To your joy and happiness,after 2 weeks and a half spent on holiday,miss Fede is finally back. Unfortunately this period of holiday corresponded to a period of great cycling isolation,since I left before of the beginning of TdS and came back just yesterday.Therefore,I lost all the TdS stuff (yes,I know that Frank won),the national championships (Visconti won in Italy,the Schlecks won a title each,Marycz won in Poland and N.Sorensen won in Denmark) and the latest news about the new team of the Schleck brothers.In fact,it seems that the brothers are going to create their own Radioshack (or,better,Radio Schleck) and so they're leaving Riis. I'm obviously a bit disappointed by this,but I think that this is a common feeling between the Saxo Bank fans,especially those who,like me,support the Schleck brothers and also other guys on team SB.But since SB will keep on racing until the end of the year,well,I think it's better to forget about this for a while.
As you probably already know,at 6 pm this evening there was the presentation of the TdF teams.And what better occasion for talking about the start list of the race and write some bullshits,ehm,fangirlistic observations? Let's begin then!
TEAM HTC COLUMBIA: Cavendish, Eisel, Grabsch, Hansen, T.Martin, Monfort, Renshaw, Rogers, Siutsou.Team Columbia was the first team to be presented this afternoon and so me could notice once again that,when Cavendish speaks,I can't understand anything. How depressing.Btw,during TdS Cav eliminated 2 of his possible sprint adversaries (Boonen and Haussler) and so right now he's ready to win at least 3 TdF stage.However,considering that this time Petacchi is racing the Tour as well,I think that Cannon Ball will have more problems than usual during the sprints.On this team obviously there isn't just Cav,but there are also other good riders.Eisel,Hansen and Renshaw will surely form the leadout train of the Manx rider (and they'll surely be helped by the other guys in the team).Then there are also other strong riders like Siutsou (he won 2009 Bergamo stage in the Giro),Monfort (good climber),Grabsch (good time trialist) and Rogers,who will be the GC man together with Toni Martin.Apropos: Martin has got some excellent results lately,just like winning a TdS TT stage in front of a Swiss rider called Fabian Cancellara,so his shape is really excellent.
FEANCAISE DES JEUX: Le Mevel,Casar,Di Gregorio, Geslin, Ladagnous, Roux, Roy, Sulzberger,Vaugrenard.Sulzberger comes from Tasmania,and considering what his fellows did during the Giro,we'd better pay attention to him.FdJ is the usual French team: lots of good riders,but no big champions.Di Gregorio could surprise,while Roy,Casar,Le Mevel,Vaugrenard are good riders.'Breakaway' will probably be the team's key word for the next 3 weeks.And,hopefully,they'll have good luck.
FOOTON-SERVETTO: Capecchi, Benitez, Cardoso, Duran, Eibegger, Felline,Mayoz, Perez Arrieta, Valls.Capecchi is a very interesting rider,just like the young Fabio Felline.He was born in 1990 and,since there's a very small 'age gap' between him and me,Fangirl is going to support him a lot in the next 3 weeks.The Dutch man who presented the team in Rotterdam paid him a lot of attention,but Fabio reacted well.He's got future,believe me.Other interesting riders in this team are Mayoz (he rode a very good Giro) and the climber Cardoso.Unfortunately,Capelli won't be racing.
CAISSE D'EPARGNE: LL Sanchez, Da Costa, Erviti, Gutierrez, Kiryenka,Moreau, Perget, Molina, Rojas.The Spanish team lost his captain Valverde a few weeks before of the beginning of the Tour,so the GC man is going to be LL Sanchez,who in the last 2 years won 2 stages at la Grande Boucle.The team has some very good riders,as well as Sanchez.For example,Kiryenka always attacks and Moreau,although he isn't that young anymore,could get some good results.During the team presentation the interviewer terrified LL by asking him where the bar for the 'movida' is."No lo sé" was Luis' predictable answer.
LAMPRE: Cunego, Bole, Da Dalto, Gavazzi, Hondo, Lorenzetto, Malori,Petacchi,Spilak.
