Critérium du Dauphiné picks

Anyone who wants to do well at the Tour will want to do well at the Dauphine. Look for strong rides from Discovery's Leipheimer and Rabobank's Deny Menchov

EmPat said:

Lay your rep on the line team, who will take out the 59th edition.

I think it's Cadel Evans' year but there are a lot of tour hopefuls to factor.

The stage 4 finish on Ventoux will be a highlight.

Go Cadel, is Mick Rogers riding as well? anyhow go Aussies.

Tubbs said:

Anyone who wants to do well at the Tour will want to do well at the Dauphine. Look for strong rides from Discovery's Leipheimer and Rabobank's Deny Menchov

You serious ? When was the last time someone rode well in the DL then the Tour ? Its the blood extraction race so expect the favourites at the back.... ala Landis last year....

whiteboytrash said:

You serious ? When was the last time someone rode well in the DL then the Tour ? Its the blood extraction race so expect the favourites at the back.... ala Landis last year....

Not everyone runs their program like that, Lance won the Dauphine a couple of times after all.

However a lot of the favourites for the TdF do underperform at the Dauphine so I'm going to bet on Kascheshkin for the win, as he will be riding for Vino at the TdF.

whiteboytrash said:

You serious ? When was the last time someone rode well in the DL then the Tour ? Its the blood extraction race so expect the favourites at the back.... ala Landis last year....

You may have heard of a guy named Lance Armstrong who usually did well in the Dauphine. Before him, there was also this guy named Miguel Indurain.

etc... etc...

anyway... Denis Menchov... a bit of a darkhorse but I like him.

Leipheimer. With Basso gone, Leipheimer may be racing low a couple of pints of blood to prepare for the Tour, so he might not be the best pick. But these short stage races seem to be well suited for him.

I think Denis Menchov is a reasonable bet.

I'll also nominate (if he's racing) Sam Sanchez.

What a wide open race... just about anyone could win this!

I will tip Contador - DSC will get behind him in this race, as a sweetener for Contador racing for Leipheimer in the Tour. Disclaimer: I am not an American nor a Discovery sympathiser, I just think Contador can win.

How about Leo Piepoli making a fast recovery from the Giro, where he climbed with the best of them. Perhaps his ITT will be his downfall.

Would love to see Cadel do well, but I think he is using this race to fine tune for the Tour.

Andrew76 said:

What a wide open race... just about anyone could win this!

I will tip Contador - DSC will get behind him in this race, as a sweetener for Contador racing for Leipheimer in the Tour. Disclaimer: I am not an American nor a Discovery sympathiser, I just think Contador can win.

How about Leo Piepoli making a fast recovery from the Giro, where he climbed with the best of them. Perhaps his ITT will be his downfall.

Would love to see Cadel do well, but I think he is using this race to fine tune for the Tour.

Piepoli rode well last year... bombing off the front causing trouble..... love his style....

The contenders:

Leipheimer
Contador
Tommy D.
Moreau
Dessel
Kohl
Fothen
Menchov
Valverde
Pereiro
Piepoli
Vino
Kashechkin
Evans
Casar

I hate to say it, but Tommy D. has a shot here. There are so many of the potential winners who will just be using the Dauphine as prep for the Tour and may not want to go too hard, may not have peaked, or may let their underlings have their day in the sun.

Tommy D. for the overall.
Piepoli for the win on Vontoux.

I've took a look at parcourse and think it could suit Leipheimer. But situation in Caisse d'Epargne team about Tour leader could force Valverde and Pereiro to give their best. Also there's Astana duo and they'll want to leave good impresion too, but I'm not sure Vino will give it all. Disco can also play with Contador. There are also Menchov, Evans... Riders you've already mentioned.

Now my pick,
I don't think Levi will defend title (he'll finish high in overall but not on top), so Piti is my pick.

P.S.
Very dark horse Valjavec... He could be the man for this kind of race.

I was going to pick Piepoli but he came in Dead Freaking last in the prologue... wtf? Did he crash?

DiabloScott said:

I was going to pick Piepoli but he came in Dead Freaking last in the prologue... wtf? Did he crash?

Yes, he crashed. He crashed in that U turn. It was rainy earlier in the day and road was wet when he rode.

Andrija said:

Yes, he crashed. He crashed in that U turn. It was rainy earlier in the day and road was wet when he rode.

Yep missed it all due to the French Open on EuroSport...... looks lke DC are back on the gear with Hncapie finishing well up with his prep in the US and farking Martínez only 5secs behind... come one.... fark me give me a break.... if we get a Disco show at the Tour I'm giving the sport away all together.....

I think Kascheshkin looks good...so he'll be my pick. Vino will ride for him and we know how good a duo they make as seen in last years vuelta.

I don't think it'll be one of the main GC boys gearing up for the tour, although I reckon Leipheimer will probably want to defend his title.

I'll go for Kashechkin or perhaps Contador

Today Haussler beat Boonen in sprint... It is bit unexpected, but highlight of stage form me is Tommy D.... He abandoned the race not even finishing the first stage. It was rainy so the kid couldn't ride in these circumstances. And he was mentioned in context of high GC placing...
Also, there's a mystery about Levi. He mysteriously disappeared from top 10 in GC. I couldn't find any information about his ride today, so, waiting for some reliable info. That goes for Tommy's reasons too. Maybe some team stomach bug?

Andrija said:

Today Haussler beat Boonen in sprint... It is bit unexpected, but highlight of stage form me is Tommy D.... He abandoned the race not even finishing the first stage. It was rainy so the kid couldn't ride in these circumstances. And he was mentioned in context of high GC placing...
Also, there's a mystery about Levi. He mysteriously disappeared from top 10 in GC. I couldn't find any information about his ride today, so, waiting for some reliable info. That goes for Tommy's reasons too. Maybe some team stomach bug?

EuroSport interviewed Bruyneel and he didn't mention it... only saying Levi wouldn't be going for GC...... They interviewed Wiggens and he did it in fluent French... legend...