2009 Tour de France Picks!

Ladies and Gentleman, its that time of year again...Ah yes, its Tour time! say it with me, Tour de France. Whoo Hoo!

Now we all know that a certain former Tour Champ is back in the news for things he's said and done, but really can we blame him? No, he's earned that right to speak his mind and Bernard Hinault is one of the greatest cyclists of all time. A complete rider, Hinault would ride all year. Here's a little quiz for all you. who was the last rider to win both the Tour de France and Paris Roubaix (doesn't have to be in the same year either). Yep, Hinault. Imagine if Hinault didn't retire at the ripe old age of 32 how many more Tours the Badger would have won. six, seven, eight? who knows. I was 16 when Hinault retired at 32 and it seemed like 32 was old, now at 39 not so much.


Anyway all the talk since last fall is about how the Astana boys of Alberto, Levi, Lance, Andreas, and Co. are going to rain terror over our Grand Tour and take claim as the greatest Tour de France team ever over the 1986 La Vie Claire Team. As much as I think Astana is just a bunch of super guys, I have only two words. Um, no.

Someone I work with just recently said Ishould teach history. How about a history lesson? Let's take a look down memory lane at the results of that 1986 Tour de France and see how the La Vie Claire boys fared back then.
23 stages, and one prologue, 21 teams of ten, yes, I said ten riders per team, 210 on the road.

1. Greg LeMond
2. Bernard Hinault
4. Andy Hampsten
7. Nikki Ruttimann
12. Jean-Francois Bernard
23. Steve Bauer
44. Charly Beard
95. Alan Vigneron
97. Philippe Leleu
127. Guido Winterberg


6 stage wins -Hinault, Lemond, Ruttimann, Bernard


Yellow Jersey (of course) LeMond



King of the Mountain Jersey- Hinault, Lemond 3rd.




















White Jersey -Hampsten -Jersey could be seen hanging from the bike shop I worked at.














Combo Jersey - Lemond, with Hinault a close second. (Definitely the coolest jersey)












Best Time Triallist - Hinault, LeMond 2nd.
















Most Combative -Hinault-duh

Team Classification Time- LVC over 2 hours ahead of 2nd place Peugeot.


Team Classification Points -2nd for LVC behind Panasonic.

Green Points Jersey -Hinault 3rd, Lemond 4th behind winner Vanderarden who didn't even win a stage in the race!

Red Sprints Jersey - Winterberg 8th, LeMond 9th behind winner Solleveld, Red what? who you say?


As you can see, Team owner Bernard Tapie and his coach, Paul Koechli had a pretty impressive group of guys dishing it out on the country roads of France in '86. Be thankful the Badger isn't racing today or he'd be kicking the crap out of all these snot nosed punks.

Now enough of the history lesson, now to the picks!.....................
Yes, the picks!

1st. Alberto Contador -Astana

Really? Alberto? believe it or not I had a heck of a hard time deciding to pick Alberto for the #1 spot. He is the odds on favorite to win which is exactly why I had a hard time with it. He is the en vouge pick, kind of like Cadel was last year. yeah, thanks for that one Cadel.





















But seriously though. Even if Astana splits al a La Vie Claire did with Hinault and LeMond, Alberto is a strong enough climber, good TT rider, and has won 3 grand tours to almost secure the race, even though there's that other guy on his team. (No, Horner isn't racing). And if you do win Alberto, please no stupid finger-gun shooting crap.











Alberto, you are the best stage racer of this era, don't screw it up okay? Thanks.











2. Andy Schleck -Saxo Bank

Yep, this is the kid I thought about throwing into the top spot. Why? he's definitely one of the newest, biggest cyclists riding today. I wish his Time Trialing was a bit better (kind of of the same thing with Carlos' TT ability last year right?)

Newly crowned Luxembourg Road Champ and a win at Liege-Bastonge-Liege earlier this year proved a lot about your potential. If Andy took first, I wouldn't complain. Just don't loose 9 minutes because you forget to eat before a climb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2dL6IOfsCY
Bjarne Riis has given you the reigns the future of Saxo Bank. As last year, the Maillot Blanc will be yours, and like last year somewhere in heaven, The Angel of the Mountains is smiling.


