Tour de France: Stage 15 Preview & Favorites

 As expected, a breakaway made it on Stage 14 and now the focus is back on the GC riders. This last week of this year’s Tour de France will be extremely tough and it starts out with a killer mountain stage finishing on the legendary Mont Ventoux.

The Route

In the past, the stages on the French National Day were made for the breakaways. This year it’s different. Stage 15 is the longest stage of this year’s Tour and despite finishing on Mont Ventoux, the first 221 km are more of less flat. This means it’s highly unlike a break will make it all way. It will be another hot day in the saddle with temperatures over 30°c and after two hard stages, many will hope for a quiet start of the day.

A tailwind will help a morning breakaway get a good gap but the peloton will make sure it won’t get out of control. The intermediate sprint is located in Malaucène 15 km from the bottom of Mont Ventoux. Since the stage hasn’t been very hard until now, most of the sprinters should be able to fight for points for the Green Jersey.

The Finish

The 20.8 km towards the top of Mont Ventoux.

The 20.8 km towards the top of Mont Ventoux have an average gradient of 7.5 %. The climb starts out quite soft with the first five kilometers not getting over 4-5 %. From here on the road really kicks up with percentages over 10 %. It’s always very windy after getting out of the forest into the moon landscape and this year is no different. The riders will be fighting a headwind and this will make it very difficult to attack and stay away alone. The last right hand turn towards the finishing line is the final struggle of the day and with more than 10 % you need to have something left in the tank if you’re not already alone in front.

The Favorites

The last time the Tour de France had a stage finish on Mont Ventoux, Juanma Garate won in front of Tony Martin after a long breakaway. Starting on Mont Ventpux, the break seemed doomed but since Andy Schleck didn’t want to attack without his brother, Fränk, the GC riders killed the stage and let Garate and Martin stay in front. I don’t think that will happen this year.

Chris Froome already has a good gap to his rivals and they need to take use of every opportunity they get. Froome’s rivals simply have to attack and gain time and everybody wants to win on this mythical climb. Chris Froome himself had his first - ever - rendezvous with Mont Ventoux just two months ago when he went to test his legs on the climb. Riders like Alejandro Valverde, Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck already know what to expect of Mont Ventoux and I think they will have a little advantage on Froome. However, it doesn’t help much if they can’t drop him uphill - and I don’t think they can.

The way I see it, Chris Froome is the big favorite for the stage win. He lost a minute to Contador and Mollema in the crosswind and I’m sure he will be eager to take back the lost time time and show who’s the strongest rider in the race. Team Sky are missing Vasil ‘Chloroform’ Kiryienka and Edvald Boasson Hagen but they still have David Lopez, Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte to set the pace and keep Chris Froome in front. It’s not ideal but it has to do. If not Froome, I think the stage winner will be Spanish.

Movistar will most likely make the race hard but they only have Nairo Quintana for the overall classification. The Colombian super climber will probably put in a couple of strong attacks but I think Froome will respond. He knows can’t let Quintana get away. On the other hand, if Alejandro Vavlerde tries an attack I doubt Froome will chase him down instantly. Valverde has good memories from Mont Ventoux. In 2009, he took the yellow jersey in Critérium Dauphiné (which he later won overall) on the stage to Mont Ventoux. Back then, he ‘gave’ the stage win to Sylvester Szmyd but this time Valverde isn’t giving anything away. Tour de France was his big goal this season and he lost it all when a rider broke his wheel on Stage 13. Movistar are out for revenge and with a fast finish - should it come to that - I think Valverde will be tough to beat if Froome is just focusing on keeping the jersey. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with Froome and Valverde in front.

Also, look out for Andy Schleck. He’s getting stronger and stronger every day and he may have some unfinished business with Mont Ventoux from the last time he was here. The headwind won’t favor Andy Schleck but on a good day he could take another big stage win in the Tour.

