Where's Vino??

Ricardo29 said:

anyone seen or heard from him lately??...no idea what he's up to. tks.

[font=Verdana]With many of the top favorites for the Tour de France racing this month in the Giro d'Italia, one name absent is that of the tenacious attacker Alexandre Vinokourov.
[/font]
[font=Verdana]After last racing in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Vinokourov is continuing with his patient and quiet preparation for the Tour. The demands of the 21-stage Giro don't figure part of that plan. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"We never thought of racing the Giro. In fact, our thinking is the opposite," Vinokourov told VeloNews. "We want to stay away from the stresses of racing and prepare specifically for the Tour." [/font]

[font=Verdana]Vinokourov, 33, is putting everything this year on winning the Tour. He figures with seven-time winner Lance Armstrong out of the picture, this is his best chance on winning. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Since joining Liberty Seguros-Würth following a long tenure at T-Mobile, Vinokourov said he's excited about the challenge of the Tour. He knows time is running out and has given himself "this season and next" to focus entirely on Tour glory. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Part of that plan has been a major reduction in race days for Vinokourov. Instead of racing a lot in the spring, which included two Paris-Nice victories in 2002-03, the blond-haired Kazakh is on the slow train to [/font][font=Verdana]Paris[/font][font=Verdana]. [/font]

[font=Verdana]His 2006 campaign has included just 11 days of racing so far, but he managed to win the Vuelta a Castilla y León in March. He will hit [/font][font=Verdana]Strasbourg[/font][font=Verdana] with about 20 days of racing in his legs. [/font]

[font=Verdana]His final dress rehearsal will be the Dauphiné Libéré, which he won in 1999 and took a stage last year on Mont Ventoux. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"I've had good results so far in the races I've done and I know that the Dauphiné is the ideal race for me to prepare for the Tour," he said. "Making the Giro and the Tour in the same year would be too much for me." [/font]

top work.

interesting approach. thought he was a racer who needed the miles personally (as past years show). hope he hasnt been attempting to learn from Jan. go vino.

One does hope that the reduce racing load doesn't nullify his attacking.... he has also stated that this is his last year having a tilt at the Tour and next year he will target other races... ie Classics....

Ricardo29 said:

top work.

interesting approach. thought he was a racer who needed the miles personally (as past years show). hope he hasnt been attempting to learn from Jan. go vino.

whiteboytrash said:

One does hope that the reduce racing load doesn't nullify his attacking.... he has also stated that this is his last year having a tilt at the Tour and next year he will target other races... ie Classics....

He said he was going to give this year and next year the best shot at the TDF. I think what he is doing by following the "Lance" plan he has gave himself a great shot at winning the TDF. My gut feeling is if he can survive the TT's he will possibly win. He may be able to attack and destroy Basso. After seeing what Jan is doing I think this may be a race between Vino, Basso, and Savoldelli... My feeling is that Jan will not even finish top ten. I wish I felt differently.
It sure sets up an interesting TDF this year since we don't have a rider that is heads above all others.
What makes this TDF interesting is .....

Vino is a rider that will attack and surprise the riders and fans.

Jan is just being Jan ..... So many questions and so few answers.

Basso has everything to lose. Anything but a victory for him is a defeat.

Bruyneel who is a proven GT DS is handicapped this year... He has a
very good rider, but not a great rider. We will see. Tactics could play
a role. Savoldelli may be a bettr ider then anyone has given him credit
for.

The green jersey competition will be diminished this year with the loss of the Italian. But can Zabel possibly pull another one on at the end??????

KOM jersey is not an interest of Vino's this year. Yellow is what he wants,
but will he win it anyway with his insane attacks?

And for our sake, let's hope Vino wears yellow through most of the tour. That puke blue thing he wears is a "ugly gone bad."

wolfix said:

After seeing what Jan is doing I think this may be a race between Vino, Basso, and Savoldelli... My feeling is that Jan will not even finish top ten. I wish I felt differently.

I would not underestimate Jan... remember, he has almost always podiumed at the tour, whatever his form and weight at this point in the year...

Powerful Pete said:

I would not underestimate Jan... remember, he has almost always podiumed at the tour, whatever his form and weight at this point in the year...

I hope you are right. I would love Jan to win. He was my favorite rider for the big tours, but I have been disappointed by him. I just would have loved to see him show up in March at his racing weight and see what he was capable of.

wolfix said:

I hope you are right. I would love Jan to win. He was my favorite rider for the big tours, but I have been disappointed by him. I just would have loved to see him show up in March at his racing weight and see what he was capable of.

I think we will see a competitive Jan. I am a Basso fan, but Jan on the podium is now a TdF fixture!

For this year's Tour, I expect Vino to be the strongest behind Basso and Ullrich and a good candidate for the Yellow Jersey in Paris. He has a number of advantages: the emphasis on TTs suits him (he took more than a minute out of Basso in 74 kms of TT last year -- he has 110+ kms to work with this year); he has a wicked strong team; and he says in a Procycling interview that the mountains don't have the sort of elevation that bother him. Finally, he has the very firm hand of Saiz guiding him. This may mean fewer insane attacks and a more balanced performance across the three weeks.

Should be fun to watch. I expect that he will do very, very well.

wolfix said:

And for our sake, let's hope Vino wears yellow through most of the tour. That puke blue thing he wears is a "ugly gone bad."

He won't be wearing it as he's not riding his national championship this year... its just before the tour so he will be back in blue.....

whiteboytrash said:

He won't be wearing it as he's not riding his national championship this year... its just before the tour so he will be back in blue.....

Prediction: Vino will never wear yellow, not one day.

Ricardo29 said:

Where's Vino ?

That's the first thing my wife asks when she gets home from work every evening. 😄

Seriously, other than Vino and Luis taking 1-2 in the Vuelta a Castilla y León, I haven't heard much about him.

lw

bobke said:

Prediction: Vino will never wear yellow, not one day.

You're right. Lance is going to win it again.

I reckon Vino will turn up to the Tour in pretty much the best form that he has ever been in for it, as he will have tailored his training to the tour. He will also, for pretty much the first time have a strong team to support him and just him. And when I say strong I mean very, very strong. I reckon he will podium. Not sure which spot though.

Eldrack said:

I reckon Vino will turn up to the Tour in pretty much the best form that he has ever been in for it, as he will have tailored his training to the tour. He will also, for pretty much the first time have a strong team to support him and just him. And when I say strong I mean very, very strong. I reckon he will podium. Not sure which spot though.

you are right about the team which is good for him.
He has been so uneven at times that he cannot win.
Bruyneel otherwise would have bought him he he 🙂

tcklyde said:

You're right. Lance is going to win it again.

LOL, Lance who?

barnstorm said:

LOL, Lance who?

Vino is out of it, sh#t for luck as some suppose, but really...why would ANYONE go ride for Manolo Saiz other than the obvious:
Zulle
Beloki
Jalabert
Olano
etc etc etc
recall the 1998 TdF and Saiz's role

bobke said:

Bruyneel otherwise would have bought him he he

Yes, Bruyneel only ever recruits winners.
Like Danielson.

so...where's vino now? whats the inside goss, what are liberty up to?

Ricardo29 said:

so...where's vino now? whats the inside goss, what are liberty up to?

i read somewhere that vino said that the prime minister of kazakhstan has offered to support the team financially with government funds. Doesn't really matter if the TDF organisers ban the team, but unibet.com also offered vino a spot on their team if they are chosen as the replacement for LS