An Affair to Remember
Deadpool’s Picks For All Of The Tour De France Competitions

So, its that time of year again, July, when every cycling fan in the world calls in sick at least one day of the month (I’d choose the 23rd of July, the epic stage with the Galibier and l’Alpe-d’Huez). And here I am with another one of those annoying primers on who will be wearing each jersey on the Champs-Élysées. From the Green, to the White and those Gay Pride Polka Dots, here I am to tell you who to bet on. I will however, not be commenting on the Yellow Jersey, as enough debate is occurring on that issue.
Lets start with the Green Jersey, with Big Tom Boonen, and with the defending champ in the competition out because of a little white powder up his nose (*snort, cough, snort*) the competition is wide open. The favorites include numerous veteran sprinters, such as former Green Jersey winners Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole), Robbie McEwen (Silence-Lotto), and Erik Zabel (Team Milram), along with former World Champion Oscar Freire. However, they will be challenged by numerous young riders looking for a big coming-out party, headlined by riders such as Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), and winner of last year’s Stage 2 Gert Steegmans. Also playing a part should be Team Columbia/High Road’s formidable sprinter train, including Bernhard Eisel, Gerard Ciolek, and Mark Cavendish. Personally, I have to go with Freire, I think that Zabel and McEwen are too old to get over the mountains, and none of the young guns have the power to beat him. That leaves mighty Thor Hushovd, who I think will suffer because of a lack of a strong sprint train.
Next up are those Polka Dots, and I don’t think my first choice of Richard Virenque will be as successful as I had hoped, so I’ll have to reconsider. The KOM competition is in my view the most interesting in the race, as any determined rider who can climb well has a shot at it, so it is almost impossible to predict. The obvious choice is defending champ Mauricio Soler (Barloworld), however he may be looking to improve in the overall classification, so he may turn his attention away from the polka dots this year. That is why this year I am going to go with Remy Di Gregorio (Francaise Des Jeux), a surprise choice obviously, but I feel that he has the skill set, youth, and most importantly the team to take home the jersey. As Francaise Des Jeux doesn’t have a rider that can threaten in any other competition, if Di Gregorio can take the early lead in the competition, he will most likely gain the support of his team, which as a French team will want something to show for in the race.
The White Jersey competition, for Best Young Rider (U25) could possibly be the most competitive competition in this year’s tour. Although a number of riders could contend, I think we will see a three-way slugfest between Andy Schleck (Team CSC-Saxo Bank), Riccardo Riccio (Saunier Duval-Scott), and Roman Kreuziger (Team Liquigas). All three have a legitimate chance to win the jersey, but I have to go with Schleck 2.0 for this one. I think that Schleck’s climbing style is better suited that Riccio’s for the mountains of the Tour, and that Kreuziger, despite having won the Tour de Suisse a few weeks ago, doesn’t have the necessary experience to take the jersey. However, expect the competition to be decided by a matter of seconds, and also for all three riders to be in the top 12 in the overall classification. So there are my picks for this year’s tour, all we can hope for now, is a great race, some amazing competition, and please, almighty CrueTrue save us, no doping scandals. I really hope it turns out to be as awesome as promised, and I hope that everyone else is looking forward to it as well.