The Jokers

The French riders will be eager to get something out of this Tour de France, especially on La Fête Nationale (Bastille Day). When the route was revealed Thibaut Pinot was my first pick for the stage win but now I’m not so sure. He seemed to arrive to the Tour in great shape but he had nothing in his legs in the Pyrenees. Lately he’s been getting better but apparently he has some kind of throat problems now. If he’s back at his 2012 level, he will be a dangerous outsider but I doubt it. Pierre Rolland is another strong French candidate and contrary to Pinot, Rolland seems to have great legs. A stage win on Mont Ventoux will help Pierre Rolland significantly in his fight to keep the Polka Dot Jersey and the other GC riders don’t have to worry about him. Rolland is 25:33 minutes behind Froome in the overall classification and he only focuses on stage wins and the KOM competition.

I have high hopes for Daniel Martin too. The strong Irishman has already won a big mountain stage in this year’s Tour de France and he’s been “saving bullets” for Mont Ventoux the last couple of days. Martin is 11^th overall so he won’t be giving a card blanche. Still, he won’t be the first rider Froome, Contador and Mollema will start chasing down either. Daniel Martin says he’s a big fan of the cycling history and naturally winning on a famous climb like Mont Ventoux would be amazing. He seems to be in the shape of his life right now and he has a strong kick too. I don’t know if Daniel Martin still fits the “joker” category but if so, he’s my joker for the stage win.

So. To sum it up: Chris Froome is the strongest rider uphill but may not have the best team. Furthermore, his primary target is to keep the yellow jersey. Alejandro Valverde is eager to take revenge and his Movistar team is very strong. Valverde is now out of the GC and the other favorites won’t chase him down right away. Not even Belkin…

Favorites: Chris Froome & Alejandro Valverde

Jokers: Pierre Rolland & Daniel Martin

For live race coverage go to Steephill.tv

Just like during the Giro d’Italia this year, I once again have the chance to bring you daily “Fly Through” previews from Global Cycling Network. Here is Stage 15:

Just to get you into the right mood, take a look at the Mont Ventoux stage from 2000 when Marco Pantani won after an amazing comeback and series of furious attacks in the end:

Tour de Suisse: Stage 7 Preview & Favorites

The GC contenders had an easy day on Stage 6 when the peloton decided to let Kolobnev, Grabsch, Hayman and Rast stay away. What could have been a hectic final turned out to be quiet day at the office but now it’s time to fight for the overall classification.

Stage 7 is 208 km long and includes four categorized climbs. The first 120 are rather flat with just a one category 3 climb to overcome but after 130 km the road really starts to kick up. The 6.2 km towards the top of this category 1 climb have an average gradient of 7 % and we can expect BMC and Saxo-Tinkoff to set a high pace. Mathias Frank looks very strong uphill and so does Roman Kreuziger. Personally, I see Kreuziger as the strongest rider in the race right now. Still it’s worth mentioning that Kreuziger is suffering a bit from his crash on stage 3. He hit his shoulder and knee and especially the shoulder has been bothering a bit. If he’s not feeling good, the other teams may try to distance him already on this climb.

The next climb starts after 155 km. This category 4 climb isn’t very steep and it shouldn’t really bring any of the GC riders in difficulty. However, it is important for the favorites to stay near the front since the final climb of the day starts right after the descent. The first part of the climb has an average gradient of just 4 % but it’s gets steeper after the second intermediate sprint. The final 14.3 km towards the top have an average gradient of 6.6 %. The first 3.5 km are the steepest with an average of 10% and if Tejay van Garderen has a good day, he could really rip the race apart here for Mathias Frank.

There are 9.3 km to go from the top of the last climb but the descent isn't very technical. Only the last part with seven hairpin corners from 3 km to 2 km to go. The final 700 meters are flat but two 90° turns will make the run in very difficult. If a small group arrives together, it’s important to be first or second coming out of the last corner with just 300 meters to go.

