Betting on the Tour?

[mtkitchn]

Contador sure looked good.
I think Andy Schleck might be a contender...
But I can't count Lance out! Old age and treachery...

It's gonna be a great tour!

[malkin]

Andy is so cute, I could never bet against him!

[jobob]

Whee!

I got up late this morning and I just finished watching about five hours of tour coverage I had recorded from early this morning on Versus (thank gawd for DVRs and being able to zip past commercials - oh lookie, it's Bob again ... )

That was a fascinating time trial, it seemed to depend nearly as much on bike handling skills as on raw speed. I was wondering if we would even possibly lose a contender in a crash today, yikes.

Heh, I didn't dare check my computer before I finished watching it, I wanted the outcome to be a surprise.

I don't have anyone in particular I'm rooting for, yet, but I'd love to see Evans do well, and Andy Shleck, and Sastre, and Menchov, and especially Vandevelde (back injury recoverers unite!!), and Levi & Lance (hey, what the heck), but I do think Contador might be head and shoulders above them all. Which is very cool IMHO.

[Tri Girl]

In heart, I'd love to see ol' George win (but that's not going to happen), so I have to put my money on Lance. How can I bet against Lance?

Really, no matter who wins, I just LOVE TDF time of the year.

[Kelly728]

I like Cavendish.. But what do I know??
He isn't too hard on the eyes either.

[Eden]

I like Cavendish.. But what do I know??
He isn't too hard on the eyes either.

For the overall? Sprinters in general (unless you are Eddy, the cannibal, Merckx) and Cav definitely doesn't have the climbing ability to make it over the mountains without losing massive amounts of time. He'll have to work hard to just not get time cut. Also, most overall contenders these days don't want to mix it up in the sprints for fear of being crashed out.

Barring accident or incident, I'd put my money on Contador. He's got the climbing legs and a great team to back him up. The only fear I have is that the team may have too many chiefs and not enough indians.... unless the team gets 100% behind him, he will struggle.

[papaver]

I put my money on Contador, but i'm hoping for Cancellara. I'm conviced he can do it, but I'm not sure he thinks the same.

It is not a climbers tour, so...

[Kelly728]

For the overall? Sprinters in general (unless you are Eddy, the cannibal, Merckx)

Thats why I said what do I know, because I really have no clue!

[Dogmama]

In heart, I'd love to see ol' George win (but that's not going to happen), so I have to put my money on Lance. How can I bet against Lance?

Really, no matter who wins, I just LOVE TDF time of the year.

Gorgeous George - sigh. He looked so big compared to the other tiny cyclists yesterday. Isn't he like 6'2"?