On his road to the Rotterdam stage where the teams were presented,Alessandro Petacchi was playing with his mobile phone.On the stage,the interviewer started to talk to him and concluded the interview with the following words: "Here in Holland it is prohibited to use your mobile phone while riding a bike".Everybody laughed and the interviewer managed to make Petacchi smile (and that's the first big news of 2010 TdF).Luckily Ale Jet will also smile for stage victories,and not just for the journalists' jokes.During the sprints Petacchi will be able to count on Bole,Da Dalto,Hondo and Lorenzetto,who could also enter a breakaway and win a stage.Other good team riders are Spilak and Malori,who are both very young.Adriano,in particular,is a neo pro and is the TT World Champion for the U23 category.Cunego,instead,will go for stage victories (or,at least,that's what Logic thinks).
AG2R LA MONDIALE: Roche, Bouet, Champion, Elmiger, Gadret,Le Lay, Mondory, Nocentini, Riblon.Nocentini has finally recovered from his bad injury (he broke 3 bones of his leg at the beginning of the year) and he's obviously dreaming of repeating last year's performance.Roche will go for stage victories,just like his teammates.I'm curious to see how Gadret will climb in his home country,since during the Giro he really surprised me.Little useless observation of mine: seeing the jersey of Swiss champion on someone who is not Cancellara is strange.
LIQUIGAS DOIMO: Basso,Bellotti, Koren, Kreuziger, Kuschinsky, Oss, Quinziato, Szmyd, Vandborg.Although a bit underestimated,Liquigas has a very good team.Basso and Kreuziger will be the captains (Basso trained very hard for the French race),while the other riders will help them as much as they can.Szmyd is the greatest helper of Cycledom right now,Koren is a young interesting rider, Oss,Quinziato and Kuschinsky know how to ride on cobblestones.Wonderful team.And,was it just my impression,or did Basso sound a bit moved on the Rotterdam stage?
KATIUSHA: Karpets, Brutt, Ivanov, Kolobnev, McEwen, Pliuschin, Joaquin Rodriguez, Vandenbergh,Vorganov.The Russian team,which in the next 3 weeks will be totally Pozzato free,is pretty good.Rodriguez is a very good climber,like Karpets,while Kolobnev (new Russian champion),Brutt,Ivanov and Vorganov will surely try to get a victory.And McEwen is as determined as always.His interview was funny,especially when he asked the interviewer: 'Why are you talking English and I am talking Dutch?' Hopefully Robbie will win a stage,since it's ages since he last got a very important victory.
OMEGA PHARMA LOTTO: Van Den Broeck, Aerts, De Greef, Delage, Lang, Lloyd, Moreno, Roelandts,Wegelius.Van Den Broeck will be the captain and will be helped by the whole team.Other good climbers are De Greef (yay!),Lloyd and Moreno,while Roelandts is a good sprinter.Wegelius,instead,is simply a myth (just check his Twitter if you don't believe me).Btw,look out for Van Den Broeck: he came 8th in his first Giro d'Italia (2008 ) and I think he's got much better since then.
BMC: Evans,Ballan,Bookwalter,Burghardt,Frank,Hincapie,Kroon,Morabito and Santambrogio. The TdF team looks much better than the Giro's one.In it there are riders who can ride well on the cobblestones (Hincapie,Burghardt and Ballan),although I don't know who will be able to help mr.Evans on the climbs.Burghardt has a great condition,Bookwalter rode a good Giro (look out for him on Saturday),Kroon could go for stage win.Frank already impressed me a lot last year,during TdS (if my memory doesn't fail me),so I'm curious to see what he'll do during this race.And then me's happy to see Santambrogio racing again.On the Rotterdam stage,when interviewed,Evans said that,if compared to that of last year,his race preparation is the same.Why do you win more than last year then? "I changed team",Evans explained with a smile.Did you get it,Lotto men?
QUICK STEP: Sylvain Chavanel,Barredo,De Weert, Devenyns, Pineau,Reda,Seeldrayers,Van De Walle,Wijnants.This team lives on Boonen's performances,but without Boonen (eliminated by Cav during TdS) the team doesn't look that strong.Seeldrayers is a very nteresting rider,so attention to him.The others instead will look for stage victories.
BBOX BOYGUES TELECOM: Voeckler, Arashiro, Charteau, Fedrigo, Gautier, Rolland, Sprick,Turgot,Vogondy.Voeckler is the new French champion and showed his jersey with a lot of pride this afternoon.In this team there are guys who have already won stages at the Tour (Voeckler,Vogondy,Fedrigo) and guys who could make it as well.Hopefully Arashiro will be luckier than in the Giro.And,hopefully,Fedrigo will get a victory also this year.