Peter Sagan was outstanding on the last mountain stage but I doubt he will repeat that effort. The 3.5 km of 10 % on the final climb will most likely split up the peloton significantly and I wouldn’t be surprised if only 10 riders were left after this steep part. I think Tejay Van Garderen will be leading the group at this point and it will be very difficult to break away. 

One of the few riders who can do it is Michele Scarponi. The Italian veteran crashed out of the general classification on Stage 3 and he is now eager to take a win and forget about all his bad luck. There aren’t any bonus seconds on the line in this year’s Tour de Suisse so the other GC contenders won’t have to worry if Scarponi manages to get away on the final climb. Lampre also have Diego Ulissi who - despite a crash on Stage 6 - is in good shape right now. I think they will try something with him and Scarponi on this stage.

I also expect Andy Schleck to make a move. He’s slowly getting into shape and his confidence is coming back too. During Stage 5, he even thought about doing the final uphill sprint for a moment. He attacked from afar in Criterium International and in Tour of California and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to get away already on the category 1 climb starting with 75 km to go. It’s hard to say if Andy Schleck is strong enough to enough to keep a gap on the final climb but since he’s not threat overall, the GC contenders don’t have to chase him down.

As stated, I think this stage is too hard for Peter Sagan to stay in front. Still, if he’s not more than 30-45 seconds after the favorites on the top of the last climb, he could very well catch up on the descent. It all depends on the race situation. If a breakaway seems sure to the take win, Sagan don’t need to waste energy staying up front. However if he’s in play for the stage win, he will probably do whatever he can to win again. Sagan could also be a breakaway candidate…

Bauke Mollema turned out to be the strongest riders uphill on the first mountain stage. It will be interesting to see if he attacks again on this stage in order to gain a little time before the last ITT. On paper, Rui Costa is the best time trialist of the first five in the GC but don’t underestimate Mollema against the clock. Right now Mollema is 1:08 min after Mathias Frank and I think he needs to cut that in half if he wants to win overall. If Mollema is within 40 seconds of the yellow jersey (and that not being Rui Costa) before the final time trial, I think he can go for the win. That means he needs to attack and hopefully we will get another interesting stage finish Friday afternoon.

Before I end this preview, I would like to point out Marcel Wyss. IAM Cycling had to say goodbye to Heinrich Haussler after he crashed on Stage 6 and they are soon running out of stages to win in their home race. Marcel Wyss is 36^th overall, almost nine minutes after Mathias Frank. The other day he attacked to take a few KOM points “just in case”, as he said. This stage is very important for the KOM jersey and I expect Wyss to take part in the morning breakaway. It won’t be easy to keep the peloton at bay all day long but the lack of bonus seconds means the favorites don’t need to go for the stage win.

Favorites: Michele Scarponi & Bauke Mollema

Jokers: Andy Schleck & Marcel Wyss 

For live coverage check out steephill.tv.

Tour de Suisse had a similar stage finish three years ago. Back then Robert Gesink won. In case you forgot, here is the video of stage:

GIRO EXCLUSIVE - Scarponi: Now I want to win the Giro on the road!

Michele Scarponi very confident before the
start of the stage. This year he wants to win
Giro d'Italia on the roads - not on paper!

Being the second best rider in the Giro last year everybody now points at Michele Scarponi as the big favorite for the overall win. Scarponi himself though makes sure to point out that there are many other riders able to win this year.

“I don’t think there is one rider who is a bigger favorite than the others. There are 5-6-7 riders including Basso, Rodriguez, Kreuziger & Schleck who can win this race. It’s a very open Giro this time”.

Two days before the start of the Giro d’Italia 2012, Michele Scarponi officially won the Giro last year when he was rewarded with the pink jersey and the big trophy. This year Scarponi wants to show the world that he can win the Giro on the road as well and not only on paper.

“Everybody knows what happened last year, there is no reason to discuss that any further. Alberto Contador is my friend and to me Alberto will always be the winner of the Giro d’Italia 2011. This time I would love to win the race for real - on the road where it counts”.

