Tour de France 2006

yjuosj

I was just informed that the routes for the tour de France 2006 have been announced (a long time ago)!!! it looks fantastic, too bad Lance won't be in it. I kept dream of a Lance vs Ulrich showdown, like in 2003, oh well... Anyways does anybody know when are the riders registring or if they did already? and if they did, who do you guys think is the next tour de France winner? (personally my money is on Ulrich, always being a Ulrich fan)

KennyCartman

Jan Ulrich!

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IndyRider

The big German will not be able to keep pace with Basso. It is Ivan Basso's for the taking.

yjuosj

I don't know man, if anybody wants this win is Jan. He has been the shadow of Armstrong for so long.... you would think that he wants it real bad.

Catabolic_Jones

Pevenage had Jan in great condition in '03. Perhaps that will happen again, now that Pevenage has complete control again.

I just think Ullrich has had his day, however; I think the severe drubbings he has taken over the years at the Tour must have resulted in fatalism. We'll see, though. However, I think if Basso can take some time on the first mountaintop finish, Jan may pack it in.

I actually look for Basso to be more challenged by an upstart. Perhaps Valverde.

Whatever happens, it will be a very open race this year. I look forward to it.

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yjuosj

I wonder if the kid from team CSC last year that fell during the team time trial can do some damage in the mountains???

lwedge

This is going to be a good year for the Giro and TDF. I think, (as many do here) that Ulle will use Giro for tune-up and hopfully Basso will go for it. As far as TDF, I would like to see Ulle nail the TT's and have Basso challenge those times in the mountains with Ulle tryng to reel him in.

Lw

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yjuosj

Indeed, I don't expect Jan to do much during the Giro. Quite the opposite! However I do expect him to do well during the Time Trails. Whatever he does in the Giro will be of preparation but not for serious competition. Of all of the racers, I think, Basso is the one that he has to worry about, but if he can keep a leash on Basso like he did on Armstron on 2003, he will win the TDF. No doubt in my mind that he can do it

cyclingheroes

I don`t think that Zbriskie will do good in the mountains.

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jonjungel

Bjarne Riis has said that the entire CSC team will be supporting Basso. Zabriskie will not be allowed to even try.

yjuosj

Isn't Zabriskie in another team? I thought he had gone to Discovery...

jonjungel

I think he used to ride for USPS (now Disco Boyz). His current contract with CSC lasts through 2006.

See http://www.team-csc.com/person_profiles.asp?p_id=73

Regarding his GC chances at TdF06, read the entry dated 11/08/2005 on his homepage.

Though I'm sure he will to very well in the prologue and TTs.

Hookyrider

I just posted on Tour of GE – so I’ll not repeat the whole again here

I think Jan will crush them all.

I had the opportunity to ride with Jan, side by side, on his first training day in Mallorca Spain last Sunday, and talk with some of his teammates.

Telecom is finally doing it right this year, a restructure of the team and how they do business. I think the new environment is better suited to his needs, not the silly and amateurish crap they pulled last year with “three leaders”.

So in short, I think Jan will have a get chance of having a banner year.

HR

quil

I agree with you, but let's hope he can stay on his bike as well and please, no running in to team cars the week before start day.

-Mike