Posted on 07/04/2009 8:09:14 AM PDT by Mom MD
Today is day one! Armstrong riding. Astana is back! Predictions? Other comments? Does someone have the ping list from last year?
Thanks for the live thread MomMD!
Interesting, I think I read that of the last 5 Tours, 2 have started in France, 3 in other countries. This will make it 4 of 6.
The 3-country Stage this year was interesting.
I think that lealani has finally found her tagline! ;)
?
” SIX kisses for Mark Cavendish - very exciting finish. He just went off like a bottle rocket right before the line! In all, 6 stages for a UK rider. Amazing performance with fantastic help from his team, but Thor stayed right behind him - gets to keep green for 2009?”
He and Wiggins gave the UK something to be proud of.
They both seem to be down to earth competitors.
” Normally, moving to a different team to not be a team leader would be out of the question. Radio Shack provides a unique opportunity. As I mentioned the predicted top 3 riders on the team are all on the tail end of their careers. But they have all had tremendous success and would be able to mentor someone in how to be successful especially in the tour as you have 7 titles, a runner-up finish and two thirds. Add to that Bruyneel who is the most successful director and it is a pretty good situation. Certainly waiting a year or two to be the team leader on that team would seem worthwhile. Especially if the understanding was you would be the leader for either the Giro or Tour of Spain.”
Good observation. Johan/Lance can certainly teach the ropes to anyone willing to learn from the best.
Agree on Kloden. Surprised he faded a little, but know he’s a very capable rider. Also I think Lance respects him.
George would be nice, but he’s probably better elsewhere at this point in his career.
Right, lainie pointed that out to me earlier, in a thread long, long ago & far, far away. ;).
I was speaking of the single Stage 16, Martigny >>> Bourg-Saint-Maurice that started in Suisse, went through Italia via the 2 St Bernards, and ended in France.
I would bust a gut if we saw your l’equipe freep sign on the road!
Great analysis!
I think I’m going to start a Team Radio Shack thread next week, so we can keep track of the progress of the making of the Team. I think the process will be very interesting.
With y’all’s permission, I’d like to copy some of your, and others’, comments in re: Radio Shack to the new thread to get it going.
Oops, yeah sorry - I misread your statement. You did say Stage, not tour.
Starts w/ a 9k ITT, even shorter than this year. Halfway between a Prologue & a real Stage.
Have they done away with the Prologue nomenclature?
2 starts in Rotterdam, what a coup for the City! That jaunt along the North Sea before they turn south for Belgium looks mighty windy to me.
Must be the paella.
I definitely would like to be pinged to the Radio Shack team announcement, thanks!
I wonder why Lance went with RS and not, say...Nike?
Ed
I just noticed that this year - they must have done that without bothering to tell us, lol. I remember London was a prologue in 2007, I don't recall any prologue last year and Monaco was an actual stage this year.
But having 6 countries this year really paid off in PR points for the tour, if the crowds of non-french europeans along the route for 2009 are any measure. The Netherlands is already totally bicycle-mad, so I'm not sure they can ramp up the interest there any higher, but The Tour will certainly get a spirited welcome there.
Yeah, I’m definitely interested in seeing how Radio Shack comes together. Post what you like.
Any idea when the contracts for cyclists traditionally end? Is it a calendar year? I would imagine there won’t be much action until after the Vuelta as I’m sure no matter what contracts go through it.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few from the Trek-Livestrong developmental team show up on the team as well.
From the link in re: Grand Depart you gave us:
In 2010, the Netherlands, which gave the bicycle its nickname of “little queen”, will host the Grand Départ of the Tour for the fifth time. A journalist recently asked me why the Netherlands has been favoured compared to the other countries (“only” three starts each for Belgium and Germany, two for Luxembourg, one for Spain and none in Italy, for instance). Besides the geographical location, which gives the organisers every freedom to organise the route in its entirety, a large part of the answer lies in these few lines, written in L’Équipe in 1954, when the Grande Boucle decided to start outside French borders for the very first time:
“All of the Netherlands seemed to have gathered on the roads of Wassenaar, Delft, Rotterdam… Tens of thousands of spectators in closed ranks, uninterrupted, for kilometres and kilometres, clapping, cheering for everything that had to do with the Tour, the cyclists, the motorcyclists, the cars that followed or that led… [In this way] they made a triumph of the first stage!”
No Grand Departs for Italy. I guess the terrain works against them, almost have to start in the mountains. Although a Stage across Liguria would be workable, but perhaps too reminiscent of the Monaco area this year.
Plus, Italy has some world-class events already.
It wasn't just you, leilani. Lance's return, several (new) legitimate contenders like Contador and Andy Schleck, the Scleck brothers together, the whole Astana team thing, all of that played a part in keeping the TdF very interesting for me this year.
Now for my 'is it just me' question - Is it just me, or did the Tour go through some particularly beautiful areas this year? The valley in Stage 15 they passed through on their way to Verbier was mesmerizing to me. The valley where Martigny lies. Then Annecy.
That whole area of the country just knocked my socks off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.