Tour De France 2011

[leighton]

I would love to see Voeckler winning the tour but the next 2 stages will be huge. Andy doesnt look like he is up to much. Cadel Evans is decent time trialer so if I was putting money on it it would be Evans to beat Contador and Frank S to finish off the top 3.

 

[Paul Lake's Left Knee]

Well the next 2 days will sort it all out obviously but tomorrow is going to be crucial - i can see Voeckler being dropped, he was struggling to stay on the back when the attacks came today, he will do very well to keep up... shame he has ridden really well...

Just as i start to think one way, something happens to change my mind, Contador did look impressive again today, he is also a very under rated time trial rider, he was U21 world TT champion when younger, 2009 he also lost no time to the field when others thought he was going to lose time, all will depend on tomorrow - if Cadel isnt broken tomorrow he has every chance of winning, but on past form that is a big if... if i was betting it would be Contador after the last 2 days, but i think it would be good if anyone but Alberto wins it (cant believe he is riding still without having faced the drug taking charges its taken more than a year FFS!!!!)

 

[Cheesy]

Gonna pile some cash on Cadel.

 

[Paul Lake's Left Knee]

Gonna pile some cash on Cadel.

He hasnt looked troubled yet and i would say he has every chance, tomorrow is a huge day for Cadel... nice bloke - for an Aussie ;-p, and good to see him attacking these days, he always waited too long and rode defensively, but since winning the worlds he is a different beast... good luck with your bet

 

[Shands]

Today is going to be great isn't it! Three 2000+ meter climbs, it's game on.

If the others have aspirations of winning the tour (which they clearly do) then they have to take significant time out of Cadel. The Schleck's and Sanchez can't leave it till the time trial and although Contador's TT in the Giro was huegely impressive his time gap is too big to make up in a single stage against Evans. I can't wait to see what happens, there could be attacks all over the place and poor Cadel could find himself in trouble with the Schleck's working together and the spaniards teaming up. Then there is the wild card of Voeckler, god knows what he'll do - solo breakaway from the start!

On a seperate point wasn't the scenery on that final climb yesterday beautiful and do you think that bloke will be charging riders for the use of his car port? ;-)

 

[Paul Lake's Left Knee]

And we join them... the highest ever finish in the tour's history and that first climb is the highest in this year's tour... wow... 2000m is twice the height of Mt Snowdon to put it in perspective...

Contador moaning about a bad knee - hmmmm after yesterday i reckon that is a bluff...

Leighton will be happy - Roche is in the break

 

[Bluebee2]

The bookies have Evans as favourite at 11/10 and I think they are probably right.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/tour-de-france?ev_oc_grp_ids=112173" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/t ... ids=112173</a>

 

[Paul Lake's Left Knee]

The bookies have Evans as favourite at 11/10 and I think they are probably right.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/tour-de-france?ev_oc_grp_ids=112173" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/t ... ids=112173</a>

Yeah i agree he is probably fav but those odds are a bit short for me...

 

[leighton]

Kelly was on Irish radio yesterday saying he expected Roche to be in the break tomorrow and he is right. Nice to see 3 days on the trot him getting out there even if they get caught at the final climb.

 

[Cheesy]

The bookies have Evans as favourite at 11/10 and I think they are probably right.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/tour-de-france?ev_oc_grp_ids=112173" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.paddypower.com/bet/cycling/t ... ids=112173</a>

Yeah i agree he is probably fav but those odds are a bit short for me...

They are a bit. I got him at slightly higher odds than that. Gone each way on Andy Schleck too.