Giro to welcome Astana?

Crankyfeet

ROFL... just remember that to attack... you have to stop wheelsucking before the finish line...

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"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

thecyclist

I think that in his last two tours he was the third strongest climber after Basso and Ullrich.

Here are the results from the stages that finished on a climb in 2005:

Stage 10:
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 4.50.35 (36.65 km/h)
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel
3 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 0.09
4 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne
5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 1.02
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 1.15
7 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 2.14
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team
10 Andrei Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole
11 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems
12 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
13 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team



1 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 5.43.43 (38.491 km/h)
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 0.56
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.58
4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.16
5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 1.31
6 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems
7 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1.47
8 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 2.06
10 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.20
11 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 3.06
12 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 3.35
13 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) Liberty Seguros-Würth 4.03
14 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto


1 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 6.06.38 (33.63 km/h)
2 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.06
3 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 0.38
4 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.57
5 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.19
6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 5.04
7 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel
8 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 6.28
9 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team
10 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 6.32
11 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne
12 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 7.33
13 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 7.54
14 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 8.14
15 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8.47
16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto



1 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth 4.37.36 (40.85 km/h)
2 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.27
3 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
4 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1.08
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
6 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.28
7 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
8 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.44
9 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.03
10 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française Des Jeux 2.38
11 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 11.18
12 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel
13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC
14 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team
15 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 11.55
16 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
17 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner
18 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne
19 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 12.01
20 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 12.07

Bro Deal

Ulrich was sick during the at least the first half of the 2004 Tour. He crashed twice during the 2005 one.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

heinkel12

You obviously don't rate Sastre, Menchov, Cunego or Valverde very highly.

fscyclist

Sastre, Menchov, and Cunego have never shown themselves to be potential winners. I thought Valverde would be the next heir to the crown, but something dramatic happened to him last year... We'll see what he looks like this year.

fscyclist

And he was overweight and undertrained in the 5 previous. Don't get me wrong, I always liked Ulrich, and I thought he looked spectacular in '96 and '97, but he never showed those flashes of brilliance after '97-98 IMHO.

Powerful Pete

IMVHO they are all very solid riders, and with the lessened doping, looser control on the part of the 'dominant' teams and absence of a recognised race leader, these riders should be considered as potential top 5 finishers (at least going into the race/through the first real mountain stage).

With Astana missing I wonder what kind of race it will turn out to be. I agree with others that we could be in for a surprise.

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coneofsilence

Also didnt he crash into the back of a team car cutting his neck the day before the 2005 tour started.

fscyclist

No question Ullrich was better than Cadel in 2005 in every aspect, but that's not what we're comparing. Cadel in 2007 is much, much better than he was in 2005 (but he still sucks). I don't think a 2007 Ullrich could've stayed on his wheel. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

fscyclist

Solid..yes. Great?..no. BTW, none of those guys are known for being clean, so if the racing is really cleaned up (doubtful) then we would expect performance decreases all around.

Powerful Pete

Fair enough, but you made me smile with the 'not known for being clean' comment. I think that we shall be seeing performance decreases all around (for the entire peloton) this year... so we do not know how they will fare against the other boys.

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micron

So P-N was a farce but MSR wasn't? And Contador is the greatest cyclist in the world and would have beaten Ullrich in the TTs? Most amusingly, I'm sure a rider whose won the Giro and the Race of the Falling Leaves in the same season would be delighted to know he's not a winner. Riding for Bruyneel doesn't make you the greatest, strongest rider in the world - but it does, with your history with Saiz and your deep involvement in OP - make you one of the most suspicious.

Anyway fs, thanks for a good laugh to start the day

Powerful Pete

Are you responding to my post?

I think that both P-N and MSR would relatively fair this year and that probably most riders are not doping in a manner which we had grown accustomed to. The declining wattage in the P-N, and the 'strange' results of races like the K-B-K or Het Volk lead me to believe things are a bit cleaner than in the past.

And I certainly do not believe that Contador is the greatest rider ever... nor that he is better than a Kaiser Jan (doped, I know) in his prime.

I agree with the suspicion re: Sainz and the entire OP affair, although, sadly, I think most pro cyclists must be regarded with suspicion when it comes to doping...

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thecyclist

He wasn't actually that great on the climbs in the 2007 TDF. You can take a look at who he finished with or behind. He did well in the TT's but Ullrich should have been able to take time from him there.