j2fast Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 (edited) Holy app-cray batman, unbeliveable news the day before we kick things off. We had some TDF threads going last year so I thought I'd come in and kick this year off with "who's going to win" talk but then I hear this while eating lunch just now. Contenders Ullrich, Basso barred from Tour de France http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2505072 Thought this would be Basso's year along with Landis, Popovych and maybe even George Hincapie (not overall but some more stages anyway for George). Now the younger guys are going to have even more of a shot. My predictions now are either Landis and Popovych going for the overall. Edited June 30, 2006 by j2fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 is that not some crazy shizit????? I need to take a look and see who's left before making any predicitions!! Landis probably does have a good shot, as would I imagine Lance's succesor in Team Disco.... I noticed that none of the Disco riders were in trouble over the doping allegations which means their team is completely intact. Should be fun to watch, regardless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufit323 Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Lance's succesor in Team Disco Is that George Hincapie, or have they officially dubbed a team leader? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Team Discovery has Paolo Savoldelli and George Hincapie as potential team leaders. They are leaving that to be settle on the course. Vinokourov might not have enough riders on the team, so that will be up in the air. So that leaves David Zabriskie, Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 It's still called the Tour de France? You'd think they'd rename it or something after almost a decade of domination. The first name that popped in my head was Ulrich until I read the first post. Does Migeul Indurane (spelling) still ride? He'd be a good one to bet on. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2fast Posted June 30, 2006 Author Share Posted June 30, 2006 Indurain is enjoying retirement life these days but he was a bad arse at his peak. My sentimental favorite is Hincapie but I just don't think he's got the tools to make the podium. From what I read on OLNTV.com Vinokourov is lucky to have any team to ride with in the tour. He didn't get named in the investigation but his team's manager did so the Tour wanted to throw out the whole team. The Tour officals lost in arbitration so the team gets to rid I believe, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 It is a tour of France and surrounding countries. Vinokourov is still on the bubble. Yes the team is allowed to ride, but many riders on that team are named in the Spain scandal. They can't pull out all the riders named because they would have less than the 6 minimum to complete the race. Keep in mind, no one is guilty. The tour organizers are pushing the teams to pull the riders. But as of right now, there is a huge chance another American will win the race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 (edited) Shocking a guy from Davis, CA (Scooter) knows everything about cycling! For those that don't know, Davis, CA has the highest bicycle to person ratio of any city in the world (yes including China). Hope to see you at Yolo next week buddy! I figured Indurain had retired but some of those guys never know when to quit. If memory serves me, he was just a beast in the mountains. So, who is the new top American rider? Rich Edited July 1, 2006 by uscbigdawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 Indurain dominated time trials and mountains. He didn't have much of an acceleration to counter attacks or sprints, but he can easily pick up the pace to catch any attackers. He did suck at decending just like Ulrich. Guys can usually put a minute or two on him just on the decents. Most likely it will be between George Hincapie and Floyd Landis, but Levi and David might be up there too. Rich, I blame you for introducing me to this money pit sport back in January 2000. Had to sell some of my bikes to fund shooting. I'm down to 3 bikes from 7 or 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 ok, I've had some time to catch up on what's going on, and I've gotta say that this doping episode will likely create some absolutely fantastic, over the top racing. With the heavy hitters out, that'll leave a lot of other young studs out there who are going to figure it's their time to shine... The racing should be fast, furious, and intense!!! I'm thinking that the Disco boys should do outstanding. Not only did they not lose a rider to the scandal, they have the best manager in the biz. Saw Johan's interview tonight and he looked like the cat that just ate the canary.... Floyd Landis and Levi also are going to be major contenders now. This should be an outstanding race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 A friend of mine works for Orbea Bicycles which sponsors Euskaltel. He was joking that this year they have a fighting chance of not getting the lantern rouge. In case you are wondering what that is, it's for finishing DFL or Dead F-ing Last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Georgie makes a cheeky move and picks up the malliot jaune!! I hope that they (disco) plan to keep it at the end of the race and not just bask in glory for a few days... Sucks for Thor, hope he's able to give it a go tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufit323 Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Georgie makes a cheeky move and picks up the malliot jaune!! Seems like he recovered well and got it back, all the better, no way anyone wants to defend that thing from now till then, we are still over a week from a mountain stage. . . . I can not wait for those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2fast Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 Thought this was kind of cool, its a realtime map of the race that also displays live data on the riders. I pulled this desc/quote from Digg.com : A cool Google Maps and Tour de France mash-up: Displays driver's data live on a interactive map. And you can can even follow the bike's position! Heart beat, speed, stress factor, distance, power and current position are tracked. Check it right on time http://www.ubilabs.net/tdf/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 is that not some crazy shizit????? Yep... they keep saying Lance Armstrong was doping, and they can't find any proof to support that charge.... Meanwhile, it looks like he might be one of the few who wasn't doing it. Funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2fast Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 It's the hardcore, win at all cost guys that have always impressed me. I haven't been much of a Landis fan in the past but this is impressive (physically & mentally) in my book. Riding a 2000+ mile bike race on a hip that needs replaced, that's performance on a whole other level IMO. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2514661 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 Way to go Floyd I read a interesting article this morning. He's has the same hip condition that ended Bo Jackson's football career - and he's racing on it. A doctor familiar with the condition said that, for normal people (like me) on a pain scale of 1 to 10, this would be considered a 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 I know it is wide open now w/o Lance, but it is dull without someone you know to root for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Landis has the yellow jersey back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I'd say it's Landis' race to lose right now. All he has to do is keep up with his rivals.... It would be great to see another American win on French soil.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I think it is just wonderful we have another sick American whooping French butt at their own game. However, I will be quite happy when the race is over and the PBR is back on OLN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufit323 Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I think that Landis is looking great, he managed to survive stage 15 showing no strain and not having to work on the front at all. Two mountain stages to go and he should be the only contender left with nice fresh legs. At this rate, he will have a substantial coushin heading into the final time trial. Of course, a million things can happen, but he is looking good for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2fast Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 I can't believe the disappointing result from Landis today. All I've seen is the new standings so I don't know what happened but I do know that he lost over 9 minutes to Pereiro. He's now in 11th place 8min 8 secs out of yellow; maybe he put too much into yesterday. I read that he had something like the second fastest time ever on that route and the fastest of anyone yesterday. If he doesn't pull off something big tomorrow I think the US hopes of 8 in a row will be out of reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I think they're already gone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipplehead Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 (edited) Well its over for Landis...too bad an American can't win in France again. T Mobile has the strongest team But Oscar Pereiro might pull it off. Provided he can stay close as he did today on tommorrow's stage. I do not know how good he is in time trials but i'm rooten for Pereiro now. GO OSCAR...no one respected you!!! Edited July 19, 2006 by nipplehead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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