MILRAM: Gerdemann,Ciolek,Froehlinger,Kluge,Knees,Roberts,Rohregger,Terpstra,Wegmann.
Interviewer: "Let's stop talking about cycling.Let's talk soccer.Tomorrow there's Argentina-Germany".Gerdemann: "To be honest,it's on Saturday".A few seconds later,Gerdemann makes the public explode from happiness when he says "I hope that Holland will pass the turn as well".To be honest,dear Linus,I don't know if Podolski & Co.will be as happy as you,if they have to face Holland after England and Argentina! Btw,back to cycling: Gerdemann is the captain of this team,which has a good sprinter (Ciolek),a good time trialist (Wegmann) and a good all rounder (Terpstra).
EUSKALTEL: S.Sanchez,Isasi,Egoi Martinez,Oroz,Perez Lezaun,Perez Moreno, Txurruka, Velasco,Verdugo.The team captain is Samuel Sanchez,while the other riders will help him and try to get stage victories.Attention to Txurruka: in 2008 he was the most attacking rider of the race.
CERVELO: Sastre,Florencio,Gustov,Hunt,Hushovd,Klier,Konovalovas,Lancaster,D.Lloyd.
Sastre is the team captain and is riding this Tour in spite of a problem with his spine.Hushovd will try hard to win the green jersey also this year and Lancaster will surely help him.Gustov is an excellent helper,while me will be in a "Allez allez Konovalovas!" mood during every single TT.Poor Heinrich Haussler instead is still followed by bad luck.After missing the spring campaign for a problem in his knee and being found drunk while driving his car,HH was in fact eliminated by Cav during last TdS. Poor Heinrich.
GARMIN-TRANSITIONS: Vandevelde,Dean,Farrar,Hesjedal,Hunter,Maaskant,Millar,Van Summeren,Zabriskie.DZ was the only one who,during the presentation,sat on his bike in a very relaxed way.He's an excellent time trialist,so look out for him in the TTs.Van Summeren is a very strong 'cobblerider',just like Maaskant.Millar is another excellent time trialist,while Vandevelde and Hesjedal are good GC riders.Dean,Farrar and Hunter will try to shine during the sprints.This is a very good team and,after Vandevelde in 2008 and Wiggo last year, perhaps one of Garmin riders will surprise us again this year.
COFIDIS: Taaramae,Auge,Dumoulin,El Fares,Kern,Minard,Moinard,Monier,Pauriol.
As you probably already know,at 6 pm this evening there was the presentation of the TdF teams.And what better occasion for talking about the start list of the race and write some bullshits,ehm,fangirlistic observations? Let's begin then!
TEAM HTC COLUMBIA: Cavendish, Eisel, Grabsch, Hansen, T.Martin, Monfort, Renshaw, Rogers, Siutsou.Team Columbia was the first team to be presented this afternoon and so me could notice once again that,when Cavendish speaks,I can't understand anything. How depressing.Btw,during TdS Cav eliminated 2 of his possible sprint adversaries (Boonen and Haussler) and so right now he's ready to win at least 3 TdF stage.However,considering that this time Petacchi is racing the Tour as well,I think that Cannon Ball will have more problems than usual during the sprints.On this team obviously there isn't just Cav,but there are also other good riders.Eisel,Hansen and Renshaw will surely form the leadout train of the Manx rider (and they'll surely be helped by the other guys in the team).Then there are also other strong riders like Siutsou (he won 2009 Bergamo stage in the Giro),Monfort (good climber),Grabsch (good time trialist) and Rogers,who will be the GC man together with Toni Martin.Apropos: Martin has got some excellent results lately,just like winning a TdS TT stage in front of a Swiss rider called Fabian Cancellara,so his shape is really excellent.
FEANCAISE DES JEUX: Le Mevel,Casar,Di Gregorio, Geslin, Ladagnous, Roux, Roy, Sulzberger,Vaugrenard.Sulzberger comes from Tasmania,and considering what his fellows did during the Giro,we'd better pay attention to him.FdJ is the usual French team: lots of good riders,but no big champions.Di Gregorio could surprise,while Roy,Casar,Le Mevel,Vaugrenard are good riders.'Breakaway' will probably be the team's key word for the next 3 weeks.And,hopefully,they'll have good luck.