To help him do just that, Scarponi can count on team mate and former Giro d’Italia winner Damiano Cunego.

“I think it will be very important that we have two strong riders in the team. I have a real champion like Damiano by my side and I’m sure we can use that tactically in the mountains. I’m going for the overall classification and then we will see what Damiano can do. For sure we have good chances to do something big in this Giro”.

Giro d’Italia 2012 - The Favorites

Giro d’Italia 2012 - The Favorites The way I see it this is one of the most open Giro d’Italias in many years. Last year Alberto Contador was the mega favorite and the year before him Ivan Basso. This time Contador won’t be there and it’s still unclear if Ivan Basso has fully recovered from his crashes earlier in the season.

Looking at all the GC-contenders I have managed to narrow it down to about riders with an actual chance of winning the Giro. Let’s take a look at them.

Roman Kreuziger
Last year Roman Kreuziger made the Giro d’Italia his big goal of the season. He wanted to end on the podium but in the last week the tough mountains turned out to be too hard for the young Czech. He ended 5th overall and this year it’s time to step up. All the way up I think! Ever since he helped Maxime Iglinsky to a podium place in Strade Bianche, Kreuziger has been among the best riders in all the races he has taken part in. He ended 3rd overall in Tirreno-Adriatico after strong performances in the mountains, 6th in Giro del Trentino (despite a hunger-knock on the last hard mountain stage to Passo Pordoi) and recently he ended 6th overall in Tour de Romandie with a strong time trial. There is absolutely no doubt that Roman Kreuziger is ready to take on the Giro. Another important fact is that Astana is one of the strongest teams in the race with riders like Petrov, Seeldrayers, Dyachenko and especially Tiralongo to help Kreuziger in the mountains. Also Astana should be one of the best teams in TTT compared to the other favorites’ teams. I expect Roman Kreuziger to be on the final podium and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning the whole thing.

Michele Scarponi
Two days before the Giro d’italia starts out in Denmark, Michele Scarponi officially got rewarded with the Giro win from last year. Many expect him to win it ‘for real’ (on the roads) this time and together with Roman Kreuziger he is also my big favorite for the title. Scarponi stood out in Trentino for not standing out, but I think he is ready anyway. Last year his results were better before the Giro than now, but don’t be fooled by the stats. Michele Scarponi will get excellent help in the mountains from team mate and former Giro-winner Damiano Cunego as well as from Przemyslaw Niemiec and on the time trials he should lose much time to the other GC-contenders. Scarponi is experienced enough to know how to ride a good race and without Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali this year, Scarponi really is the guy to beat if you want to win Giro d’Italia.

José Rujano
You may have to wait two weeks to see him, but then he will be there. The final week of this Giro is extremely hard and for little José Rujano it couldn’t be better. Recently he showed in Trentino that the condition is good and with a couple of weeks to get to a 100% you can be sure that Rujano will do damage in the mountains this year too. Some might say that the biggest problem for Rujano will be the time trials, but actually it’s himself. José Rujano is very much driven by his heart and how he feels and if he doesn’t has his head in the game all the time, he could easily end up losing the race on a day with no real danger. He also needs to pay attention on the first stages in Denmark where the wind can split up the peloton at any given time. I don’t think José Rujano can win the Giro, but if he hasn’t lost too much time before the peloton reaches the high mountains (stage 14) I think he will make the podium. Anything but a spot among the five best riders in the overall classification would surprise me.

Fränk Schleck
I already wrote about Fränk Schleck’s chances in his Giro right here, so I won’t do much more now. Fränk Schleck got called up and asked to ride the Giro just a week prior to the race and that extra rest could come in handy. The first weeks aren’t so demanding as we have seen in the past and that means that Schleck has the chance to enter the last week a little bit more fresh than his opponents. He may not win the Giro, but I think he will be a very strong contender for the podium.

Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez
Of course Purito has to be on my list of favorites. Last year he started out the Giro a little bit sick but ended in a very strong way and took 4th overall. Like José Rujano, Purito needs to be careful on the first windy stages in Denmark and hope his Katusha team won’t lose too much time in the team time trial. Dani Moreno will be there to support Purito in the mountains and if start the last week within 1½ min of the other favorites you would be a fool not to count him in as a player for the podium – at least. This year Purito finally won a big classic (Fleche Wallone) and with that extra morale boost I think he will do a great Giro d’Italia.

Some may wonder why I haven’t mentioned Ivan Basso among my five top favorites. It’s simple. I really don’t know if he is ready or not. His two crashes earlier in the season seemed to set him back a lot and even though he looked better and better in first Trentino and the Romandie, the Giro is still something different. You have to on the top of your game to win and I honestly don’t know if Basso is there yet. Like Fränk Schleck he may be able to benefit from an easy start and then be ready for the final week, but I have my doubts. I hope Basso will be there, that would be good for the race, so let’s hope he proves me wrong this time.

Normally I would pick a few jokers for the GC but this time I don’t really see any in the very top. Riders like John Gadret, Ryder Hesjedal and Rigoberto Uran all have the potential of doing top10 and maybe even more, but not to win the Giro.

I will take the chance and give you my pre-top10 of the Giro d’Italia 2012
1. Roman Kreuziger
2. Michele Scarponi
3. José Rujano
4. Fränk Schleck
5. Purito Rodriguez
6. Ivan Basso
7. John Gadret
8. Ryder Hesjedal
9. Marco Pinotti
10. Rigoberto Uran

So who won?

One of the biggest chances after today's CAS verdict, stripping Jan Ullrich of all his results from May 2005 to February 2007, is that Francisco Mancebo now takes third place in the Tour de France 2005. That made me take a look at the overall classification for 2005 and I must admit the view is shocking.

How many names on this list can you pick out who haven't (officially) been linked to doping abuse? I think the first rider in the Top10 will be Cadel Evans followed by well...who? I fear that one day we will look at the Top10 from the Tour de France 2010 with the same eyes. I don't think it will happen, but I must admit I feel the fear lurking somewhere in my mind...

Take a look here:

What do you think? Feel free to comment below...

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 19

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Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Fränk Schleck

David Etxebarria : Damiano Cunego

Laura Meseguer : Fränk Schleck

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Bookmaker's favorite : Fränk Schleck

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 18

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Thomas Löfkvist : Andy Schleck

Mauro Gianetti : pending...

David Etxebarria : Alberto Contador

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

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Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Interview - Claudio Chiappucci

To spice it up and get a fresh view on this year's Tour de France, here comes an interview the former Italian super climber Claudio Chiappucci who won the polka-dot jersey in both 1991 and 1992 and finish on the final podium in Paris in '91, '92 & '93.

Claudio, we are now half way through the Tour. Who has surprised you the most. Both positively and negatively?

Gilbert is sparking, he’s been like that since the beginning of the season! Very positive, Cunego as well. The others are more or less as we expected them to be. The two Schleck brothers are equally strong but Contador hasn’t lost the Tour yet.

Do you think he [Contador] is still capable of winning the Tour being 3-4 mins down already?

I think he can recover, but he has to find a way to attack his rivals. The problem is that there aren't that many occasions left to do so. I think Voeckler can keep the yellow jersey for one more week, he has a very good team.

Cadel Evans has turned out to be strongest of the favorites in the first half of the race. Do you think he can keep up like that?

Well, I think he has improved a lot. He is strong and he has been at the front of the peloton all the time. He is good on the climbs and in the time trials and I think he deserves to be on the podium based on his performances so far. 

Basso won the Giro last year, Nibali the Vuelta and now both Cunego and Basso are up there with the best in the mountains. How high do you see the chances for an Italian rider on the final podium in Paris?

I think Basso could end up on the podium, but he won’t win the Tour. Both  Evans and Contador have a strong time trial where they can take time on Basso, and then we have the Schleck brothers who can attack him from left and right in the mountains. It won’t be easy.

