Cadel Evans Will win the Tour De France

I am calling it now, Cadel Evans will win this years tour, with Robbie Mcewan picking up the green jersey. Go the aussies. All you Aussies out there get the flag going for the boys Cadel and Robbie. My dark horse is Thomas Voeckler, he could be a surprise packets, and lets not forget Carlos Sastre.
Go Cadel.

reply to post by atlasastro

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Why not Alejandro Valverde? He won a stage and is currently in Yellow. He has some ability in the mountains.

Voeckler gets dropped on all the Mountain stages, so I don't think he has a chance.

McEwen has no lead out man, so I think he's going to have a hard time.

Thor Hushovd, now in Green looks good and is winning stages.

Who knows, it's wide open this year. Let's hope nobody gets kicked out due to infractions.

hey badge,

Valverde is strong but i doubt he has the legs to compete, especially in week 2 when the reach some of the tougher climbs l'alp d'huez. Thomas Voekler was in a four man break away in stage two, i suspect he was after an early stage win, he really pounded himself, and the break was caught, this was not a smart move for a rider who might consider himself a chance. He won't figure in the GC imho, maybe he can hold onto the polka dot jersey.
Your call on Robbie Mcwen is fair, he rides on the same team as Cadel, and it is obvious where the teams priorities are. He was unlucky in stage two, the one Thor won. Robbie got held up in a crash and sadly didn't make the lead bunch to have a crack, he did outsprint the bunch9zabel, hushovd, freire on day 3. The race for green should be good, and hopefully it won't be decide until the last sprint on the Champs-Elysees.
Cheers, Atlas.

reply to post by atlasastro

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Seconded

Cadel is absolutely cruising...After finishing 3rd in today's stage (the first serious climb), he is only 6 seconds behind the race leader...

Unless he gets injured or seriously messes up a stage or two, its a gimme

reply to post by Rilence

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Evans does look good finishing stage 6, a mountaintop finish just behind Valverde. Ricco llooked great hanging on to win by a second.

But I'm sticking with Valverde, down about 1:12 after today.

Great finish today. Here' the profile.



More mountains again tomorrow, but Monday's stage (10) looks very tough, with a HC climb up the Col de Tourmalet and an uphill finish on the Hautacam:

Valverde wasn't quite himself today, me thinks, to drop time like that...I agree Badge, I'd expect him to improve quite a bit over the next few days...

And yeah, some of those climbs coming are are totally brutal !!

reply to post by Rilence

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Riccardo Riccò did a stellar ride yesterday, maintaining his position until the final turn and then blasting ahead coming off of a 10% gradient to win the stage, one second ahead of Valverde.

Valverde's team did a nice job, but just couldn't hold Riccò's wheel.

Should be an interesting stage today. Medium mountains, prime for a breakaway, because I don't think the sprinters can keep up:





[edit on 11-7-2008 by Badge01]

yeah, the sprinters have likely got their work cut out over the next couple stages...

And yes, ricco did a fine job yesterday

Does anyone really care about the TDF anymore??

By the look of the posts on this thread, seems like people do...

Great stage today, ups and downs into the little town of Aurillac, with a fantastic effort by Luis León Sánchez of team Caisse d'Epargne, winning his first stage in the Tour de France.

Sanchez was able to celebrate several yards before the line as the remains of the peloton tried in vain to catch him.

David Millar said it was the hardest stage of the Tour so far with a brutal starting 48K.

Congrats to Sanchez and Team Caisse d'Epargne for a hard won victory.

Sánchez punches the air in dramatic fashion. Link

Here he is winning stage 7 of Paris-Nice

(from Yahoo Sport)




[edit on 11-7-2008 by Badge01]

Millar was thereabouts early on, but he did struggle the last half of the stage...Despite the stage winner seeming to be an unlikely type, the usual suspects are still in the top ten overall, no real surprises there...

reply to post by Rilence

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Yes the GC contenders are still in similar order with Schumacher still 16 seconds off of Kim Kirchen and 10 seconds behind Cadel.

Do you ride?