FOOTON-SERVETTO: Capecchi, Benitez, Cardoso, Duran, Eibegger, Felline,Mayoz, Perez Arrieta, Valls.Capecchi is a very interesting rider,just like the young Fabio Felline.He was born in 1990 and,since there's a very small 'age gap' between him and me,Fangirl is going to support him a lot in the next 3 weeks.The Dutch man who presented the team in Rotterdam paid him a lot of attention,but Fabio reacted well.He's got future,believe me.Other interesting riders in this team are Mayoz (he rode a very good Giro) and the climber Cardoso.Unfortunately,Capelli won't be racing.
CAISSE D'EPARGNE: LL Sanchez, Da Costa, Erviti, Gutierrez, Kiryenka,Moreau, Perget, Molina, Rojas.The Spanish team lost his captain Valverde a few weeks before of the beginning of the Tour,so the GC man is going to be LL Sanchez,who in the last 2 years won 2 stages at la Grande Boucle.The team has some very good riders,as well as Sanchez.For example,Kiryenka always attacks and Moreau,although he isn't that young anymore,could get some good results.During the team presentation the interviewer terrified LL by asking him where the bar for the 'movida' is."No lo sé" was Luis' predictable answer.
LAMPRE: Cunego, Bole, Da Dalto, Gavazzi, Hondo, Lorenzetto, Malori,Petacchi,Spilak.
On his road to the Rotterdam stage where the teams were presented,Alessandro Petacchi was playing with his mobile phone.On the stage,the interviewer started to talk to him and concluded the interview with the following words: "Here in Holland it is prohibited to use your mobile phone while riding a bike".Everybody laughed and the interviewer managed to make Petacchi smile (and that's the first big news of 2010 TdF).Luckily Ale Jet will also smile for stage victories,and not just for the journalists' jokes.During the sprints Petacchi will be able to count on Bole,Da Dalto,Hondo and Lorenzetto,who could also enter a breakaway and win a stage.Other good team riders are Spilak and Malori,who are both very young.Adriano,in particular,is a neo pro and is the TT World Champion for the U23 category.Cunego,instead,will go for stage victories (or,at least,that's what Logic thinks).
AG2R LA MONDIALE: Roche, Bouet, Champion, Elmiger, Gadret,Le Lay, Mondory, Nocentini, Riblon.Nocentini has finally recovered from his bad injury (he broke 3 bones of his leg at the beginning of the year) and he's obviously dreaming of repeating last year's performance.Roche will go for stage victories,just like his teammates.I'm curious to see how Gadret will climb in his home country,since during the Giro he really surprised me.Little useless observation of mine: seeing the jersey of Swiss champion on someone who is not Cancellara is strange.
LIQUIGAS DOIMO: Basso,Bellotti, Koren, Kreuziger, Kuschinsky, Oss, Quinziato, Szmyd, Vandborg.Although a bit underestimated,Liquigas has a very good team.Basso and Kreuziger will be the captains (Basso trained very hard for the French race),while the other riders will help them as much as they can.Szmyd is the greatest helper of Cycledom right now,Koren is a young interesting rider, Oss,Quinziato and Kuschinsky know how to ride on cobblestones.Wonderful team.And,was it just my impression,or did Basso sound a bit moved on the Rotterdam stage?
KATIUSHA: Karpets, Brutt, Ivanov, Kolobnev, McEwen, Pliuschin, Joaquin Rodriguez, Vandenbergh,Vorganov.The Russian team,which in the next 3 weeks will be totally Pozzato free,is pretty good.Rodriguez is a very good climber,like Karpets,while Kolobnev (new Russian champion),Brutt,Ivanov and Vorganov will surely try to get a victory.And McEwen is as determined as always.His interview was funny,especially when he asked the interviewer: 'Why are you talking English and I am talking Dutch?' Hopefully Robbie will win a stage,since it's ages since he last got a very important victory.
OMEGA PHARMA LOTTO: Van Den Broeck, Aerts, De Greef, Delage, Lang, Lloyd, Moreno, Roelandts,Wegelius.Van Den Broeck will be the captain and will be helped by the whole team.Other good climbers are De Greef (yay!),Lloyd and Moreno,while Roelandts is a good sprinter.Wegelius,instead,is simply a myth (just check his Twitter if you don't believe me).Btw,look out for Van Den Broeck: he came 8th in his first Giro d'Italia (2008 ) and I think he's got much better since then.
