le tour. Don't think he'll win any of the jersey's overall but I reckon he could grab a stage win somewhere.
Also another rider to be considered for the overall or a podium atleast is Van Garderen, Froome had to try mighty hard to beat him at the Dauphine and only did so by 10 seconds, I reckon he could be the dark horse of this years race.
Will be interesting to see how other GC contenders get on if they make it through the first week, Contador did beat Quintana in the Route Du Sud last week, but it was clear to see Quintana was saving something and he did win the summit finish to. If Quintana is on Giro 2014 form he'll be the one to beat no question.
Sprinting wise I'm surprised no one has mentioned Alexander Kristoff yet, he absolutely mopped up the wins and won the Tour of Flanders in spring/earlier in the season. He'll be the main man to beat in the first week due to the nature of the stages as mentioned above. Cav has said himself he's not as fast as he was a few years ago, I reckon he'll get 1/2 stage wins tops, as there is not doubting that he does have the strongest leadout train if utilised correctly.0 -
Surely a big ask for Cavendish. He's not getting any younger and I would argue sprinting's a younger mans game.1
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Don't have to, I live in FranceForeverAddickted said:With the Grand Depart set for this Saturday from Utrecht in Holland I thought Id start a thread for those interested in this iconic race.
Can Chris Froome return to England with the Yellow jersey whilst can Mark Cavendish reclaim the sprint crown from Marcel Kittel and with four possible stage wins, climb to 2nd in the records for number of Tour wins.
Anyone planning to make the trip over to Holland or France for it at all?0 -
....in ain't going past Grovve Park BR station is it?0
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Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen went on for years winning Sprints... Cav is still just 30, would say he was getting stronger especially watching him during the National Championships in Lincolnshire last Sundaycarly burn said:Surely a big ask for Cavendish. He's not getting any younger and I would argue sprinting's a younger mans game.
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Do you...? - Why have you never said until now?brogib said:
Don't have to, I live in FranceForeverAddickted said:With the Grand Depart set for this Saturday from Utrecht in Holland I thought Id start a thread for those interested in this iconic race.
Can Chris Froome return to England with the Yellow jersey whilst can Mark Cavendish reclaim the sprint crown from Marcel Kittel and with four possible stage wins, climb to 2nd in the records for number of Tour wins.
Anyone planning to make the trip over to Holland or France for it at all?1 -
Try and keep it under me beretForeverAddickted said:
Do you...? - Why have you never said until now?brogib said:
Don't have to, I live in FranceForeverAddickted said:With the Grand Depart set for this Saturday from Utrecht in Holland I thought Id start a thread for those interested in this iconic race.
Can Chris Froome return to England with the Yellow jersey whilst can Mark Cavendish reclaim the sprint crown from Marcel Kittel and with four possible stage wins, climb to 2nd in the records for number of Tour wins.
Anyone planning to make the trip over to Holland or France for it at all?1 -
Krisistoff is a good shout but I think he's peaked this year. Was in exceptional form right from the off in the desert this year and great through the classics season, but he can't maintain that through the year and his results haven't been as good the last month or so (bar two stages at the tour du suisse)Addickted4life said:Personally I can't wait to see how Simon Yates does after the Dauphine this year, he was on great form and it would be great to see him carry it through to le tour. Don't think he'll win any of the jersey's overall but I reckon he could grab a stage win somewhere.
Also another rider to be considered for the overall or a podium atleast is Van Garderen, Froome had to try mighty hard to beat him at the Dauphine and only did so by 10 seconds, I reckon he could be the dark horse of this years race.
Will be interesting to see how other GC contenders get on if they make it through the first week, Contador did beat Quintana in the Route Du Sud last week, but it was clear to see Quintana was saving something and he did win the summit finish to. If Quintana is on Giro 2014 form he'll be the one to beat no question.
Sprinting wise I'm surprised no one has mentioned Alexander Kristoff yet, he absolutely mopped up the wins and won the Tour of Flanders in spring/earlier in the season. He'll be the main man to beat in the first week due to the nature of the stages as mentioned above. Cav has said himself he's not as fast as he was a few years ago, I reckon he'll get 1/2 stage wins tops, as there is not doubting that he does have the strongest leadout train if utilised correctly.
He's definitely one to watch on the tougher sprint stages though - especially the cobbled ones early on
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Apparently there is an all African team in it this year. Interesting article in today's Times about it. Discussed the simplistic notion that given the way east African athletes now completely dominate the middle and long distance events should we expect them to do the same in the GC in the Grand Tours over the next decade or so?0
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*spoiler alert*
Its all gone off on stage 2 already (echelon galore), well worth a watch.0 - Sponsored links:
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Didn't really expect that on stage 2, great stuff0
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Just watching slaying the badger on itv4, what a crocked sport cycling is, just like when Froome was told to hold back when attacking Wiggins, fuck the domestique each for their own, let the best man win #fuckinfarce0
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Yes, Steve - I'm sure Froome will cede to Geraint Thomas this year...1
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Ouch. Two mahoosive crashes today. Cancellara involved - abandons from Dumoulin, Bonnet and Ten Dam. Race neutralised for 20 minutes. Bonnet in particular looked brutalised - looked like seven or eight went right over him when he went down.0
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Looking forward to seeing Froome at least reach the cobbles tomorrow. Hope Cancellara stays in as he's one of the most exhilerating things in cycling when he has to chase descend.0
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Not bad bike riding from Froome today Leroy?
As for the team this looks the strongest Sky team. 2013 if Porte cracked it was Froome on his own. This year they have 5-6 potential GC riders, and it won't be just down to Porte supporting at the crunch times on climbs.0 -
Hopefully Cancellara will be around tomorrow at least... He's the king when it comes to the one day cobble classics, yet if he's hurt his back, they'll be a nightmare for him to deal withColinTat said:Looking forward to seeing Froome at least reach the cobbles tomorrow. Hope Cancellara stays in as he's one of the most exhilerating things in cycling when he has to chase descend.
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Cancellara out with a few cracked vertabrea0
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Think he's killed a black cat, or thrown away his lucky heather.Rothko said:Cancellara out with a few cracked vertabrea
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Second time in three months that he's done that, is a shame cos would have been good to have seen him on the cobbles.
In the same vein though, that crash has to be one of the worst I've seen for a good few years now (i.e. Might have been Cancellara himself but you see one rider in yellow, flip twice through the air after coming off his bike etc...), hopefully means that after the bad luck of the Brits last year (with Cavendish / Froome / Thomas all failing to finish), its good to see that all of them managed to avoid it0
