Tour de France 2011
 

It is one of the few cycling events that I actually Tivo.....:sh

I am hoping that Leipheimer or Horner from Radioshack can make some noise.

In the end, it will be interesting to see how Cantador feels after winning the Giro(tired) or of A. Schleck can get to the top of the podium? Can Cadel Evans finally win?

http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_horscourseTDF.html

P.S. I am sure Alberto can find some beef that can help him recover and be peaking at this years TdF.....:td

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I am with you E.J, could give a crap about cycling but I do like the TdF :td

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I'm sick of hearing about Contador, he should be suspended and not even riding in the Tour IMHO. I'm backing Andy Schleck all the way--he was robbed by a doping Contador last year and he deserves the win. I'm very excited for the Pyrenees this year, with Galibier making two appearances and l'Alpe d'Huez!

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

You're not mentioning Robert Gesink, he's a dangerous outsider. I bet he will win the white jersey and finishes in the top 3

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Shouldn't it be called Tour de Doping. :r

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No, Armstrong isn't competing anymore

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Love the TdF, could care less about any other cycling event...Are their other cycling events?

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I'm pulling for Chris Horner to be the best American finisher in this year's tour. I really would like Andy Schleck to beat Contador, but 3 weeks of racing will determine the winner. Looking forward to the TTT on Sunday to see how the Teams with the GC contendors will shake out. :noon

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

There is very little chance an American will podium.

Cadel specifically aligned his training so he will peak for the tour. He will be good for a top 5 finish. Not sure how strong his team is. But, I still can't see keeping up with Contador and the Schlecks in the mountains. He is just not built that way.

It will be a Contador and Andy Schleck battle. Has Contador recovered enough to compete? How has Andy improved in his time trialing? We will know next week.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Contador is still there and so are the majority of top professional racers. Everyone dopes one way or another.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

It depends on what you call dope. I think most riders are clean nowadays, with all the tests. But then again, they are on a special diet to preform better, isn't that doping too?

And what if they all take it, if they all use doping it isn't cheating anymore right? They still have to train and have to have skills. You can dope me up with the best stuff in the world, it would still take me 3 days to climb the Alpe 'd Huez.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Lots.

Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
Vuelta a Espana

I personally liked Giro better than TdF.

Classics
Paris Roubaix
Milan San Remo
Tour of Flanders
Liege Bastone Liege
Giro de Lombardia

Stateside
Tour of California
Philly Classic

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

You can say the same thing about Armstrong. Majority of the pro were doping at that time. He is just better than everyone else. Access to better resources, a great supporting cast and that "attitude" that everyone hates about him, contributed to all those wins.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

The taking of performance enhancing drugs is still a problem in most professional sports including baseball, football and track, but cycling seems to get the most notoriety about it. :confused:

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

But you called the rider that has tested more than any rider in the history of the sport and never officially tested positive, a doper?:sh


I would prefer that this thread not turn into a dopers forum.... I think everyone could probably agree that every athlete in the sport has pushed the limits of what is "legal"....

When they are caught going over the edge, there is a price to pay.... (or you have the Spanish Cycling Federation declare you eligible, getting you another GT and then wait for the CAS to call you a doper....;) )

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

hey, I am an Armstrong fan, I was just joking around as he's the most suspected but never caught cyclist ever.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

And I'm not. But saying Contador clean is so naive. Tainted meat? Sounds like a **** movie.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

the amounts found in his blood were too low to have any effect. But then again, he was involved with Dr. Fuentes before, he has a sketchy past and I don't like him. He's not a fair sporter, the way he stole the tour from Schleck last year was weak and unfair, he could only beat Rasmussen because Rasmussen was taken out of competition. Contador isn't that great.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Well, Cantador has his work cut out for him now....

He is probably pretty lucky that the TTT is so short, or he could be out of the race day 2.....;)

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Although the principals of good sportsmanship prevent me from truly being happy about that huge crash at the end, there's a nasty little part of me that was glad to see Contador get trapped behind it--not just for personal reasons, but also because it's going to make him more aggressive for the rest of the Tour and make the entire thing even more exciting. Congrats to Gilbert for a good day of riding. I really thought Cancellara was going to win it with his final push, but he just didn't have the gas to maintain. I was also happy to see Andy Schleck come through in the first group.

On to the TTT tomorrow!

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Like Noodles, I prefer the Giro. And after what I saw from Contador in Italy, I would be surprised if he's not there in Paris at the end.

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Saxo has a pretty strong TTT team, top 3 for sure.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I disagree....:chr

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

it's easy to say that after the race E.J.

Saxo disappointed, Rabo surprised me.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

For the record, that was not after the race, it was during. It was also posted without having read about or watched a second of the race.... Post was at 7:15 AM local, which would have been 3:15 in France, which if my thinking is correct, Saxo would have been in 1st at the time.....

My comments yesterday back up the fact that I didn't think Saxo would scare anyone in the TTT and that chances were, Contador would lose time today.... Which was spot on...

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

ok, well, I read it after the race.

I expected more from Saxo, but they didn't lose that much time anyway, not like Basso for example.

