Paris-Nice Predictions

fscyclist said:

My prediction:

Cadel will once again suck wheel.

Not quite the sin of sucking [censored] at which you excel.

biker jk said:

Not quite the sin of sucking [censored] at which you excel.

I'm not even gunna ask how you know that!! 😄

I think Contador could well be out to prove a point and in a sense you could say is racing an in house battle at Astana to be the form stage racer in the lead up to the Tour (a whole other debate though).
I think Contador will be keen to win it.

I also favour Luis Leon Sanchez as well.

So one of those two guys I guess.

biker jk said:

Not quite the sin of sucking [censored] at which you excel.

sssd

Okay!

Luis Leon Sanchez to win.

Pinotto or Martin to win the time trial.

Trev_S said:

I think Contador could well be out to prove a point and in a sense you could say is racing an in house battle at Astana

I cant decide if Contraban is stupid or just shy. He has done the right thing politically to shadow Armstrong now though. And the correct thing would be to reinforce his ownership of Armstrong now both on the bike and after every/any stage win he garners.

He needs to build his own momentum against Armstrong. Needs to create an air of 'I'm the man'. If he leaves it til July he will get swept aside quite early given the parcours and the hype of Armstrong's return.

He needs to show a bit of [censored] IMO to deal with Armstrong. Something along the lines of 'Show me some [censored] respect old cnut' would be appropriate.

Bring forward and illuminate Armstrong's intentions. Use the media to illuminate the issue. He needs to learn to play the media does Contraban.

Geoff, You say it so much more delicate than I 😄

lance in the top 5

Geoff Vadar said:

I cant decide if Contraban is stupid or just shy. He has done the right thing politically to shadow Armstrong now though. And the correct thing would be to reinforce his ownership of Armstrong now both on the bike and after every/any stage win he garners.

He needs to build his own momentum against Armstrong. Needs to create an air of 'I'm the man'. If he leaves it til July he will get swept aside quite early given the parcours and the hype of Armstrong's return.

He needs to show a bit of [censored] IMO to deal with Armstrong. Something along the lines of 'Show me some [censored] respect old cnut' would be appropriate.

Bring forward and illuminate Armstrong's intentions. Use the media to illuminate the issue. He needs to learn to play the media does Contraban.

thing is, a.c. hasn't shadow boxed armstrong at all. he wants to settle the captaincy once and for all and have it done on the road. i just don't think he realises how screwed he is by l.a. and j.b. come the giro and tdf. i'm thinking that cycle sport had it right when they dropped the hint that if anyone bucks the j.b. system and orders it will be a.c. a.c. will be a man riding without any team support--and maybe no compatriot support.

phillop said:

lance in the top 5

That would be an exceptional result, because I don't think he's even starting.

Looking at the names listed on letour.fr, I think Contador will take it. I don't think neither Evans nor Voigt, nor any of the TT guys will hang on to him up to Montagne de Lure.

1. Contador
2. Colom
3. Evans

Be aware that all my previous result predictions have been epic fails. 🙂

jonjungel said:

That would be an exceptional result, because I don't think he's even starting.

Looking at the names listed on letour.fr, I think Contador will take it. I don't think neither Evans nor Voigt, nor any of the TT guys will hang on to him up to Montagne de Lure.

1. Contador
2. Colom
3. Evans

Be aware that all my previous result predictions have been epic fails. 🙂

Very good predictions but I'll change Fränk Schleck for third place.
Prologue winner: Mark Renshaw

Geoff Vadar said:

I cant decide if Contraban is stupid or just shy. He has done the right thing politically to shadow Armstrong now though. And the correct thing would be to reinforce his ownership of Armstrong now both on the bike and after every/any stage win he garners.

He needs to build his own momentum against Armstrong. Needs to create an air of 'I'm the man'. If he leaves it til July he will get swept aside quite early given the parcours and the hype of Armstrong's return.

He needs to show a bit of [censored] IMO to deal with Armstrong. Something along the lines of 'Show me some [censored] respect old cnut' would be appropriate.