BMC: Evans,Ballan,Bookwalter,Burghardt,Frank,Hincapie,Kroon,Morabito and Santambrogio. The TdF team looks much better than the Giro's one.In it there are riders who can ride well on the cobblestones (Hincapie,Burghardt and Ballan),although I don't know who will be able to help mr.Evans on the climbs.Burghardt has a great condition,Bookwalter rode a good Giro (look out for him on Saturday),Kroon could go for stage win.Frank already impressed me a lot last year,during TdS (if my memory doesn't fail me),so I'm curious to see what he'll do during this race.And then me's happy to see Santambrogio racing again.On the Rotterdam stage,when interviewed,Evans said that,if compared to that of last year,his race preparation is the same.Why do you win more than last year then? "I changed team",Evans explained with a smile.Did you get it,Lotto men?
QUICK STEP: Sylvain Chavanel,Barredo,De Weert, Devenyns, Pineau,Reda,Seeldrayers,Van De Walle,Wijnants.This team lives on Boonen's performances,but without Boonen (eliminated by Cav during TdS) the team doesn't look that strong.Seeldrayers is a very nteresting rider,so attention to him.The others instead will look for stage victories.
BBOX BOYGUES TELECOM: Voeckler, Arashiro, Charteau, Fedrigo, Gautier, Rolland, Sprick,Turgot,Vogondy.Voeckler is the new French champion and showed his jersey with a lot of pride this afternoon.In this team there are guys who have already won stages at the Tour (Voeckler,Vogondy,Fedrigo) and guys who could make it as well.Hopefully Arashiro will be luckier than in the Giro.And,hopefully,Fedrigo will get a victory also this year.
MILRAM: Gerdemann,Ciolek,Froehlinger,Kluge,Knees,Roberts,Rohregger,Terpstra,Wegmann.
Interviewer: "Let's stop talking about cycling.Let's talk soccer.Tomorrow there's Argentina-Germany".Gerdemann: "To be honest,it's on Saturday".A few seconds later,Gerdemann makes the public explode from happiness when he says "I hope that Holland will pass the turn as well".To be honest,dear Linus,I don't know if Podolski & Co.will be as happy as you,if they have to face Holland after England and Argentina! Btw,back to cycling: Gerdemann is the captain of this team,which has a good sprinter (Ciolek),a good time trialist (Wegmann) and a good all rounder (Terpstra).
EUSKALTEL: S.Sanchez,Isasi,Egoi Martinez,Oroz,Perez Lezaun,Perez Moreno, Txurruka, Velasco,Verdugo.The team captain is Samuel Sanchez,while the other riders will help him and try to get stage victories.Attention to Txurruka: in 2008 he was the most attacking rider of the race.
CERVELO: Sastre,Florencio,Gustov,Hunt,Hushovd,Klier,Konovalovas,Lancaster,D.Lloyd.
Sastre is the team captain and is riding this Tour in spite of a problem with his spine.Hushovd will try hard to win the green jersey also this year and Lancaster will surely help him.Gustov is an excellent helper,while me will be in a "Allez allez Konovalovas!" mood during every single TT.Poor Heinrich Haussler instead is still followed by bad luck.After missing the spring campaign for a problem in his knee and being found drunk while driving his car,HH was in fact eliminated by Cav during last TdS. Poor Heinrich.
GARMIN-TRANSITIONS: Vandevelde,Dean,Farrar,Hesjedal,Hunter,Maaskant,Millar,Van Summeren,Zabriskie.DZ was the only one who,during the presentation,sat on his bike in a very relaxed way.He's an excellent time trialist,so look out for him in the TTs.Van Summeren is a very strong 'cobblerider',just like Maaskant.Millar is another excellent time trialist,while Vandevelde and Hesjedal are good GC riders.Dean,Farrar and Hunter will try to shine during the sprints.This is a very good team and,after Vandevelde in 2008 and Wiggo last year, perhaps one of Garmin riders will surprise us again this year.
COFIDIS: Taaramae,Auge,Dumoulin,El Fares,Kern,Minard,Moinard,Monier,Pauriol.
