Diablo IV, Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 Forums - Diabloii.Net
The REAL Start of the 2008 Season: The Tour of California
I know we usually just do a TdF thread mythos, but I think this year we should expand our discussion, and what better place to start than what is rapidly becoming one of the biggest races in the world, the Tour of California.
Allow me to start this thread by saying that I am totally amazed at how many huge riders are showing up. Back in September I saw Lance was gonna ride it, and then Basso, and Sastre, and now it's basically anyone that is anyone. Compared to last this, this is like a Grand Tour!
Ok, so, after seeing the profiles today (Holy crap, by the way), I have to go with my man Levi to win it. He's won it twice now, and according to Lance it is his main objective for year. He lives in California, so he had the advantage of being able to scope out every stage as many times as he wanted, plus he has ridden them who even knows how many times by now.
In the skills department, he has what it takes, namely climbing skills to pay the bills. He is also one of the top 3 time trialists in the world, and the TT in Solvang has been the decisive stage before. Add to that the fact that he has the best cyclist in the world as his domestique, and he is practically unbeatable.
Having said that, he most assuredly has people to worry about. Basso is an unknown quantity to me, I've never really seen him race, but I've heard he is extremely good. However, Liquigas is a team that you don't see when it comes to the high mountains, so I see Basso being isolated, whereas Levi will have Lance, Horner, and Rubiera with him.
Kirchen might have what it takes, but I foresee Columbia being there more for stage wins.
The biggest rival in this race would seem to be Vandevelde, who is basically Levi, but less so. He can climb nearly as well, TT nearly as well, and has a team that can support him nearly as well.
Sastre won't have the TT ability, and unless he gets a huge solo attack in the mountains to work, he won't win. The shoe is on the other foot for him now, Astana is the team prepared to give everything for a win, and Sastre is like Cadel Evans, totally alone.
Oh, and Landis. Landis is dead to me, I thought Stage 17 was the most amazing thing ever, and he cheated. I don't care if he has served his time, I don't like him.
So, what do you think?
(Kaysaar is gonna disagree with me on Sastre, but I don't care :smug::tongue:
I know we usually just do a TdF thread mythos, but I think this year we should expand our discussion, and what better place to start than what is rapidly becoming one of the biggest races in the world, the Tour of California.
Allow me to start this thread by saying that I am totally amazed at how many huge riders are showing up. Back in September I saw Lance was gonna ride it, and then Basso, and Sastre, and now it's basically anyone that is anyone. Compared to last this, this is like a Grand Tour!
Ok, so, after seeing the profiles today (Holy crap, by the way), I have to go with my man Levi to win it. He's won it twice now, and according to Lance it is his main objective for year. He lives in California, so he had the advantage of being able to scope out every stage as many times as he wanted, plus he has ridden them who even knows how many times by now.
In the skills department, he has what it takes, namely climbing skills to pay the bills. He is also one of the top 3 time trialists in the world, and the TT in Solvang has been the decisive stage before. Add to that the fact that he has the best cyclist in the world as his domestique, and he is practically unbeatable.
Having said that, he most assuredly has people to worry about. Basso is an unknown quantity to me, I've never really seen him race, but I've heard he is extremely good. However, Liquigas is a team that you don't see when it comes to the high mountains, so I see Basso being isolated, whereas Levi will have Lance, Horner, and Rubiera with him.
Kirchen might have what it takes, but I foresee Columbia being there more for stage wins.
The biggest rival in this race would seem to be Vandevelde, who is basically Levi, but less so. He can climb nearly as well, TT nearly as well, and has a team that can support him nearly as well.
Sastre won't have the TT ability, and unless he gets a huge solo attack in the mountains to work, he won't win. The shoe is on the other foot for him now, Astana is the team prepared to give everything for a win, and Sastre is like Cadel Evans, totally alone.
Oh, and Landis. Landis is dead to me, I thought Stage 17 was the most amazing thing ever, and he cheated. I don't care if he has served his time, I don't like him.
So, what do you think?
(Kaysaar is gonna disagree with me on Sastre, but I don't care :smug::tongue: