As opposed to last year's race, which was marred by doping scandals, all the current big names in cycling are present in London. The 2007 edition will be a fresh start for the Tour de France!
The contenders
Alexandre Vinokourov(Astana) Odds: 2.87
[IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/vino2.jpg[/IMG-r]
The 9th largest country on earth has put their entire resources behind this new team, Astana, which has grown from the ruins of the old Liberty Seguros setup. They will already be contesting overall victory in this year's Tour. The reason? Alexandre Vinokourov. The Kazakh finally won a GT last year, and is the biggest favourite on the starting line in London.
"I've prepared pretty well. So it's this year or never. On paper I have all the skills to win" he said before the race.
The Spanish rider shone brightly but briefly on the 2005 Tour. He's the kind of rider who has it in him to dominate at high altitude, but there are some question marks. His time trialing for one, and then there's the fact that he's actually never finished the Tour de France.
Andreas Klöden(Astana) Odds: 5.00[IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/kloden2.jpg[/IMG-r]
Maybe Astana have the winner in their ranks, not Vinokourov, but Klöden. The German has a strong history in the race, is consistant in the mountains, and is likely to be the best against the clock too. Jan Ullrich's former lieutenant has been on the podium in Paris twice, and if Vinokourov should fail at some stage, Klöden is fully capable of assuming responsibility.
Carlos Sastre(Team CSC) Odds: 13.00[IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/sastre3.jpg[/IMG-r]
Last year, the Spanish climbing specialist finished all three Grand Tours, bagging 4th places at both the Tour and the Vuelta. His time trialing capabilities leave a lot to be desired, but Sastre never has a bad day.
Stay tuned as it all kicks off in the very heart of London!
Your Discovery Channel story is one of the 5, maybe 3 best stories I've read on this forum and this beginning already looks very nice. I'm looking forward to more!
cunego59 wrote:
Your Discovery Channel story is one of the 5, maybe 3 best stories I've read on this forum and this beginning already looks very nice. I'm looking forward to more!
I'll say
Really looking forward to this.. btw, is you DC story completely dead or is there any chance for revival? I remeber reading it back on the Norwegian FM forum
Prologue [IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/profil1.gif[/IMG-r]
London - London
7.9 km
Saturday 7 July
Today's prologue took place on a flat, fast course through the heart of London town. Going past all the main sights of the city, the time trial finished on the Mall in front of St. James Palace. Home favourite and Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins was tipped to be in hot contention for the first Maillot Jaune of the 2007 Tour de France, along with countryman David Millar.
"The opportunity is there for me to take the yellow jersey, [IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/wiggins2.jpg[/IMG-r]and what better place to take it? I think David Millar's had the same objective from day one. We both realize the opportunity that's there for us." Wiggins said before the prologue.
It wasn't to be, though. One of the earliest starters, the French TT champion Beniot Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), set a blistering time which proved hard to beat. Bradley Wiggins did a great ride, but clocked in one second behind Vaugrenard. Millar, who started just afterwards, was four seconds off the pace.
Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins flew through the London streets, but was unable to take the lead.
It wasn't until Andreas Klöden's ride that Vaugrenard's lead expired. The German, part of the formidable Astana team, tore into the prologue. As he hit the line on the Mall, he was 12 seconds faster than the French champion. Klöden's ride is certain to put some fear into Astana's rivals for the overall.
Andreas Klöden with a storming prologue.
The real favourite for the stage, amidst all the talk of the British riders, was World TT champion Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC). In contrast to the home favourites, the Swiss powerhouse lived up to the expectations. His switft ride took him through the course in 10 minutes 31 seconds, which was 11 seconds faster than Klöden.
The World champion applying the power!
Cancellara's amazing time stood throughout the day, although George Hincapie (Discovery) and pre-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) came close.
This means that Cancellara dons the first yellow jersey of the[IMG-r]https://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac43/christian_gr/tour07/0-23.png[/IMG-r] 2007 Tour de France. But contenders, beware! The Kazakh horde of Astana looks threatening.
Young Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) rode an impressive prologue, finishing as the best Rabobank rider in 11th.
Tom Boonen (Quickstep - Innergetic) wanted to get into a position to take yellow during the coming days. With 46 seconds up to Cancellara, that may prove difficult.
Cancellara (Team CSC) getting ready for his winning ride.
The World champ on course.
Big George Hincapie (Discovery) was one of the favourites for the stage. He wasn't far away in places, finishing 3rd, but far away in time, 23 seconds down on Cancellara.
Hincapie's teammate Vladimir Gusev (Discovery) did well too, coming 9th. He missed out on the best young rider's jersey though.
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) was rather unspectacular today. He's looking forward to the mountains.
Cadel Evans (Predictor - Lotto) did a great ride through the centre of London. Is he on form for a podium finish in Paris?
The main favourite stamps his authority on the race already. A solid 4th for Vinokourov (Astana), but he was behind his teammate Klöden.
New reporting style (compared to DC story), interesting As long as the headline doesn't give the winner (hope it won't), it's good (I like the suspense while reading). And the photogallery is great too
Expected win for Cancellara, and some realistic results (podium riders and their gap ).
cunego59 wrote:
Your Discovery Channel story is one of the 5, maybe 3 best stories I've read on this forum and this beginning already looks very nice. I'm looking forward to more!
I'll say
Really looking forward to this.. btw, is you DC story completely dead or is there any chance for revival? I remeber reading it back on the Norwegian FM forum
Thanks, both cunego59 & olabj! (and others too)
I don't know about my Discovery story. It's not officially dead, who knows when I feel the urge to update it again?
lluuiiggii wrote:
Expected win for Cancellara, and some realistic results (podium riders and their gap ).
Yes, it seems like I really nailed the prologue stats
BTW, some credits: Stages are made by the PCMNorge crew, while DB & graphics (jerseys etc.) are mostly done by myself.
Yay 
It's either them or Caisse. 