My bike:

Well said Badge, this was a well earnt stage win, although team Columbia did alot of work upfront protecting the yellow jersey. I watched this stage from the TV station that is hosting the race here in Oz, as my sister is an Editor working in the tour coverage, What a finish, the team embracing post race was awesome, i think it really highlites the team aspect of this sport, which some people overlook when focusing on the winner.

BTW badge,nice bike, i have a trek Hilo and a trek 1200. The 1200 i was able to fit out with Ultegra after upgrading the Hilo to Durace. They dont make the hilo anymore, but i think it is an awesome Time trial bike, i raced 2 Ironman triathlons on it and just can't bring myself to get rid of it even though there are better full carbon frames out there. It also has 650c wheel set on it too, which are rare now as well for TT bikes , it seemed for a while the track influence crossed over onto road bikes. i also have a giant hybrid, and kona dr dew for bashing about.


Keep safe, Go cadel, Go the Aussies.

Kirchen has done well to keep the front for a few days, I thought yesterday might have found him out a bit...

Do I ride ? no

Just an interested party in the sport I guess, don't know a whole lot about cycling but like to watch it when its televised

Its great to watch, made for TV really...a lot of skill required, a lot of guts n determination...Cyclists are tough buggers for sure

Yes, Columbia's work was also impressive keeping Kim in yellow.

I've heard that the coverage is start to finish on Australian TV, correct? Are there a lot of commercials?



Cool on the bikes. My first bike was a 2003 Trek 7500FX, unsuspended trail bike, pretty heavy at about 26lbs. I got back into riding after many years.

Then I got a 2005 Trek 1000, also pretty heavy, about 23lbs, carbon fork, and finally the Madone 5.0 last year. It's a nice bike and very tight, all Ultegra components.

Excellent job riding an IronMan. Kudos! Nice bike the Hilo. I'm strictly a recreational rider in my old age, but I ride every day without fail.


Sad to hear this morning that Manuel Beltran of Team LiquiGas has tested positive for EPO and will likely be leaving the tour, along with the entire Liqui-Gas Team. It's pretty clear that there is still a lot of doping going on - nobody rides 18mph uphill without some 'help'.

Fantastic finish for Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia, taking the stage in the rain for his second stage win.

Dicey ending with a sharp right-hand turn, then about 1200 meters to the finish line had all the sprinters lined up, but Cavendish is seemingly unbeatable in this iteration of the Tour de France as he started his sprint from fifth place ending up with at least a two bike length gap ahead of his nearest contender.

Thanks to George Hincapie leading out for much of the final kilometers, allowing a one-two finish for Cavendish and Gerald Ciolek right behind him. Another exciting stage for the fans.

Preliminary Stage Results:

1 Mark Cavendish - Columbia
2 Gerald Ciolek - Columbia
3 Jimmy Casper - Agritubel
4 Oscar Freire - Rabobank
5 Robert Förster - Gerolsteiner
6 Erik Zabel - Team Milram
7 Gert Steegmans - Quick Step
8 Sébastien Chavanel - Française des Jeux
9 Thor Hushovd - Crédit Agricole
10 Robert Hunter - Barloworld

GC after Stage 8

1 Kim Kirchen - Team Columbia
2 Cadel Evans - Silence - Lotto.........................................0.06
3 Stefan Schumacher - Gerolsteiner..................................0.16
4 Christian Vande Velde - Garmin-Chipotle.........................0.44
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank......................................1.03
6 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne.........1.12

Tomorrow will probably see a big shake up as the peloton heads into the mountains. Cadel Evans is indeed looking good, and could easily take back those six seconds and move into first in the GC.


[edit on 12-7-2008 by Badge01]

Big George did a great job for Columbia, really set Cavendish up for sure...

The sprinters are going to have their work cut out for them over the next few stages, some nasty climbs starting tomorrow...

And to answer your question, Badge, SBS in Australia shows each stage live much pretty start to finish with no ads...

Go Cadel !!!

reply to post by Rilence

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Wow, I envy you having that kind of coverage. Must be a real treat to be in the studio with your sister.

Here's tomorrow's stage with two tough climbs in the last 40K of the stage. (thanks to cyclingnews.com for the graphic) Though they're listed as first category climbs I'm sure they'll feel much harder.

Remember the coverage in the US starts early so set your clocks for 0730 EDT, even earlier in the West.



Well off to ride.