3. Denis Menchov -Rabobank

A solid resume for the Russian includes three Grand Tour wins including last month's Centennial Giro. The Rabobank team is a little suspect, your TT's are pretty darn good, just stay on the bike and the podium is yours. But if you fall off yer bike, one of your boys in orange and blue will be breathing down your neck for the leadership of the team.

4. Levi Leipheimer - Astana


Sorry America, but America's top rider finishes fourth. The Battle Royal within Astana takes place and you ride to a respectable, albeit disappointing 4th. Still, 2 Astana boys in the top four ain't all that bad.


5. Carlos Sastre -Cervelo Test Team
Last year's surprise winner to almost everyone including Bjarne Riis, Carlos went out on a limb
to the new Cervelo Test Team, they've had good results so far. Carlos had 2 stage wins in the Giro but Carlos doesn't have the backing he had last year. Sorry Cinco for you as you look up to the podium Carlos. You gotta like the cool kit with the retro shorts though. Last year I picked Carlos to win on Alpe d' Huez and he did, I can see him winning on Ventoux too.






6. Cadel Evans -Silence Lotto

Umm, First off, the dog. You're not Paris Hilton leave it at home. Second, your voice isn't Aussie enough. too squeaky, waaay to squeaky. Third, don't threaten to cut someones head off because they almost got tripped up on your tiny dog, that's just mean and rude. Lastly, thanks for blowing my sure-fire pick from last year.



Cadel will never win the tour, his chance was last year and he failed. Besides, Silence Lotto isn't stacked to take the challenges from the other teams that will be dominating the race. -Sorry.























7. Robert Gesink -Rabobank

Alright, if you'll be watching Versus coverage of the tour this year I'll bet you'll hear Phil and Paul talk a lot about this kid. At 23 Gesink is one of the most promising riders around. He can climb, won the hardest stage of the 2008 Tour of California ahead of Levi, and he can Time Trial. Watch this kid battle for the White Jersey if Andy Schleck can't repeat.









8. Christian Vande Velde -Garmin Slipstream


A surprise 5th to 4th place last year gave a lot of hope to Christian, but a crash at this year's Giro really screwed with his prep for the Tour. Still, 8th is a good place for a good rider on one of the most respected teams in the peloton.

9th. Lance Armstrong -Astana

Welcome back to the Tour Lance.





10. Kim Kirchen -Columbia-HTC
The past 2 years Kim has finished the Tour in 7th and 8th place. A good Time Trialist, Kim just won the LuxembourgTime Trial Championships for the second year in a row. Kim crashed pretty heavy in the Tour of California this year and was out for a few months -That means he'll either be fresh or behind. you decide. Amy told me that she thought Kim should be 6th. We'll see.




Now the good stuff!

Stage One Monaco Time Trial
I waffled back and forth between Levi and Fabian. Fabian wins another Time Trial.

Stage 4 Team Time Trial:

Columbia-HTC
Thank God the tour organizers brought back this beauty after a four year hiatus. By far the most technically advanced stage of the tour, and a really fun one to watch. A team leader can win or loose the tour because of this stage. Gert Boyle thanks you boys!
















Garmin Slipstream have been smarting since their loss to Columbia at the Giro but Columbia -HTC has the deepest field of Time Trialist on one team and they will win this short 39km TTT.
(a little bit shorter than the 153km TTT won by TI-Raleigh in the 1978 Tour)

Stage 17 Bourg St Maurice -Le Grand Bornarnd:

Andy Schleck -Saxo Bank

170km of the hardest stage in years tour with five climbs, four of which are Cat 1. Andy's that good. Last year I picked Carlos Sastre to win on Alpe d Huez and he did. Thank you.

