Who is your favorite in this years TdF

Why unfortnately? He was unlucky last year crashing as he did. I hope he does it this time unless of course you want some drug fuelled hero to blindly follow!! And what's wrong with Evans as well?

I don't like the whole Sky thing. Any asosciation with Murdoch makes me vomit but it does somewhat represent our amazing cycling scene over here in the UK. I live 1/2 an hour from the National cycling centre in Manchester where many of them train. I 've never met Wiggins but heard he's a good bloke but met Hoy and a few of the other track guys with some kids a couple of years ago. They couldn't have been nicer even with schoolkids who didn't know who they were. Any of them get my vote!

I want to see Tejay do well.  And I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cav vs the world competitions.  I'm not rooting for Cav...

 

Mike

 

 

Fixed it for you.

 

After last nights stage, Evans and Wiggins both looked strong but both need to keep their teams togther (and Sky have lost  Sivtsov)

Ok, I'm starting to have a lot more respect for Cav. Talk about doing it all on your own! If Wiggo doesn't win, I imagine there'll be a Manx missile aimed at the team. Or, perhaps, departing from Sky to better climes.

Mike

A lot of carnage so far but no change at the top end since the prolog.  Sparticus in yellow for a while yet.

I'd like to see Evans repeat.  If I had been on some of the teams he's been on I'd whine too.  This is only the third year he's been on a team that actually provided support.  He's a good guy.  As for Cav, I think he just showed the world that he is probably the best sprinter that ever lived.

Favorite in this year's TDF? Drug, or cyclist? Which will be the right combo and pass doping tests, that's the question. 

Team BMC is riding very smart, and if Evans is able to keep out of trouble (which his team is doing a good job of) I think he has a very good chance to repeat this year.

 

Mountains start tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how things begin to unfold.  Hopefully the ridiculous amount of carnage will dwindle from this point.
 

What a display of power today by Sky!!

Major confidence boost for Wiggins to see his team so effective and then be able to stay in the saddle and hold onto Evans on the finish climb which looked made to measure for Evans. Advantage Wiggins!

So...whom was Nibali really trying to attack on the descent yesterday - Evans or Wiggins? 

 

I think it was Evans, and Evans' bike handling through that section impressed me.

Wiggins took another big step today. Almost 2 minutes now. I'll just be interested to see how he performs when he's under real pressure. That's when Evans really comes out fighting. I hope Wiggins can match him. Otherwise it's looking good for him. Froome as well. What a ride! Never even considered him in the GC before the start.

Froome is the best rider on Sky....if he was free to climb like he's capable of he'd drop Wiggo like a bad habit and hang close to him in the TT.  

Awsome TT by Wiggins, but he is not noted as a mountain goat and Evans showed last year he was able to match it with the best - Andy Schleck and Contador.  Given Wiggins dominance in the TT, Evans will need to pull out a couple of minutes through the mountain stages to have a good lead heading into the final TT before Paris.  And Froome does look dangerous.

Yah, but that's not what he has been charged with doing. People like to puppet stuff like that all the time for some reason. Sky has their reasons. Who are we to second guess the DS's leadership?

 

I think it might be safe to assume though that Froome will race the Vuelta so he can battle for the tablescraps that Contador leaves behind.

 

 

And he can always take Sky's doping program with him to his new team to win it next year.

Also no evidence of Froome complaining about the role he has been hired to assume. Unlike the 85 LeMond.

Is this general cynicism and mistrust of the sport or is there something about Sky? My understanding is that they're not as bad as most or am I being naive?

 

Yup... credit where it's due - Nibali had a plan and the legs to do it. 

Whoa.... what a stage last night.... I just bet Froome wishes he was the nominated GC rider for Sky.  Evans tried but didn't have the legs; went too soon and burt his quote so got dropped on the final climb. Tejay van Garderen provided awsome support to Evans but the Sky team is just a machine, with rider after rider setting a pace that is just destroying the opposition.

Lets be realistic. Froome is strong, but Wiggins has been carrying the Sky flag in the buildup. We don't even know what Wiggin's level really is outside the TT because he has a quality team that has been doing a lot of work, and not leaving him isolated. Chris Froome has been protected just as much as Brad Wiggin's by the work of Mick Rogers, and Richie Porte. Lets be realistic Wiggin's has shown ONE moment of weakness.

 

I think that with the tour so dominantly controlled at the moment, people are just clawing for some form of drama to ignite their interest. I think it's kind of gross actually.

Edited by ecimmortal - 7/13/12 at 3:29pm

Get real some of you. Froome has been a revelation for sure and will be a GC contender in a couple of years but Wiggins has earned the right to be there and lets not forget that before his ill judged break Froome was almost dropped himself 3 or 4 km earlier. If Brad had put the hammer down then Froome might have gone backwards. The most he'd have gained if he could have sustained that little break was a minute or so. Sure he may have been able to do it all again in the Pyrennees but that's in the future. Wiggins will also most likely take another minute out of him in the final time trial. There seems to be a real dislike of Wiggins on here not sure where it comes from but it smells of something.

 

I have no more dislike of him than I had for any other, previous favorite.

 

 

*takes another bath in Cheering The Underdogs cologne*

Edited by cantunamunch - 7/13/12 at 2:36pm

Great to see a breakaway succeed last night and for Millar to get a stage win....