"Much has been said and written about this one. This stage is obviously making its Tour debut, since it starts from Tomblaine (the main town of the Meurthe-et-Moselle canton) and heads towards the only ski resort in the Haute-Saône, which the Tour has never visited before but where it may return if the course delivers on its promise. There is much more to the stage than just the finish, as the Col de la Grosse Pierre and the Col du Mont de Fourche make it a real leg breaker! The result? This stage is going to hurt. Then the best will duke it out on La Planche des Belles Filles. An 8.5% gradient with certain sections at 13%. A gruelling climb..."
1.
CANCELLARA F.
RNT
29h 22' 36''
2.
WIGGINS B.
SKY
00' 07''
3.
CHAVANEL S.
OPQ
00' 07''
4.
VAN GARDEREN T.
BMC
00' 10''
5.
MENCHOV D.
KAT
00' 13''
6.
EVANS C.
BMC
00' 17''
7.
NIBALI V.
LIQ
00' 18''
8.
SAGAN P.
LIQ
00' 19''
9.
KLÖDEN A.
RNT
00' 19''
10.
MONFORT M.
RNT
00' 22''
The first mountain stage. Can't wait. I'm picking Frank Schleck for today, don't ask why.
Edited by Teddy The Creator on 06-07-2012 16:37
REALLY hope that they decide to race this climb in a hard way. Still think we'll end up with UK Postal patrolling at the front all the way up the final climb, shutting down all attacks. Then a small battle on that final 22% with Evans, Valverde and Nibali battling it out for the stage win.
Dream scenario would be if someone like Nibali, Evans or Menchov (I know, he wont) would attack early on the climb, forcing Wiggins to tire himself, rather than using Porte, Froome and Rogers to pace him.
Teddy The Creator wrote:
I'm sensing a pattern here. Dutch fans and a certain Canadian are the only ones that seem to have lost interest.
I'd be mad if Cadel crashed, but I'd still be excited for every day of the Tour.
I haven't lost all interest, I will still watch. Just the unpredictability is all gone. There are 3 riders that can Realistically win and only about 6 riders able to get a Top 5 now.
All my favourite riders GC hopes are over:
Rolland 2min
Pinot 2 min
Mollema 2min
Valverde 2min
Gesink 3min
Kessiakoff 13min
Vinokourov 13min
Martin 13min
Hesjedal 13min
The only two I kinda like that are left are Nibali and Menchov.
Evans has just been itching to get racing even on the flat so far. I wouldn't bet against him going on the offensive here, and I'll put him down as my guess here.
However, on a personal front I want to see Wiggins keep the pace and put out as good a performance as possible.
valverde321 wrote:
The only two I kinda like that are left are Nibali and Menchov.
Seconded.
Nothing against Wiggins really, but I don't really like the UK Postal tactic, while I've never liked Evans at all. Don't know why, but I think he seems very aggressive. Of the favourites, he's the last one I'd like to see winning.
I liked the US Postal tactic cause it guaranteed a very exciting battle between the GC Contenders at the final climb. Sky has sort of stolen that tactic and made it boring cause of Wiggins' characteristics as a rider opposed to Armstrong who rode very agressively. I really hoe Rogers and Froome have peaked to early or aren't as strong as predicted, although i think they are.
I predict a break to take the victory. I can't see which team will control the race and wind them down. Liquigas, BMC and Movistar could be interested in the stage win along with the possibility of Europcar and Nissan. If so, I hope and think Valverde or Nibali win it.
Edited by Riis123 on 06-07-2012 18:09
ruben wrote:
I looked forward to this, but since most climbers have gone down and are too far behind or injured..I'll watch with only half an eye
This
Who would guess that we'd have a Tour where the sprint battles are by far the most interesting thing.
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
(Yes I know I can dream 
