What amazes me is how wrong the pundits currently are with their predictions. It must have something to do with varying performances due to the extent of the cyclist's doping cycle prior to different races. I mean this year, Di Luca hardly got a passing mention in the Giro pre-race hype, and where were Rasmussen and Contador mentioned within the bunch of favourites for the TDF? Even Cadel Evans wasn't rated that highly despite being third last year if you wipe out Pereiro (lucky break) and Roid Landis off the 2006 podium.
In a sport where 12 of the last 17 TDF trophies have been shared between two guys, you'd think form would be easier to predict.