Bring forward and illuminate Armstrong's intentions. Use the media to illuminate the issue. He needs to learn to play the media does Contraban.

I'm sorry...I'm confused. Who is Contraban? I follow pretty closely and I have never heard of any rider by that name! What team does he ride for?

Accountant

Andy Schleck if he is racing. Andy will win something big this season. He might as well get warmed up with a few minor wins.

slovakguy said:

thing is, a.c. hasn't shadow boxed armstrong at all. he wants to settle the captaincy once and for all and have it done on the road. i just don't think he realises how screwed he is by l.a. and j.b. come the giro and tdf. i'm thinking that cycle sport had it right when they dropped the hint that if anyone bucks the j.b. system and orders it will be a.c. a.c. will be a man riding without any team support--and maybe no compatriot support.

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From cyclingnews:
16:10 CET
This will be an interesting week, so we hope you can join us again tomorrow at 14:00 CEST.
------
No it won't.

When a rider weighing 62 kg wins a flat 9.3km TT by a huge margin, everyone else is racing for 2. place.

jonjungel said:

From cyclingnews:
16:10 CET
This will be an interesting week, so we hope you can join us again tomorrow at 14:00 CEST.
------
No it won't.

When a rider weighing 62 kg wins a flat 9.3km TT by a huge margin, everyone else is racing for 2. place.

Right you are. When the worlds best & lightest climber beats the Olympic pursuit champion the season is over. Bruyneel's blood bags are in full swing.

whiteboytrash said:

Right you are. When the worlds best & lightest climber beats the Olympic pursuit champion the season is over. Bruyneel's blood bags are in full swing.

Hmm...Contador's performance was surprising but I wouldn't say the field he was competing against was that special. If he had won against Cancellara when both were in their best form of the season, I'd be astonished. But Wiggins isn't that dominative. Come on, it was just 7'. Not that crushing. And if my eyes didn't betray me, Contador raced on drier roads. Besides Contador wasn't that bad in TTs last year (even the short ones) and if he's especially concentrated on training TTs this winter as he has said his performance isn't that out-of-this-world.
Also, it seems Alberto is in good form right now. And at a time when most riders aren't. So I won't be surprised until he beats everyone in TTs in July. IF he however does, then it'll be certain that blood bags have been emptied.

I don't, however, understand why he has such good form at this time of the year. Does he need to prove his performance to Astana?

They have to have found something new. Personally I think it goes back to CSC last year when they were having a dog of a tour and then all of a sudden cancellara started riding the peleton off his wheel up mountains. They found something new and Armstrong saw it and wanted back in. It could be a derivative of CERA. I dont have a clue about this stuff though to even know if that makes sense.

There has to be a lab somewhere that is shopping a 'pick your drug and we will customize it so it has a unique biological signature' service. Its not just about cycling. Its rife in Tennis too.

I think its [censored] up tennis in a big way. That sport used to be about incredible finesse and strategic ball placement on the court. It still is about that but it has given way to just 5 hr brutilizing of the ball into the corners. Which is parallel to 62kg climbers smashing world TT champions in cycling.

Nafa Nadal is a twin of Hewitt. Dead set twin with identical games. Nadal is dominating the sport because he is pumped with testosterone and epo. Hewitt has been virtually forced out of the sport. He has no comparative advantage anymore. When Hewitt goes deep into 5 sets his eyes are red and he cramps and his body is racked with pain. Nadal does not stop. Hewitt trains just as hard as Nadal. There may be a divergence in their Vo2max in favour of Nadal but not enough to explain his utter lack of fatigue. Federer knows this is happening. He knows he shouldnt be challenged by Nadal.

I wish I was making this up and I was a nutbag like Flyer but unfortunately its all in front of us to see. Its happening right in front of us. Very very sad - very very ghey.

I feel for Wiggins because he obviously gives his all and deserves many of these prologue type victories. He is a class act over 10km and hands down the best in the world. I dont believe in cancellara personally. Yes he is a great rider but I think a [censored] of who he is - is designer drugged.