Oh yeh forgot to post who I think...... I reckon Oscar Friere might win because he is in a great position so far. He is a very quick sprinter but is also very hard to drop over hills. And I think Boogerd, Rebellin and Bettini will be right on Friere's heels.
I think that the World Cup has been very interesting. Rebellin's perforamce during the past 7 days has been superb. Boogerd hasn't been far away from winning those races either. Vino showed himself pretty well yesterday - and he's having a very good season. Wtach out for Bettini as well. He was figuring strongly too - although he doesn't look as strong as last year.
I think that CSC will make an impact in this World Cup too.
But putting my mortgage on it : here's my selection :
1.Bettini 2.Rebellin 3.Boogerd 4.Weisseman 5.Dekker 6.Van petegem 7.Bartoli (CSC will figure believe me !) 8.Freire 9.Jascke 10.Camazind
Originally posted by lazysegall I think it is hard to pick Bettini when he is 100 pts behind rebellin and not a very differnt rider.
Yes but Bettini is one of the most gifted cyclists around. He could very easily win one (or more) of the next five rounds (100 points for a win) and Rebellin could get injured, lose form etc.
Bettini, Rebellin, Ullrich, and Zabel were the only riders to score over 100 points in the last 5 CDM races last year. Bettini scored 130 MORE than Rebellin in those 5 so he might still do it. But my money's on Tintin.
I know they're overhauling the whole system of the teams and races but now I'm going to throw a spanner in the works, I'd like to see the points system changed to take away the large advantages of getting the podium places.
If there is a world cup champion shouldn't he have ridden in all the events, unless he's ill. I hate the comparison with Formula 1, but they drive every one of their races and IMO that's how it should be in cycling.