thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
Do you think Valverde will be there too ?
Tour de France 2013 *spoilers*
- Thread starter Noodley
- Start date
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I think nobody can predict what Valverde will do... he might give his all and end up with a podium place in the GC ... or he might save himself for the Vuelta and just go for a stage win and end up somewhere only in the first 30 positions of the GC.
I do believe that Smutchin was indeed referring to the fact that Quintana and Costa might also be capable of claiming (co-)leadership. But as you (thom) explained here above, I believe indeed most teams don't really need that much helpers since it will be the teams of the 2 topfavourites who should be doing the work. Movistar will/can probably do as the many other teams (Euskaltel, Cofidis, Garmin ...), which is pick the best rider after about 2 weeks racing and elect him as "true GC leader".
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
Yeah - it is true that Movistar could have an issue with 2 or 3 guys. If Valverde does go, perhaps he'll go like last year though, to sharpen up for the Vuelta and try for a stage win rather than a GC place.
Somehow, teams other than Sky don't seem to have obvious internal struggles at the moment. Even Garmin if they have both Hesjedaal & Dan Martin, will likely not have to make a choice of one subjugating themselves for the other - they seem an equitable team with riders collaborating willingly throughout the year, racing for the jersey as well as themselves.
But hey, wtf do I know !? Maybe it was Tejay who paid someone to chuck tacks under Cadel's wheels...
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Well, I nearly said "Costa, Quintana and Valverde"... I suspect the only person who thinks Alejandro Valverde is still a contender is Alejandro Valverde, but then he did win the Tour of Andalucia...
Basically, I'm not sure. What do you reckon?
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Actually, I was thinking of one of Costa or Quintana as leader with Valverde as a domestique - mainly because I thought his ambitions this year were for the Vuelta, but I might be mistaken on that, and as you say... who knows what he'll do? Probably not even his team-mates.
I don't think he'll win anything though. He's past it. The sooner he does a Menchov, the better for everyone, not least his team-mates.
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
I reckon like last year he'll target the Vuelta - it is easier without Froome, Contador (or Wiggo most likely). As he is a pro, I think he has made the calculation....
thom
____
- Location
- The Borough
Sky team : Froome, Thomas, Stannard, Kennaugh, Porte, Kiriyenka, Lopez, Siutsou, Boassen-Hagen.
So a couple of surprises in Stannard and Kennaugh from my guess - neither Eisel or Knees make it.
So a couple of surprises in Stannard and Kennaugh from my guess - neither Eisel or Knees make it.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Hmmm. Ok, so I guess that's a three-way tussle for the leadership.
Yeah, but so did he last year ...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/movistar-announce-tour-de-france-team
And he seemed to be saying about the same things
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/valverde-anything-can-happen-in-tour-de-france
("We will go for the overall title"... "but will be difficult"..."Wiggins and Evans most likely for the win")
Does anybody believe that some of these guys could be reach a (bit of a) suprise top 10?
Taaramae
Navarro
Nieve
Gadret
All are pretty much "under-the-radar" (or if you prefer "underachieving to the expectations" in the last year
) riders but who (should) have targeted the Tour as focus point
Taaramae
Navarro
Nieve
Gadret
All are pretty much "under-the-radar" (or if you prefer "underachieving to the expectations" in the last year
) riders but who (should) have targeted the Tour as focus point
Dave Davenport
Guru
- Location
- Hampshire
Have we had any predictions for the final podium yet?
A bit obvious but I'll go for;
1. Froome
2. Bertie (on the assumption he hasn't scoffed half a ton of finest Spanish beef since the Giro)
3. Porte
A bit obvious but I'll go for;
1. Froome
2. Bertie (on the assumption he hasn't scoffed half a ton of finest Spanish beef since the Giro)
3. Porte
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Does anybody believe that some of these guys could be reach a (bit of a) suprise top 10?
Taaramae
Navarro
Nieve
Gadret
All are pretty much "under-the-radar" (or if you prefer "underachieving to the expectations" in the last year
Well, I've picked Taaramae for my fantasy team... He looks to be in good form and is over his illnesses at last. I think he's a real prospect. I reckon he'll finish in the top ten, maybe even the top five.
Navarro also looks in good form. He and Nieve could be good bets for a stage win in the mountains. Gadret I think might be slightly past his best now, but still could do something in the mountains.
All the above with the usual caveat that I mostly haven't clue what I'm talking about.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Froome
Quintana
Porte
Rest of the top ten, in no particular order:
Contador, Mollema, Taaramae, Martin, Evans, Tejay, Talansky
Although Porte might intrinsically be a top 3 in this Tour (with the 3 time trials and Nibali focussing on Giro this year), I also don't think it's going to happen. I believe that Porte will have to start pulling the bunch much earlier than Froome needed to do last year, so I expect Porte to drop a bit earlier (than if he would be leader in another team)
... still I easily see a top 10 in him though (as I have said earlier
)My top 3 guess is:
Va Va Froome
Dirty Bertie
Purito
And then the others in no particular order:
Pinot, Rolland, Costa, Quintana, Porte, Martin, Van Garderen, Moreno
