[Closed] Le Tour 2017 - Speculation, predictions, spoilers, etc.

Drugs. Lots of Drugs. 8)

Yates, Yates, Chaves Orica-Scott-Edge combo should be interesting to keep an eye on

Last week of the Giro was so hard, you could see they were all totally gubbed, no chance of recovering for a good TDF.

Froome has raced, but not for a few months, will be at the Dauphine next week.

Froome vs Porte for the win in July with Bardet 3rd.
Really hoping Porte can get the win, and Thomas can carry form and put in a strong performance on GC to somewhat make up for his Giro exit.

Yates, Yates, Chaves Orica-Scott-Edge combo should be interesting to keep an eye on

Agreed. They'll need to get their tactics together, though or it could be a muddle.

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-route-192041

17/18 look like a right ding dong couple of days! Final selection on the Izoard?

Froome will be fresh, thoroughly prepared and supported by the Sky juggernaut.
My only concern would be lack of race exposure this season.
Quintana, I think, will be back to top form.
A cheeky side bet on the Yates bros is tempting.

Another boring Froome fest. Nearly as boring as the Indurain days.

Bring back the dopers i say, most exciting TDF`s I watched were the ones where everyone was so juiced up they didnt know what day of the week it was.

Froome hasn't looked great so far, but he could be easing himself into the season.

Looks like Sky are taking a full TdF spec team to the Dolphiny, so that'll be a better indication of where he is.

Porte had a good early season, it's about time he put together a decent 3-week tour.

I think anyone who rode for GC at the Giro will be too tired at the end of the TdF to get top 3.

Contador? Top 5.

Chaves or Yates, Top 5.

I'll predict...

1. Porte
2. Froome
3. Chaves
4. Contador
5. Quintana

(Oh, and I'll be there for the Izoard stage!)

frankconway - Member
A cheeky side bet on the Yates bros is tempting.

I would think they'll be acting as super domestiques for Chaves (especially if Yates 1 is still tired from the Giro) but you never know.

CaptainFlashheart - Member
Agreed. They'll need to get their tactics together, though or it could be a muddle.

Yup, but even without that they always seem incredibly good at riding for each other (can't remember if Gerrans is there as road captain?)

Why not Contador ?

Porte deffo up there.....

Froome, we'll see next week where his form is or isn't.

Assuming Froome isn't on form though, would they try Landa or G maybe ?

As usual it's hard to see past Froome for the overall. However, the TTs are short enough that they shouldn't have too much effect on the overall and we might see a closer race than in previous years. There seem to be a few stages that look boring at first glance - here's hoping they'll throw up a few surprises. I'm also hoping that the shorter mountain stages might negate a bit of the Sky suffocation that happened in the Alps stages last year.

Not enough 'proper' mountaintop finishes for my liking.

off to Pau again this year, make a nice change 🙂

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict:

1. Froome
2. Quintana

Whatever happens its gonna have to be good to live up to this years Giro.

Froomedog would probably be favourite because of the strength of the Sky team support and errr.... any 'extras' they might or might not have but as above, lack of racing may or may not be a disadvantage.

TD can't challenge this soon after the Giro.

Quintana looked sluggish in the Giro and having given it his all can't challenge for Le tour.

I too will be somewhere near the top of each of the alpine stages with my bike and my three favourite riding buddies by my side. Roll on July.

@trailwagger, were they really exciting when everyone was on the sauce? LA 'winning' seven times on the bounce was a bit boring wasn't it?

I wonder what the weather will be like when they hit Troyes. It's in Central France, no sea or alpine breezes.

We stopped overnight there on the way to last year's Tour and went out for a late afternoon spin.

We covered circa 60km and it was 38C and really humid. You could hear the squelching of the tarmac sticking to our Conti GP 4000s II's and feel the resistance.

Beautiful area though especially around the lake. What a ride.

I thought the Yates's were doing one tour each?

I'll make one prediction. Alan Hanson will finish.

I'll make one prediction. Alan Hanson will finish.

great defender, but couldn't finish in his day, let alone now !

slowoldman - Member

I thought the Yates's were doing one tour each?

There's a 3rd one!? It's difficult enough keeping track of two!

