nath1 said:
Hi all, do you think that Basso will have his own way at the tour de France like he had in the Giro. I realise what he did in the Giro was awesome, he rode with inteligence and supreme confidence, but i cannot help thinking that because there were quite a few key riders commited to other races that it may have been a slightly easier job to control the peloton than lets say at the Tour De France. Like i say im not taking anything away from his victory, but he did make it look quite easy. To me there was not half the tension that you get at the TDF, but that may just be a personnal opinion. Do you think that Ulrich, Valverde, Vino and the like can make things difficult for him. I personnaly would like to think that Rassmussen could steal lots of time in the mountains like last year, and perhaps make an unatainable lead. It seemed that last year Ras was so strong that not even the likes of Armstrong could not go with the relentless pace set by him, perhaps he still clearly rememberd the mistake he made chasing Pantani, who knows? Whats your opinions cheers
As others have said here - I too was very impressed with Basso's riding in the
Giro 2006.
He never appeared to panic and his strength was self-evident.
Also his team literally blasted every other cyclist and team off the road.
Did Basso invest everything in winning the Giro? The grapevine tells me that winning the Giro this year was Basso's number 1 objective and that he has adopted a "let's see how the TDF goes" approach to LeTour.
But make no mistake to win a GT by over 9 mins is a superb feat.
For the TDF there will be several more contenders for overall GC there - than there were at the Giro.
Therefore the pressure to perform at the TDF for Basso, combined with what the Giro may have taken out of him - will make the TDF a more closely fought race.
In respect of Valverde - I think this lad has real prospects of greatness : i think he's a marvellous rider.
I thought he roade a great 2005 TDF and it was a pity to see him finish because of injury.
In terms of Basso, I think JU will be a factor and I think that the race might end up as a battle between the two.
Landis could play a part but we don't know how he will perform as this is his first TDF as team leader.
Vino? Hard to know with Vino : could he hold his form for 21days? History says he usually has a very bad that costs him dearly.
My guess is the podium will be Basso, Ullrich and either Vino/Landis.
But I'm not guessing in which order!