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Tour de France 2012: Pre-Race thread
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-06-2012 18:17
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fcancellara wrote:
Why does nobody see Nibbles as a contender? People are always talking about Evans, Wiggins, Schleck Bro's, VDB, Sánchez, Gesink and Velits, but never about Nibbles 
Totally agree with you Nibali is definantly one to watch out for  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 06-06-2012 18:20
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sutty68 wrote:
fcancellara wrote:
Why does nobody see Nibbles as a contender? People are always talking about Evans, Wiggins, Schleck Bro's, VDB, Sánchez, Gesink and Velits, but never about Nibbles
Totally agree with you Nibali is definantly one to watch out for
In this TDF I definitely see Nibali more as a contender than the Schlecks.
And no matter how much talk there is about him here, I don't think he'll be underestimated by the peloton! |
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| issoisso |
Posted on 06-06-2012 19:06
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Ian Butler
you want a good example
in tennis if andy murray is winning hes british
when he looses hes scottish
Better example since he's belgian:
"Gesink winning is sort of a victory for the belgians, since so many of them speak dutch?"
EDIT: As for Nibali, I don't see him as a good enough climber or TTer to trouble the podium. Unless he's improved massively since last year, which is always a (slim) chance.
Edited by issoisso on 06-06-2012 19:07
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 06-06-2012 19:29
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Nobody mentions Voeckler either.
Ok, he got a huge advantage in a hilly stage breakaway, but he was still among the best climbers in the actual mountains.
Purposeful chauvinism aside, I can see him somewhere in the top 10, 5th or something at best. |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 06-06-2012 19:34
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Aquarius wrote:
Nobody mentions Voeckler either.
Ok, he got a huge advantage in a hilly stage breakaway, but he was still among the best climbers in the actual mountains.
Purposeful chauvinism aside, I can see him somewhere in the top 10, 5th or something at best.
He would have been 6th if you discount the time he took in the break. So it isn't impossible. |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 06-06-2012 19:49
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Surely Rolland would be a better shot? Got a bigger future ahead of him and he did a lot of work for Voeckler last year, lost a lot of time in the early flat stages and still ended up top 10.
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 06-06-2012 21:27
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He's a rather poor TTist though. Given the amount of ITT, I'd say Voeckler has a better shot than Rolland this year. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 06-06-2012 22:02
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If he loses a lot of time in the TT, I expect Rolland to take home a stage win. I don't think Voeckler will repeat what he did last year. But I think he could, indeed, go for a top 10. |
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 06-06-2012 23:43
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Aquarius wrote:
He's a rather poor TTist though. Given the amount of ITT, I'd say Voeckler has a better shot than Rolland this year.
and last year form was like a dream..I realy doubt that he will be at least same |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 07-06-2012 06:43
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fcancellara wrote:
Why does nobody see Nibbles as a contender? People are always talking about Evans, Wiggins, Schleck Bro's, VDB, Sánchez, Gesink and Velits, but never about Nibbles
I am sure many people listed Nibali as the favourite. And only I was talking about Velits,you probably know why  Well,because the course is perfect for him.
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| ember |
Posted on 07-06-2012 07:47
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issoisso wrote:
EDIT: As for Nibali, I don't see him as a good enough climber or TTer to trouble the podium. Unless he's improved massively since last year, which is always a (slim) chance.
He haven't raced that many huge mountains so far this season, but I found his win on Prato di Tivo convincing, will definitely be interesting to see how much he has improved, I do believe he will be a contender for the podium, though, not much more.
Before Dauphine started, I must admit I fancied The Silent Assassin for the overall win in July, it's his last chance to prove anything big. Will be very interesting to see how he does today, as I believe he has been "saving energy" so far in Dauphine. |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 07-06-2012 08:03
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Menchov is my darkhorse too, this course should suit him and he should have very good team support for one of his last chances at the Tour. I will cheer for him. 
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| Teddy The Creator |
Posted on 07-06-2012 08:15
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Menchov is my darkhorse too, this course should suit him and he should have very good team support for one of his last chances at the Tour. I will cheer for him.
Menchov is washed up. For me Valverde, , VBD and Voeckler are ahead of Menchov, and probably even Froome.
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| kumazan |
Posted on 07-06-2012 08:21
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Teddy The Creator wrote:
Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Menchov is my darkhorse too, this course should suit him and he should have very good team support for one of his last chances at the Tour. I will cheer for him.
Menchov is washed up. For me Valverde, , VBD and Voeckler are ahead of Menchov, and probably even Froome.
I think he probably is, but people shouldn't take if for granted. After all, many people though Evans was done, GT contending wise, after 2010. They were kind of wrong.
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| ruben |
Posted on 07-06-2012 10:27
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issoisso wrote:
TheManxMissile wrote:
Ian Butler
you want a good example
in tennis if andy murray is winning hes british
when he looses hes scottish
Better example since he's belgian:
"Gesink winning is sort of a victory for the belgians, since so many of them speak dutch?"
EDIT: As for Nibali, I don't see him as a good enough climber or TTer to trouble the podium. Unless he's improved massively since last year, which is always a (slim) chance.
This.
We'll know more after todays ITT maybe |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 07-06-2012 11:55
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kumazan wrote:
Teddy The Creator wrote:
Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Menchov is my darkhorse too, this course should suit him and he should have very good team support for one of his last chances at the Tour. I will cheer for him.
Menchov is washed up. For me Valverde, , VBD and Voeckler are ahead of Menchov, and probably even Froome.
I think he probably is, but people shouldn't take if for granted. After all, many people though Evans was done, GT contending wise, after 2010. They were kind of wrong.
Good example. I personally think Menchov has more of a chance here than Valverde. |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 07-06-2012 14:46
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Wiggins has been peaking all season long, he will be too tired to win the Tour.
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 07-06-2012 14:48
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Only peaked for Paris Nice so far
He also did only 4 races so far mate. Algarve he didn't peak and Romandie he didn't peak too although he was at higher level than i.e Algarve. Would you say Evans peaked for Romandie last year when he won ? I don't think so.
He certainly didn't peak for Dauhpine, beacasue if he did than his season planning would be wrong and I doubt Sky could mess that up so badly.
Edited by Alakagom on 07-06-2012 14:48
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 07-06-2012 15:11
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If Wiggens won't win, it's not going to be because he isn't peaking. He knows what he's doing. Most GC riders (for TDF) that know what they're doing, will peak just fine in TDF. Don't know for Andy, though. |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 07-06-2012 15:23
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Ian Butler wrote:
If Wiggens won't win, it's not going to be because he isn't peaking. He knows what he's doing. Most GC riders (for TDF) that know what they're doing, will peak just fine in TDF. Don't know for Andy, though.
Of course Andy will peak for the Tour... He doesn't even ride any other races properly.
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