@MTB-Idle

@trailwagger, were they really exciting when everyone was on the sauce? LA 'winning' seven times on the bounce was a bit boring wasn't it?

No -one attacks anymore, Froome builds a lead and then just defends it to the line. LA would attack on every opportunity even if he already had five minutes in the bag, he was always hungry for more.
Too many modern day riders are riding by numbers. No-one seems willing to risk blowing up to attack the yellow jersey. It seems like they all just ride along staying out of the danger zone, hoping that Froome (or whoever is leading) will blow up, make a mistake. There is very little passion, drive, panache or style on display from any of the main contenders. The only two I can think of as exceptions are Contador and Valverde, both unfortunately too old to be real contenders now.

The only two I can think of as exceptions are Contador and Valverde, both unfortunately too old to be real contenders now.

They're also both massive ****s. I'll be glad when they're both retired. TBH though, I don't know what people want more from Froome, he attacked on the flat, downhill, he tried to jog up one mountain. That his opponents are lacking any spark doesn't detract what was, for him, a pretty sparky performance in 2016.

Froome is an obvious pick and I'd like to see someone other than Quintana filling one of the other two spots as he seems to be turning into a bit of a dick. So lets say Chaves. I'd even prefer Contador over Quintana.

I'll be at the stage finish in Longwy and the start in Mondorf as I can ride to both from the office.

First choice is anyone but drugs cheat Contador who IMHO shouldnt even be allowed to race.

After that a Froome and Porte battle. Quintana didnt look as good in the Giro mountains as he usually does.

I think we need Froome on a Tom diet or laxatives. Poo stops seem to be the way forward to spice things up!

I forgot that Chaves will be riding. I want him or Bardet to win*

*not necessarily come 1st in GC, but to generally be awesome and do some fun racing.

Tejay will win, I'm sure!

Froome is the clear favourite but anything can happen in three weeks. I'd love to see Porte and Chaves round out the podium but neither seem to hold it together for the full three weeks. Bardet is a good call.
Quintana has yet again proved himself to be a gutless rider. Compare his Giro, when Dumoulin effectively gave him a 2min headstart with Froome's riding - his downhill attack, his four-up TT with Sagan and G.
The Tour has the potential to be a bit less unpredictable than the Giro turned out to be but I'll still watch it all - can't wait!

Chaves round out the podium but neither seem to hold it together for the full three weeks

3rd at the Vuelta last year wasn't exactly bad

3rd at the Vuelta last year wasn't exactly bad

His 2nd at the Giro was even better

think we'll have to wait till after the criterium du dauphine (starts sunday) to see whos coming into form.

I'll make one prediction. Alan Hanson will finish.

great defender, but couldn't finish in his day, let alone now !

[URL= http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums/r735/mkz_1613/Euro%20Trek/IMG_5611_zps001614bf.jp g" target="_blank">http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums/r735/mkz_1613/Euro%20Trek/IMG_5611_zps001614bf.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

I'll be in the Vosges for stage three again, bloody love the place.

As for tips n giggles..

Hard to predict 😆

If Master Stem Watcher is on form, it will be his to loose (however.. is Kyri riding ??)

[url= http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/giro-ditalia-winner-tom-dumoulin-returns-racing-tour-de-suisse-along-peter-sagan-greg-van-avermaet-333179 ]is tom riding the tour ?[/url]

With a ride at the Tour de France on the cards, Dumoulin will be back in search of some more racing form before the second Grand Tour of the year begins on July 1 with a 14km time trial in Düsseldorf.

now ^ that is bonkers, if he's properly doing Giro, Swiss and then TdF 😯 - unless the Swiss one's just gentleish altitude training

not looking good for Cav and the tour, not on the provisional for Tour de Suisse

I'm another who's not sure what more Froome can reasonably be expected to attempt. Attacking on the descents for the stage and yellow, 4 man TTT breakaway with Sagan and co, smashing the time trial after the Ventoux shenanigans (which was just about to kick off) and that's just 2016. If you include smashing several mtfs in the last few years, storming the Astana bus to put Nibali straight and surprising everyone on the cobbles in 2015 then he's one of the most interesting riders in the peloton.