Pay attention to this list: Minard,Moinard,Monier.I'll never manage to remember 'who is who',although I should remember that one of them won a stage during the Giro.Anyway,El Fares is a very promising rider,while Taaramae will show interesting things on the climb.Btw: on his way to the stage,Dumoulin kept on taking photographs with his mobile phone.Which,to my horror,was covered by a pink protection.Hopefully,the mobile phone belonged to Samuel's wife/girlfriend/sister or mother,and not to him.
RABOBANK: Menchov, oom,Freire,Garate,Gesink,Moerenhout,Niermann,Tankink, Tjallingii. Hopefully Menchov will be as strong as in 2009 Giro and will even attack on some stages.Gesink is one of the best climbers of the peloton and will probably share the leadership with Denis.Freire and Boom instead will be ready to win the sprinters' stages.
SKY: Wiggins,Barry,Cummings,Flecha,Gerrans,Boasson Hagen,Lovkvist,Pauwels,Thomas. Yes,I was shocked as well when I saw Wiggo's new haircut.For a moment,he even reminded me of Noel Gallagher.Brrrrr.Anyway,this team is strong.Wiggo is an excellent time trialist and can climb well.Barry,Pauwels and Cummings are very good all rounders,Flecha is a 'cobblerider',Boasson Hagen is fast,Lovkvist is the favourite rider of every fangirl,Gerrans is the best climbing sprinter of the peloton and Thomas is a very promising rider (look out for him on Saturday).Nice team.
RADIOSHACK: Armstrong,Brajkovic,Horner,Kloden, Leipheimer, Murayev, Paulinho, Popovych,Rast.Ok,ok: Radioshack is strong.Very strong.Just read those names: Brajkovic,Horner,Kloden,Leipheimer and Popovych.I mean,those guys could be team captain in every single team of Cycledom! Brajkovic,especially,is a very promising rider.But,if you read the names more carefully,well,I think that this team has good members,but also other riders who actually areb't that strong.And, especially,this team doesn't have any 'cobblerider'.If Armstrong had problems on the Arenberg stage,no one could help him.I know that he's one of the most intelligent riders of Cycledom,but also intelligent guys can puncture,can't they? Therefore,dudes,Radioshack is strong,but not impossible to beat.
TEAM SAXO BANK: Andy Schleck,Breschel,Cancellara,Fuglsang,O'Grady,Frank Schleck, Chris Anker Sorensen,Nicki Sorensen,Voigt.This,imo,is the strongest team of TdF.It's the last TdF that these riders will race together (Fangirl is desperate about this),so I think that everyone will give their best in order to make this Tour become unforgettable.Andy Schleck had a bad crash the other day,but hopefully he'll be ok soon.Frank won a stage at TdS and also won the final GC (and raced good TTs).Breschel is fast,and he's a cobblerider like Cancellara and O'Grady.As well as that,he can also work as a super helper.Fuglsang is a very good climber,just like Chris Sorensen.On his blog,Chris said that his form is very good,so we can expect good performances from him.Voigt is one of the best (and most experienced) riders of the world and Nicki Sorensen is a great all rounder.Are you still sure that Radioshack is the strongest team of the Tour?
ASTANA: Contador,De La Fuente, Grivko, Hernandez, M.Iglinskiy, Navarro, Noval, Tiralongo,Vinokourov.Contador talking English is probably one of the cutest things ever, although now his accent isn't as noisy as before.He's clearly the big favourite of this Tour and there's a lot of stress on him.His team is good,especially for the climbs.Vinokourov is an intelligent rider and,since he's unpredictable,he could organise some surprises for Alberto's adversaries.Tiralongo is a very good climber and helper,while Navarro and Noval are riders that Contador totally trusts.And Iglinskiy is a very strong rider as well (and is probably the best 'cobblerider' of the team). So,attention also to this team.
So,these are the riders of this uyear Tour de France.I wish everyone a lot of luck and hope that the race will be thrilling and correct.And,hopefully,it will end with a Luxembourgish victory.Allez Schlecks!
PS1: No,Vacansoleil and Skill Shimano weren't invited to the Tour.
PS2:The women Giro d'Italia begins tomorrow.Me will try to talk a bit about that as well.
RABOBANK: Menchov, oom,Freire,Garate,Gesink,Moerenhout,Niermann,Tankink, Tjallingii. Hopefully Menchov will be as strong as in 2009 Giro and will even attack on some stages.Gesink is one of the best climbers of the peloton and will probably share the leadership with Denis.Freire and Boom instead will be ready to win the sprinters' stages.
