In the post tour press brouhaha, I felt like two important names got shorted: Andreas Kloden and Jose Azevedo. Now, I'm sure they've been ignored b/c of their supposed domestic status, but for different reasons, I think both and vitaly important names to consider for 2005 -- much more important names than the Italian dreams of Basso and Cunego.
Landis and Karpets and Basso seemed to reap the (at least English language and available in the US) best of the press. And Basso has been named heir apparent for his impressive race to several peaks. But of all the performances in this year's tour, I think Kloden's is by far the most impressive. He was blistering on both the climbs and the time trials. 3rd in both the ITTs. 3rd on La Mongie, 4th on the Plateau de Beille. No one pinned Kloden for 2nd overall. I didn't read anyone who pinned him for top 10. I don't know whether to buy that Ullrich was actually sick for the first half of the race or not, but I do know that kloden earned himself the right to be a contender next year.
As for Azevedo, not quite but nearly as impressive. Jose finished three seconds down from Kloden on Alp d'Huez and both of them pulled more than 30 seconds off Basso. Azevedo, forced to labor under stricter team guidelines than Kloden, put down great times throughout the climbs despite being the pace man for the lead group for a good chunk of time. He was only a minute back on Stage 17 (a stage where Landis laid down some wicked riding, but in my opinion has been a bit overrated because of it). He finished a couple minutes back on La Mongie and came in just 8 seconds behind Ullrich, despite doing much of the pacing, on the Plateau.
Now, why might this matter? (Quick caveat: according to what I've read, and it's been hard to find, Kloden and Vino have signed extensions with Telekom. If this isn't true, well, sorry. I'm an American and my fellow citizens only know about some Texan with a buzzcut). Given Ullrich's training habits and off season diet, Kloden could very easily find himself in the same place next year that he was in this year: domestique riding a better race than his leader. Kloden's 29 right now, perfect age and possibly reaching a peak. If Ullrich falters and Kloden bests Vino, which I don't think is unrealistic, he could be in prime position to repeat or, gosh forbid, best his 2004 performance.
And Azevedo? Though it's difficult to imagine the Texan with a buzzcut skipping the Tour (in fact, I'd put his chance at riding it, if he's healthy, at 95%), there is always the possibility that injury, age, or personal tumult could keep him from the starting line. In that case, Azevedo lines up for the prologue in Germany with the full force and military discipline of the Discovery Channel team behind him. No doubt, a formidable crew, even with out Landis and Pena.
My bottom line: I thought Basso was great. He really gritted it out against Armstrong. But Basso, for me, still seemed a little like Voeckler: A great fighter when a lot was on the line, but not able to pull through without the in-his-face demand of following Armstrong. Kloden and Azevedo rose out of their subservient roles and proved they were great bike riders. Both can climb and TT. Both are savvy and hard working. Both are on awesome teams. They finished 2nd and 5th this year. I think both could do better next and both are, in my thinking, stronger riders than Basso.
POSTSCRIPT: When I say that I feel like Kloden and Azevedo got shorted by the press, I'm only able to comment on the press I can get in the US. As such, I'm reacting mostly to publications like Procycling and CycleSport America and english language websites like cyclingnews.com. All of these, in my opinion, were far too obsessed with Ullrich's semi-meltdown and Basso's climbing (and to a certain extent, Landis' performance on the Plateau) and consequently missed the Kloden and Azevedo subplots.
Landis and Karpets and Basso seemed to reap the (at least English language and available in the US) best of the press. And Basso has been named heir apparent for his impressive race to several peaks. But of all the performances in this year's tour, I think Kloden's is by far the most impressive. He was blistering on both the climbs and the time trials. 3rd in both the ITTs. 3rd on La Mongie, 4th on the Plateau de Beille. No one pinned Kloden for 2nd overall. I didn't read anyone who pinned him for top 10. I don't know whether to buy that Ullrich was actually sick for the first half of the race or not, but I do know that kloden earned himself the right to be a contender next year.
As for Azevedo, not quite but nearly as impressive. Jose finished three seconds down from Kloden on Alp d'Huez and both of them pulled more than 30 seconds off Basso. Azevedo, forced to labor under stricter team guidelines than Kloden, put down great times throughout the climbs despite being the pace man for the lead group for a good chunk of time. He was only a minute back on Stage 17 (a stage where Landis laid down some wicked riding, but in my opinion has been a bit overrated because of it). He finished a couple minutes back on La Mongie and came in just 8 seconds behind Ullrich, despite doing much of the pacing, on the Plateau.
Now, why might this matter? (Quick caveat: according to what I've read, and it's been hard to find, Kloden and Vino have signed extensions with Telekom. If this isn't true, well, sorry. I'm an American and my fellow citizens only know about some Texan with a buzzcut). Given Ullrich's training habits and off season diet, Kloden could very easily find himself in the same place next year that he was in this year: domestique riding a better race than his leader. Kloden's 29 right now, perfect age and possibly reaching a peak. If Ullrich falters and Kloden bests Vino, which I don't think is unrealistic, he could be in prime position to repeat or, gosh forbid, best his 2004 performance.
And Azevedo? Though it's difficult to imagine the Texan with a buzzcut skipping the Tour (in fact, I'd put his chance at riding it, if he's healthy, at 95%), there is always the possibility that injury, age, or personal tumult could keep him from the starting line. In that case, Azevedo lines up for the prologue in Germany with the full force and military discipline of the Discovery Channel team behind him. No doubt, a formidable crew, even with out Landis and Pena.
My bottom line: I thought Basso was great. He really gritted it out against Armstrong. But Basso, for me, still seemed a little like Voeckler: A great fighter when a lot was on the line, but not able to pull through without the in-his-face demand of following Armstrong. Kloden and Azevedo rose out of their subservient roles and proved they were great bike riders. Both can climb and TT. Both are savvy and hard working. Both are on awesome teams. They finished 2nd and 5th this year. I think both could do better next and both are, in my thinking, stronger riders than Basso.
POSTSCRIPT: When I say that I feel like Kloden and Azevedo got shorted by the press, I'm only able to comment on the press I can get in the US. As such, I'm reacting mostly to publications like Procycling and CycleSport America and english language websites like cyclingnews.com. All of these, in my opinion, were far too obsessed with Ullrich's semi-meltdown and Basso's climbing (and to a certain extent, Landis' performance on the Plateau) and consequently missed the Kloden and Azevedo subplots.