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Good for Tyler Farrar! Nice to see him finally get a TdF stage win....

He also became the first American to win a Tour de France stage on July 4.

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Agree with the Rasmussen. That was too bad for him.

BUT, saying Contador ain't that 'great' is a little bit of a stretch. When the hills gets steeper, he gets better. He is one of my favorite climbers.

Not going to discuss if he doped or not. It's the Spanish Cycling Federation's decision not to suspend him that is a shame. Landis must be wishing he was born in Mayorga, Spain instead of Lancaster, PA. :)

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Good for Cadel today....first time he has rode across the line 1st in a stage of the TdF. Too bad he didn't know if he won or not, didn't even get to celebrate....:)

Another fun finish....

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What a dangerous start this has been to the Tour, and two of the accidents wouldn't have happened but for careless drivers. For anyone who may think cyclists aren't tough, today a French TV caused an accident in the lead, breakaway group while attempting to pass. The car hit one rider and knocked him into another, sending the second rider flying off of his bike and into a barbed wire fence. Here's a video of the accident, and here's a picture of the second rider extracting himself from the barbed wire fence (the picture has some blood and half a cyclist's bare rear end). Both went on to finish the rest of the stage today. Accidents are a part of the sport, and many riders (including others today) have had to drop out of the Tour due to very serious accidents, but my thoughts especially go out to Flecha and Hoogerland for being the victims of irresponsible driving today.

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Here's a video of Hoogerland, overcome with emotion, being awarded his King of the Mountains jersey. I haven't seen whether or not he will withdraw, but I hope he can at least attempt to continue.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

He's not withdrawing, he actually trained today and said he will defend his jersey until thursday

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Glad to hear that. If there's any "good" day for a crash, it's the day before a rest day. Hopefully today he'll be able to recover with some tranquility and be able ride the next few stages well.

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I hope so too, he's a national hero now here in The Netherlands

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I'm not surprised; he's a world hero now among cycling fans everywhere.

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...and we have our first positive doping test....Alexandr Kolobnev

http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/sto...ng-test-071111

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I don't know which saddens me more: that riders are still illegally doping, or that the UCI's anti-doping controls and policies are such that riders still believe they can get away with illegally doping in a Grand Tour.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

A new T-shirt for the Dutch, or anyone else impressed by Hoogerland's grit. :tu

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Frank, Andy, Cadel & Ivan all put time into Cantador...

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Contador just doesn't have it in him this year. As far behind as he was going into this stage, he had to be the one putting time into the others, not the other way around. If he couldn't do it today he won't be able to at all. He especially suffered when the Schlecks started one-two punching him.

Edit: He couldn't even finish with the group of Basso, Evans, and Andy Schleck.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I wasn't able to watch todays race, but damn, I had high hopes for Gesink this year and he sucked today.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

You missed a good one, Ferdie! I don't know if you have access to watch at least parts of it somewhere, but as far as highlights go, the Leopard-Trek train up the Col du Tourmalet was amazing (Cancellara did a tremendous amount of work at the front for quite a long time), as was the group with the Schlecks, Basso, Evans, and Contador over the last 5K or so of the stage.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I might be able to see the highlights of yesterdays stage today. I was at the Amsterdam dungeons with some collegues yesterday, guess who they picked to demonstrate a torture chair ............ I need to learn to keep my mouth shut at certain times ;)

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

WHAT A GREAT RACE TODAY! I am surprised and actually a bit disappointed that Voeckler kept yellow.

Now with "57 on Cadel, AS has his odds go to dead even with Cadel, both the odds on favorites now to win....

Tomorrow is going to be fun....and here is to hoping Andy and Frank put more time into the field...:chr

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

finally some fireworks, Andy Schleck killed Contador which I didn't expect after the last few days. I'm not disappointed in Voeckler, he's doing great and I kinda like that he kept yellow with just a few seconds to spare, just like in 2004 when he fought to keep yellow and managed with 22 seconds to spare. What a fighter.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I agree with Ferdie on Voeckler. As much as I love Andy, Stage 18 must have really been the ride of Voeckler's life, and and I'm impressed with him hanging on to the yellow. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he lost it today on l'Alpe d'Huez, but congrats to him for fighting and holding on to it one more day. Extremely impressive riding by Andy and a great plan by Leopard-Trek overall. Today will be interesting, because I think Andy really has to put more time into Evans before the time trial. Both worked hard yesterday, so maybe one of the sleepers who didn't do so much work (Frank?) will be able to make something of himself today.

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I'd love to see Voeckler win, but it's a long shot. Perhaps the other GC riders will beat each other up today and Voeckler can just hang on? Time trial will hurt his chance if Evans or Schleck stay close. I hope for a battle royale today.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

Voeckler doesn't stand a chance, it would surprise me if he ends up in the top 3 at all with his time trial skills. Andy & Frank Schleck will have to attack today otherwise Evans will win the tour.

Re: Tour de France 2011
 

I'd love to see Evans win via TT today!

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Agreed, by 2" over Andy Schleck....:tu