Expectations for the race now?

[JensCph]

With the complete destruction of TdF team hierarchys (both inside teams and between the team), the classic rulebook of how teams will ride is now in the dumpster. So....

What are your expectations for the race this year?

Will the scandal lead to interesting TV with tactics that aren't as obvious as before? Or will the stain just be too big, and anyone in the top 10 will be viewed as a doper no matter where he is from, making the whole thing pointless?

If you are going to watch it (and we know you will), will the sporting side of it be of any interest to you?

 

[guncha]

With the complete destruction of TdF team hierarchys (both inside teams and between the team), the classic rulebook of how teams will ride is now in the dumpster. So....

What are your expectations for the race this year?

Will the scandal lead to interesting TV with tactics that aren't as obvious as before? Or will the stain just be too big, and anyone in the top 10 will be viewed as a doper no matter where he is from, making the whole thing pointless?

If you are going to watch it (and we know you will), will the sporting side of it be of any interest to you?

I am interested in average speed of the race. Will it continue to increase? It is shame that there is no TTT because last year's speeds were fantastic. I would like to see it to compare how they will ride in more "equal" conditions...

 

[Endym]

Hopefuly it will be more wide open race, without any single team(s) controlling the race.

 

[Jono L]

Lot's of attacking, because it's anyone's race now!

 

[johnyr]

I am interested in average speed of the race. Will it continue to increase? It is shame that there is no TTT because last year's speeds were fantastic. I would like to see it to compare how they will ride in more "equal" conditions...

It'll go back a few k's

 

[rocko]

Lot's of attacking, because it's anyone's race now!

We might even see a Frenchman do well? What about Moreau. I know his past isn't squeaky clean but I am foolish enough to assume that he is clean now.

What about Christophe Le Mevel doing well in the mountains? He was climbing well in the Giro.

It will be too easy to assume that the person who wins wasn't clean just used a different doctor to those caught up in Operacion Puerto.

 

[Denia]

I´m not so sure you can take it for granted that we will all be watching it. I think many fans have had enough and will turn their back on this race and perhaps the whole sport.

Nor do I think that the top 10 should be the target of suspicion, wake up and realise it must be close to the whole damned lot of them. There is systematic doping in teams from T-Mobile down to the likes of Communidad Valencia. You can chose to turn a blind eye to it or watch it as a race among doping equals but the whole event lacks any sporting credibility and is morally bankrupt.

P.S. what are the odds that someone wins a stage because their wife has just had a baby? This seems to happen fairly regularly . . . surely not a fix?

 

[graf zeppelin]

With the complete destruction of TdF team hierarchys (both inside teams and between the team), the classic rulebook of how teams will ride is now in the dumpster. So....

What are your expectations for the race this year?

Suppose maybe its a good day to be a domestique. Might find yourself winning a TDF stage while carrying 6 musette bags.

 

[discobean7]

The remaining riders are in a tough spot. If any of the big names ride poorly, it will be assumed that they had to abruptly stop their doping program. If they ride well (even win) then we'll assume they were able to fly under the radar and continue doping. Which riders would the cycling public accept as having ridden and won the 2006 TdF cleanly? Moreau, Evans, Leipheimer, Landis, Valverde, Karpets, etc.? The DC boys?

 

[limerickman]

P.S. what are the odds that someone wins a stage because their wife has just had a baby? This seems to happen fairly regularly . . . surely not a fix?

Good call.

If they can fix then - then we've all been duped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[DV1976]

P.S. what are the odds that someone wins a stage because their wife has just had a baby? This seems to happen fairly regularly . . . surely not a fix?

Actually in Coyle's "Tour de Force" is mentioned that is quite common in cycling, cyclists to outperform themselves fuelled by something that has happened in their lives. He mentions that it's a (macabre) joke among cyclists that the best way to win a stage is to have some relative die. He gives quite a few examples but as I don't have the book handy I can't recall all of them. One that I do remember is Bruyneel's who won in 1993 what was the fastest stage in Tour's history spurred by the death of his father... Ok it's true that we are talking about births here not deaths but I'd guess the end effect is similar.