Stage 20 Montelimar to Mont Ventoux:
Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team.
It will be a ding-dong battle.
Carlos is a great climber. Don't believe me? check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjwpRvcj_u0

Green Jersey Winner:
Mark Cavendish -Columbia-HTC
Why not? He'll be racking up stages. As long as he can hump it over the climbs, Cav will be in Green.
Also, Tom is out, so is Robby, who is left? Mark is by far the fastest sprinter in the world. Three stages in last month's Giro, and four stages in last year's Tour, Mark will set his sights on stage wins and the Green Jersey. Just finish in Paris.


King of the Mountain Winner:
David Moncoutié -Cofidis


You probably don't know who this dude is but he can climb. Okay, so Contador, Sastre, and Schleck can climb to but they have other things to be worried about. Moncoutié was the King of the Mountain in last fall's Vuelta.




White Jersey Winner:
Andy Schleck -Saxo Bank
Ladies and Gentlemen, the future of the Tour de France.


Now, the obscure predictions you once could only get in the backs alleys, now you can get them here and for free!


How many finishers will there be? 144


Where's Lance?
9th place for America's favorite cyclist.
A broken colarbone this spring, getting dropped on the big climbs in the Giro, plus your age will work against you for the Tour. -Sorry folks.

The oldest rider to win the Tour was Firmin Lambot in 1922, Lambot was 36. Since 1980 the oldest any rider has gone on to win the tour is 33. It was twice achieved once by Joop Zoetemelk in 1980, and Lance Armstrong in 2005. Lance is now 37.

How many stages will Mark Cavendish win: 5

The flat stages are his if he so chooses.

Dopers? How many losers will get caught. Recreational Drugs do count. 4 caught.

Now named the Richard Pryor-Steve Howe-Tom Boonen Recreational award.

Seriously though, if you're dressed up like any of these three, please seek medical attention immediately or talk to your camp counselor. You have issues.


How many teams will finish with all nine riders?
2-Astana and Saxo Bank


Top Frenchman in the race:
Sandy Casar- Francaise des Jeux

Top American Finisher:
See above Levi in 4th.


How many Stages will Alejandro Valverde and Tom Boonen win:

Ha, trick question. zero


How many riders from Skil-Shimano finish the race: 3

Nice Retro Jersey though, Sean Kelly probably likes it.

Seriously, how did these guys make the race?

Coolest bike in the race:
Specialized Shiv.
Here, let me Google that for you.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=specialized+shiv

Creepiest guy in the race:

Aka, the Laurent Brochard award. In honor of the rider who won the event a record 13 times, Laurent Brochard because nobody sports a mullet quite like this dude. Or this dude.
Winner: Its still Brochard in a landslide even though he's retired!




















The "In my heart I’d love to see him pull off a stage but the last time I listened to my heart I ended up wasting 11 years with a woman who stole my dog" award.
Lance Armstrong -Astana

Yes, the greatest cyclist of the past 20 years is back, and its really good to see him in the peloton raising awareness to his Livestrong cause, but he's older and even though his Giro wasn't bad, it wasn't great. The Tour will have its burners set on high the entire time. Lance will probably be wishing he was in Iowa riding RAGBRAI again. Next year at this time he'll probably be waterproofing his tent in preperation for 500 miles across Iowa. Don't worry Lance, I'll pull.


The “it’s fun to say “Bo Hamburger” award”.Dedicated to the Great Dane who won Stage 8 of the 1994 tour and wore the Yellow Jersey in 1998, whose name was always fun to pronounce!
Piet Rooijakkers -Skil-Shimano


The Lantern Rouge!
Mauro Santambrogio -Lampre

In 2004 I picked Frédéric Finot to finish last, he finished 3rd from last. As always, I have no idea who this guy is. Heck, he may be a legit G.C. threat, but then again probably not.







The "How many times will Bob Roll say “Tour DAY France” during Versus coverage of the Tour de France award?"

Watching the spring classics, Bob seems to have changed his ways and dropped the "DAY" so thank you Bob! now, the award is the..
How many times will we see this bonehead on the Tour?

Too many times I'm afraid.