On Luz Ardiden the biggest surprise – except for Contador losing time – was probably Damiano Cunego staying with favorites. What do you think he can this year?

Cunego is not a top rider for the three week stage races anymore. On Luz Ardiden he did well but it will be hard for him to get close to the podium. Especially because of the time trial. He should target a stage win instead.

Leopard-Trek showed amazing team-strength on Thurday’s stage to Luz Ardiden, but in the end only Fränk Schleck gained a few seconds on the other favorites. What do you think about their tactic? 

They made a great effort and got the group down to only the best ones, but I think they need to pick a team leader. They need to sacrifice one for the other, Fränk never said he was the ‘gregario’.

What about ‘your’ jersey, the polka-dot, who do you think will take it this year?

Samuel Sanchez can win it, I would go for him. Among the others I don’t see a true climber. No one is attacking anymore. You have to attack in order to win this jersey. Maybe the riders nowadays have different targets and don’t want to risk everything on the jersey. It’s a shame…

Last one. It seems like the Italian people (sponsors and tifosi) are waiting for a new fall of champions to fall in love with. Like with you guys in the Giro and the Tour. You arrived after a crisis in Italian cycling and managed to give a great Renaissance. How do you see the future of the Italian cycling right now?

It was different time. When I was a rider I was attacking because I wanted to see what the others were capable of doing, I wanted to give them a chance to defend themselves. Indurain was very strong and attacking him wasn’t easy, but I felt that I had to try every time. You don’t see that nowadays. It’s not easy for the Italians either. The globalization brings new sponsors into the ProTour and Italy doesn’t play that big a role anymore. We only have two ProTour teams and I think it’s going to be difficult for Italy to get new big teams with Italian sponsors. It will be interesting to see what a guy like Daniel Oss and future youngsters can bring to the table. I just hope they won’t crack under the big pressure and expectations. 

Interview by Alberto Celani & Mikkel Condé

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 14

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Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Ivan Basso

David Etxebarria : Andy Schleck

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

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Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 12

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Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Cadel Evans

David Etxebarria : Fränk Schleck

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

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Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Eagerness to perform sends home the favorites

What do Bradley Wiggins, Janez Brajkovic, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Chris Horner, Alexander Vinokourov and for this matter Christophe Kern have in common? For starters they all were listed as big GC hopes for the Tour de France but what’s more important; they all came to the Tour more ready and eager to perform than ever before!

After last year’s catastrophically Tour-performance Bradley Wiggins seemed to be fitter than ever and very determinate to show all his critics that his 4^th place in 2009 wasn’t a coincidence. His overall victory in Dauphiné proved he was back on track and must have boosted his moral sky high. The whole team was build around him and he couldn’t wait to show what he was capable of – unfortunately we never got to see it...

Like Bradley Wiggins, Jurgen Van den Broeck was flying in Dauphiné taking an incredible win on the first mountain stage and 4^th overall. It looked so easy for Van den Broeck every time it started to go uphill and suddenly only the a spot on the final podium in Paris seemed to be acceptable for the Omega-Lotto leader and his followers. Like Wiggins he was eager to show what he could do in the big mountains and like Wiggins he ended up leaving the Tour after a crash.

Other riders matching this profile are Team Radioshacks duo-leaders Janez Brajkovic and Chris Horner. Brajkovic build his whole 2011 season around the Tour. Nothing else mattered. His impressive win in Dauphiné last year, where he hold off Alberto Contador making it look like a walk in the park, made Bruynell and co. talk about a final top5 for the young Slovenian, if not the podium. Again a massive pressure being put on the rider and again he crashes out. Same goes for Chris Horner. Doing top10 last year, looking out for Lance Armstrong and the rest of the team, Horner was eager to show his own qualities. The very same qualities that made him win Tour of California with his closet rival being team mate Levi Leipheimer – almost 3 minutes ahead of Tom Danielson as third. Horner said before the Tour that he would make “Top5 for sure – if not more!” – well I am sure he would have been up there, but like the others he ended up in a ambulance.