 

[Bro Deal]

What about Moreau.

Moreau was in fine form during the Dauphine. Too bad that Gadret injured himself during the Giro.

The Americans will do fantasticly well this Tour, with one of them probably winning and three others in the top ten. The rest of the world will never hear the end of it--no matter what the obvious conclusions that should be drawn from the current doping mess are.

 

[Tonto]

Moreau was in fine form during the Dauphine. Too bad that Gadret injured himself during the Giro.

The Americans will do fantasticly well this Tour, with one of them probably winning and three others in the top ten. The rest of the world will never hear the end of it--no matter what the obvious conclusions that should be drawn from the current doping mess are.

Those 'Hincapie to win' posts don't seem quite so crazy now!

 

[JAPANic]

Evans has been shadowing Ullrich in the Swiss.....

 

[barnstorm]

I am in shock this morning here in America. It's damned early and suddenly the tour is upside down. I certainly hope this finally changes things. Frankly, the racing could be better this year as a result of all of this.... There is literally nobody and no team in the race that is universally feared. Even the first week might be interesting.....

Anyone know what happens with Vino now? He wasn't implicated, CAS cleared his team to race, but he has no team left, so what happens? Lot's of new favorites now and in a race that favors anarchy..... nobody in the peloton thrives on anarchy more than Vino... except maybe Robbie McEwen, but that's a different sort of deal as we all know.

And, I think we all need to join hands, and cheer in unison for who must now be the new poster boy of our sport.... David Millar. If we are to have a sport worth watching anymore and want to be able to comfortably cheer for any of these guys, they need to follow his example, quit lying, come clean, admit wrongdoing, promise to help clean up the sport, talk to kids about the dangers, and come back to race clean and race to win. He is my man

 

[DV1976]

And, I think we all need to join hands, and cheer in unison for who must now be the new poster boy of our sport.... David Millar. If we are to have a sport worth watching anymore and want to be able to comfortably cheer for any of these guys, they need to follow his example, quit lying, come clean, admit wrongdoing, promise to help clean up the sport, talk to kids about the dangers, and come back to race clean and race to win. He is my man

I agree. I think what is needed now is quotes like this one (about 200 of them)... (quote from D. Millar)
""I want to prove that it is definitely possible to win without doping," Millar told Sportwereld.be. "I don't want any more ambiguity. "I am now one hundred percent clean. In the years left in my career, I will have to convince the fans, my colleagues, and the journalists that I am now an honest rider. I hope that my story is a positive message for this sport. I f**ked up: I lied, I did wrong, I cheated, and I have to live with that now. I hope that the new generation of riders can gain the respect of the public. It's already proven by the scandals in Spain that the sport doesn't deserve that respect yet. Cycling will also need years to build up its credibility again."
"

 

[keydates]

The Americans have a better chance now with Ullrich and Basso out. Maybe Discovery Channel will get another win...

 

[Capt.Injury]

The Americans have a better chance now with Ullrich and Basso out. Maybe Discovery Channel will get another win...

Suddenly salvodellis chances improve since with the expulsions of Basso and Ullrich, the onyl 2 riders that are significantly stronger in the TT.

Also I think i like the chances of Mayo to podium if his form looks as good as it was in the Dauphine, since now his attacking style in the mountains can blow the race open.

 

[slovakguy]

...given all the expulsions...eddie merckx or miguel indurain

 

[tcklyde]

And, I think we all need to join hands, and cheer in unison for who must now be the new poster boy of our sport.... David Millar. If we are to have a sport worth watching anymore and want to be able to comfortably cheer for any of these guys, they need to follow his example, quit lying, come clean, admit wrongdoing, promise to help clean up the sport, talk to kids about the dangers, and come back to race clean and race to win. He is my man

Excellent point.

If Tyler Hamilton had done this, I would have had been able to respect him.