Anyway, I'm hoping Porte does well, Quintana and Contador do poorly, expect Valverde to come close and suspect Froome's concentrating more on the Vuelta than Sky would probably like.

The Yates brothers are hilarious; what language do they actually speak? I barely understand a single word of what they say. 😈

That's the point, makes them interchangable

The Yates brothers are hilarious; what language do they actually speak?

Northern. Sometimes confused with Unemployed. 😉

Froome all the way. Some can't see a proper talent when it's right in front of them.

Not sure where froome is this year at all. so little racing.

I do predict Contador to finish nowhere but animate the whole race.

Northern. Sometimes confused with Unemployed

eddie11 - Member
Not sure where froome is this year at all. so little racing.

We'll see on Sunday...

Don't you wish Thomas had the luxury of hiding behind closed doors training in his own lunchtime, whilst Froomidge did all the hard work out on the race course, the classics, the monuments and the Giro too ??

I do.

Doumalin must of changed his mind and he wasn't supposed to be doing the tour.

Can't look past Froome but do think Quintana was riding himself into form so should hopefully put a fight.

Would be nice to see G break out and Porte do something but he was in such good form at the start of the season, wouldn't be surprised if he will of lost it.

Would be nice to see Bardet, Chaves and Yates bro's do well and can't believe people want to see Valverde and Contador gone! Will be much more boring without them. Valverde looked in great form as well earlier in the season.

and can't believe people want to see Valverde and Contador gone!

I suspect that might be their drug habits in the past.

I suspect that might be their drug habits in the past.

Meh, they're just old aren't they, they're like slightly bigoted grand parents, you just have to accept things were different back then. People moan about Froome and riders riding to numbers, you don't get that with the Spanish doping duo, they love to ride on feel and makes for exciting racing.

Aru is back for the tour as well isn't he?

Hard to see past Froome, but hopefully Porte will make a race of it. My outside bet would be Bardet. He is improving all the time and has looked not bad so far this season.

Difficult to know about Quintana. Was he really ill at the Giro was was that his default excuse mechanism kicking in.

Nibbles and Bertie are too old now. Would like to see Bertie go out in style at the Vuelta rather than struggle in the Tour.

Could be a good year for Yates, especially if his brother recovers from the Giro and rides as his main support.

As for G, I still think his future lies in the one day Classics, but Sky and himself obviously want to try out over three weeks, and to be fair they know far, far more than any of us about his potential.

Aru, in the Tour ?

Good, I want to see him give his all like a few years ago. I like him, I think he's got a lot of class.

What is all this talk of Adam Yates also riding the TDF? Simon was only quite late on switched to TDF (having originally been down to ride with Adam at the Giro) following ongoing concerns around Chaves' fitness after his injury.

From what I have read Orica Scott plan to race all three in the Vuelta?

I thought it was all 3 in the Tour (before Chaves injury at least)? Just had a look on Cycling Weekly and it does indeed now look like Simon + Chaves at the Tour. Dunno what the Vuelta plan is now though

I'm another who's not sure what more Froome can reasonably be expected to attempt.

Riding without looking like a bag full of spanners?

Can someone explain to me where all the Quintana hate is coming from? I quite like him, but I know I'm biased (Colombian wife).

People moan about Froome and riders riding to numbers, you don't get that with the Spanish doping duo

You do, but they ride to Hematocrit rather than power.

[quote=jimoiseau ]Can someone explain to me where all the Quintana hate is coming from? I quite like him, but I know I'm biased (Colombian wife).

attacking during DuMoulin's poo stop didn;t win him a lot of admirers. I did like him before but he's certainly gone down in my estimation

where all the Quintana hate is coming from?

Riding without looking like a bag full of spanners?

I thought the consensus was "an octopus falling out of a tree".

nope it's like a daddy long legs getting into a hot bath.

according to my rather overpriced, yet free sock edition of the TdF guide, neither of the Yates brothers are riding the tour?

If G can stay on his bike, then hopefully he could get a podium place.
Another favourite is Sagan. An entertaining, talented rider.

G's problem is he will be riding for someone else, as will Landa unless he gets excused boots to do the Vuelta.

Haters:

Froome - he's an exciting rider at times but his team always end up throttling the race in the mountains in order to defend his lead. I think he ends up shouldering the blame for the dull racing that ensues. He also looks funny on a bike, but I like seeing the 'legs of fury' he does when he accelerates, personally.

Quintana - Doesn't do many (any?) English language interviews and looks unflappable when racing so he appears to be a bit of a personality vacuum - I suspect he's more shy than aloof. He's a fairly conservative racer as well, often profiting from other's attacks rather than animating the race himself.

There's almost certainly a bit of tall poppy syndrome with them both too, with them being proven talents on well-funded teams. It just feels a bit more exciting when a plucky youngster comes along to challenge them, isn't it?

attacking during DuMoulin's poo stop didn;t win him a lot of admirers. I did like him before but he's certainly gone down in my estimation

I enjoyed his gutsy ride up alpe d'huez very nearly cracking Froome, but some of Moviestars antics have certainly put a blot in his copybook

as will Landa unless he gets excused

Not really expecting Landa at the TDF myself, they've plenty of other strong climbers and he can realistically have a strong go at the vuelta.

Froome
Thomas
Poels
Henao
Nieve
Lopez
Kwiatkowski
Stannard
Rowe

I would love Contadour to win again this year , he's the most exciting of the GC contenders by far . Always prepared to attack to try and win rather than hold on to what he's got . Crashed the other year and rode on to the finish of the stage with a broken leg , how can you not like him ? ( I think I know the answer to that question ) .

Crashed the other year and rode on to the finish of the stage with a broken leg , how can you not like him

No he didn't, he gave up a few miles down the road. Impressive nonetheless but he didn't finish the stage. Couldn't have had steak for breakfast that day...

Why does anyone think Porte will do well, he always does a Teejay.

Porte has great tendency to loose time in the daftest of places. If he is going to get on the podium he needs to right much nearer the front, be attentive, and have a bit of luck.

Ah, I thought there were 8 per team this year, not 9.

[quote=Bunnyhop ]Ah, I thought there were 8 per team this year, not 9.

That was the plan of ASO who own the Tour De France, but it's [url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-team-sizes-to-remain-the-same-in-2017/ ]been put on hold[/url] so still 9 riders this year

Why does anyone think Porte will do well, he always does a Teejay.

Porte doesn't always do a TJ. TJ usually runs out of legs, Porte usually runs into bad luck - punctures, errant camera motorbikes, inappropriately helpful riders on other teams, team leaders going AWOL and having to cuff the leadership despite illness etc.

Just excuses. TJ and Porte track records at the TDF are remarkably similar. In fact if anything TJ's is slightly better and he is 3 years younger.

Sorry I just don't get the Porte love in, he completely under delivers for all the hype.

Sorry I just don't get the Porte love in, he completely under delivers for all the hype.

Decent result in the Dauphine TT today. Still to be convinced he can win over 3 weeks though.

Good result for Valverde too. More headaches at Movistar!

Good result for Valverde too

On similar lines, see De Gendt has got into a spot of bother over his use of a hypoxic altitude tent.

Tricky one. Says he gets to spend more time with his family at home and it's just less of a hassle than going to altitude. But then so is taking EPO. Not explicitly banned by WADA but “probably contrary to the spirit of sport” apparently.

On similar lines, see De Gendt has got into a spot of bother over his use of a hypoxic altitude tent.

But the "spirit of the sport" is basically doing as much as you can within the rules. Failing that, as much you can without getting caught.

On similar lines, see De Gendt has got into a spot of bother over his use of a hypoxic altitude tent.

Ritchie looking good today.

Oh dear. L'Equipe is reporting rumours that Froome is looking to leave Sky and has offered his services to BMC for £5m/yr

https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Article/En-plein-doute-christopher-froome-a-des-envies-d-ailleurs/808523

Certainly links well with the showing that TJvG made, he may have got a stage win in the Giro but is he a genuine Grand Tour contender? I'm by no means an expert but he's never impressed me

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/othersport/812410/Chris-Boardman-Chris-Froome-Team-Sky-Tour-de-France-Yellow-jersey-Criterium-du-Dauphine