You probably see where I’m going with all this, but let us just take a few more examples. Alexander Vinokourov. Last Tour de France in his life. Ready to do whatever it takes – on the bike – to fulfill his life-long dream and get at least one day in yellow. On stage 8 it looks like it’s about to happen, but the strong head wind knocks Vinokourov out on the last couple of hundred meters. The very next time – and probably the last change to get yellow – Vinokourov ends up in the forest on a slippery downhill section. Was it because the Garmin riders were riding too fast or was it because Vinokourov was too eager to stay in front and try to get the jersey?

Last example for now is Christophe Kern. The big sensation in Dauphiné. Before a heavy time trialist, but after losing 11 kg in the winter season, suddenly a strong climber and gunning for the GC in the Tour. Kern won a stage in Dauphiné and was, if not the strongest, definitely one of the strongest in the race. Those performances made Christophe Kern rethink his Tour de France ambitions and went from “helping out team mate Charteau in the mountains” to “stage win, polka dot jersey and hopefully a good GC”. Like all the others mentioned here, Kern crashed and abandoned the Tour.

So is all this just bad luck? Could it have happened to anyone? Well, it probably could have. But it didn’t. It didn’t happen to Cadel Evans who nearly nobody counted in for the final podium. It didn’t happen to Ivan Basso who’s Tour-ambitions got knocked down a bit after his crash in May on Etna. It didn’t happen to Frank Schleck, a rider who normally crash as much as Cavendish wisn and it didn’t happen to Tony Martin, another rider who many seemed to forget while picking out favorites. I did in fact happen to Alberto Contador – the biggest favorite of them all – but is he out of the Tour? No Sir, he is not.

This little write-together could have been even longer if I got started on Robert Gesink (finally being the team leader in the Tour, going stronger than ever), Levi Leipheimer (winning Tour de Suisse and finally seemed back to former strength) and Andreas Klöden (Winning Paris-Vasco & 2^nd in Paris-Nice) but even though they too are in a lot of pain cause of their crashes, they are still in race, fighting to prove me wrong…

The Experts' Tour Picks - Final GC

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Thomas Löfkvist :
1. Alberto Contador
2. Andy Schleck
3. Cadel Evans

Mauro Gianetti : 
1. Alberto Contador
2. Cadel Evans
3. Andy Schleck

David Etxebarria :

1. Andy Schleck
2. Alberto Contador
3. Ivan Basso

Laura Meseguer : 
1. Alberto Contador

2. Andy Schleck

3. Ivan Basso

Beautiful national colors in France this summer!

The world’s biggest sports event this year will be attended by the world’s best riders – in their home colors! That’s the result after the weekend’s national championships where riders like Bradley Wiggins, Fabian Cancellara, Fränk Schleck & Philippe Gilbert ended on top of the podiums.

A quick look at the results gives us the following national road champions ready for the Tour de France starting this Saturday.

British champ: Bradley Wiggins
Luxembourg champ: Fränk Schleck
Spanish champ: José Joaquin Rojas
Belgian champ: Philippe Gilbert
Danish champ: Nicki Sørensen
French champ: Sylvain Chavanel
Suisse champ: Fabian Cancellara
Slovenian champ: Grega Bole
Russian champ: Pavel Brutt


While most of these riders were pre-selected by their teams for the Tour already, Pavel Brutt really did shoot the parrot. His Russian Katusha team had earlier announced that only Russian riders would be selected for the Tour this time and with 7 riders pre-selected, Pavel Brutt was just one  outof six riders fighting for the last two spots. A spot I feel pretty sure he will get now after taking the jersey. Can’t really see a Russian government supported team with 100 % Russian riders not picking their new national champion, you?

Only question now is for long we will actually see Philippe Gilbert’s Belgian jersey in the Tour-peloton. I have a feeling that it will be rather yellow the first week…