2012 Tour de France

[Thump]

I know it's early but after watching the Tour of Romandie, Bradley Wiggins has to be the favorite barring any catastrophic crashes like last year.

Cadel Evans looks awful in the build-up to the Tour.

See if Andy Schleck can finally get over the hump.

Best bet would be for a Schleck-Wiggins battle through the mountains.

Tejay van Garderen appears to be the next great American rider

 

[ShowMeBuck]

Tejay is the kid from Bozeman, MT correct?

Last years tour was pretty entertaining IMO.

 

[Thump]

Bummer that Andy Schleck will not be riding due to injury.

Peter Sagan appears ready to unseat Cavendish as the king of the sprinters.

Sagan has been on fire!

 

[Thump]

No vBet this year?

Shame on you BB73.

Tony Martin suffered a bike malfunction during the prologue killing his chances but Cancellara put together an epic ride to take the prologue.

Still like Wiggins to win the GC.

 

[Oh8ch]

Wiggins potential to win could be what will make it tough for Cavendish to repeat.

While this is billed as a two man race it has the potential to become as wide open as it has been for some time.

My favorite summer sports event.

 

[Thump]

Wiggins potential to win could be what will make it tough for Cavendish to repeat.

Cadel Evans won last year, not Cavendish.

Part of the reason I feel Evans won last year is b/c Wiggins went down in a crash with a broken collar bone at the beginning of the Tour.

 

[Oh8ch]

I was referring to his repeating as sprinter. There will not be the emphasis on his sprint wins with Wiggins as a team member in the hunt. He is also without two of his lead out men. This team is built with a different objective.

 

[Thump]

I was referring to his repeating as sprinter. There will not be the emphasis on his sprint wins with Wiggins as a team member in the hunt. He is also without two of his lead out men. This team is built with a different objective.

Got a feeling Peter Sagan was going to give him all he could handle in the sprints anyways.

We'll see.

 

[Taosman]

What a waste. Why they ran a meaningless Prologue that only takes 7-8 minutes is beyond me? Just do a special with interviews with the top teams and interesting stories. Show the bikes and gear.

 

[Oh8ch]

What a waste. Why they ran a meaningless Prologue that only takes 7-8 minutes is beyond me? Just do a special with interviews with the top teams and interesting stories. Show the bikes and gear.

They did that. Then threw in a 4 mile race so we would all watch it.

 

[Oh8ch]

Interesting finish today. Uphill enough that Cancellara had a chance to add seconds to his lead with a bold move. But the two guys with him refused to help as their only interest was a stage win.

I love tour strategy.

 

[BB73]

No vBet this year?

Shame on you BB73.

Tony Martin suffered a bike malfunction during the prologue killing his chances but Cancellara put together an epic ride to take the prologue.

Still like Wiggins to win the GC.

It's coming - we can keep it open through another stage or two.

 

[jlb1705]

LOL @ Sagan.

That was a fun stage. I wish more of the early ones were like that. There was some real pressure on the peloton at a couple points in the stage. There were a few guys making wrong turns at the end.

 

[BB73]

OK, the vbet has been created.

 

[jlb1705]

Wow. Huge inexplicable wreck tore the peloton apart today. Three riders have abandoned so far, more toughed it out bit will probably abandon before tomorrow's stage. Frank Schleck lost a couple minutes to the wreck Cavendish was delayed and nowhere to be found for the sprint finish. Sagan took the win and consolidated his hold on the green jersey.

Ligget and Sherwen still have no idea how the wreck came about - it was on a long, relatively flat and open stretch. The tarmac may have been a bit narrow at that point, but that isn't something that should have led to what happened.