SKY: Wiggins,Barry,Cummings,Flecha,Gerrans,Boasson Hagen,Lovkvist,Pauwels,Thomas. Yes,I was shocked as well when I saw Wiggo's new haircut.For a moment,he even reminded me of Noel Gallagher.Brrrrr.Anyway,this team is strong.Wiggo is an excellent time trialist and can climb well.Barry,Pauwels and Cummings are very good all rounders,Flecha is a 'cobblerider',Boasson Hagen is fast,Lovkvist is the favourite rider of every fangirl,Gerrans is the best climbing sprinter of the peloton and Thomas is a very promising rider (look out for him on Saturday).Nice team.
RADIOSHACK: Armstrong,Brajkovic,Horner,Kloden, Leipheimer, Murayev, Paulinho, Popovych,Rast.Ok,ok: Radioshack is strong.Very strong.Just read those names: Brajkovic,Horner,Kloden,Leipheimer and Popovych.I mean,those guys could be team captain in every single team of Cycledom! Brajkovic,especially,is a very promising rider.But,if you read the names more carefully,well,I think that this team has good members,but also other riders who actually areb't that strong.And, especially,this team doesn't have any 'cobblerider'.If Armstrong had problems on the Arenberg stage,no one could help him.I know that he's one of the most intelligent riders of Cycledom,but also intelligent guys can puncture,can't they? Therefore,dudes,Radioshack is strong,but not impossible to beat.
TEAM SAXO BANK: Andy Schleck,Breschel,Cancellara,Fuglsang,O'Grady,Frank Schleck, Chris Anker Sorensen,Nicki Sorensen,Voigt.This,imo,is the strongest team of TdF.It's the last TdF that these riders will race together (Fangirl is desperate about this),so I think that everyone will give their best in order to make this Tour become unforgettable.Andy Schleck had a bad crash the other day,but hopefully he'll be ok soon.Frank won a stage at TdS and also won the final GC (and raced good TTs).Breschel is fast,and he's a cobblerider like Cancellara and O'Grady.As well as that,he can also work as a super helper.Fuglsang is a very good climber,just like Chris Sorensen.On his blog,Chris said that his form is very good,so we can expect good performances from him.Voigt is one of the best (and most experienced) riders of the world and Nicki Sorensen is a great all rounder.Are you still sure that Radioshack is the strongest team of the Tour?
ASTANA: Contador,De La Fuente, Grivko, Hernandez, M.Iglinskiy, Navarro, Noval, Tiralongo,Vinokourov.Contador talking English is probably one of the cutest things ever, although now his accent isn't as noisy as before.He's clearly the big favourite of this Tour and there's a lot of stress on him.His team is good,especially for the climbs.Vinokourov is an intelligent rider and,since he's unpredictable,he could organise some surprises for Alberto's adversaries.Tiralongo is a very good climber and helper,while Navarro and Noval are riders that Contador totally trusts.And Iglinskiy is a very strong rider as well (and is probably the best 'cobblerider' of the team). So,attention also to this team.
So,these are the riders of this uyear Tour de France.I wish everyone a lot of luck and hope that the race will be thrilling and correct.And,hopefully,it will end with a Luxembourgish victory.Allez Schlecks!
PS1: No,Vacansoleil and Skill Shimano weren't invited to the Tour.
PS2:The women Giro d'Italia begins tomorrow.Me will try to talk a bit about that as well.
yes so disappointed about the news of the schlecks leaving SB and a little angry actually at the way it all came out and the KA team seems to have been organised behind bjarne's back. Hope for a good tdf though!
RispondiEliminaI hope that the guys will race a good Tour too.After all,it's their last chance to win it with Bjarne...
RispondiEliminaPersonally,I was really shocked by the news of the brothers' new team.No one is perfect,so I don't feel like talking about loyalty,trust and these kind of things,but I simply can't understand why the Schlecks' sponsor can't give money to Riis and let things remain as they are now.Perhaps the brothers want to create something like Astana: a team with lots of athletes from Luxembourg and where they are the leaders.
Anyway I think we'll know more about the team after the Tour,when we discover which riders are leaving SB and we know whether Bjarne will find a sponsor or not.Let's just hope that the Tour riders will pay more attention to the race than to these problems.