Has Kloden ever strung together more than one peak fitness period that resulted in the kind of form it takes to win Paris - Nice and place on the Tour podium? I can't remember him doing anything else (unless you count his silver at the Sydney Olympics but that could have been a bit of luck).
IOW, what are the odds that he will be able to target the Tour and then produce anything like what he did last year?
I guess I'm kind of a Kloden skeptic. He seems to string together good form when he needs a contract and slacks in between. The German press was bagging on him earlier this season for having a big contract and no legs, and spending the winter doing not much of anything. In his defense, he seems to be riding better now than he was, but I guess I'm still not all that optimistic about his chances for the Tour.
There's another German by the name of Fothem who looks much stronger right now.
Markus Fothen, 23 years old, 12th in the Giro.
That's kind of young to be riding both the Tour and the Giro. And there is much less lunch meat in the Tour. But yes, his is a name to pay attention to.
What about this Linus Gerdemann? He rode a good 4 Days of Dunkerque. According to Bjarne Riis he has a great future. But OTOH, who doesn't have a great future when he's guided by Mr 60%
