Andy Schleck out of the Tour!

Apparently he was more seriously injured than thought in that crash at the Daupine.

Or maybe the bad feeling in the team and bad form were just too much

C’mon Wiggo! Anything to stop Evans wheelsucking his way to the podium for another time.

This could be decisive.

If Radioshack-Nissan-Livestrong-Leopard-Trek position the injured Andy just beyond the finish line Frank will race twice as hard to get to him.

schleckchute premature deployment !

SPOILER!!!

🙂

It’s a shame – the Tour needs a good climber who’s utterly useless against the clock for entertainment value.

Anything to stop Evans wheelsucking his way to the podium for another time.

Did you actually watch the Tour last year!? 😯

C’mon Wiggo! Anything to stop Evans wheelsucking his way to the podium for another time.

Do you watch any road cycling?

clubber beat me to it!

To be honest ohnohesback Evans has been a bit transformed since his World Champ win. I find him quite good to watch these days.

I think it’s a shame if true about Andy, I don’t think he would have challenged for the win, but it would have been nice to see him animate the mountain stages.

Anyway – as Brad said a few months ago – there’s always someone new who pops up and animates the race (e.g. Voeckler last year).

Pierra Rollan and Chavanel are 2 to warch out for!

I’m not that familiar with Rollan but I reckon a good result for Chavanel would be top 10 can’t see him getting on the podium. At the moment I’d fancy the podium as an all english speaking affair Wiggins, Evans, Hesjedal.

Do you not think Hesjedal will be knackered from the Giro?

Andy

Now I feel bad for thinking he was weak in the Dauphine – according to @inrng on twitter he’s got a fractured vertebra, apparently. I reckon you’re allowed to climb off if you’ve actually broken your back. Fair play to him for trying to carry on, he’s gone up in my estimation there.

I’d rather watch Wiggins win against the best climbers, so I see it as a disappointment.

Do you not think Hesjedal will be knackered from the Giro?

Don’t think he’ll challenge for the win this year but I reckon he’s got enough to make it to the podium (just).

1. Wiggo
2. Cuddles
3. Sanchez

Green: Cav

Sky dominate the 2012 tour.

Bring it on. Never been a year like it for British chances in the TDF.

i liked cuddles attack over the joux plane the other day.

ultimately flawed, but a nice, ‘**** you guys i could go if i wanted’ to team sky.

always good to see a favourite actally attack!

I’m going to call 2 of Sky on the podium. Whichever is the best climber on the day out of Porte and Rogers.
Wiggo
Evans
Porte/Rogers

I’m also going to predict that Cav leaves the race after stage 6.

Where is Franck 😉

If Evans is a wheel sucker then what the hell does that make Wiggo? He just stays in touch as long as he can & recovers the difference in the time trial.
I would love to see Wiggins win though, and I hope he can do it in style like Evans last year.

I very much look forward to the tour & it’s a sad loss for all interested spectators if Andy S doesn’t ride. His dismal TT ability forces to him to push in the mountains.

Without Schleck or Bertie I can’t help but feel it risks becoming a bit of a non-event…. They have clearly been the very elite of the climbers in recent years.

im not convinced that cav will take the green.

i know wiggins has said he will support cav as a lead out train where possible

but that leaves cav very exposed in the mountains with no team to work for him – eisel might keep him motivated and in the game though

id love to see a wiggins yellow , cav green domination though – followed by an olympic TT and road race whitewash …..

** Latest **

Armstrong signs for radioshack

😉

id love to see a wiggins yellow , cav green domination though – followed by an olympic TT and road race whitewash …..

That’s the stuff of dreams. Only a crazy man would say it out loud.

as above with repspect to wiggos technique

also makes the early season races more interesting due to people actaually attacking – pleased to see him win that odd climbers sprint for example…

sadly the tour is so often won in the limiting losses/good time trialling camp rather than the balls out mountain singfle stage domination of the 80’s and so on.

“Tis a shame”

I hope Sagan rides for Liquigas, I’d love to see him v Cav and also see how he does in the medium mountains. He’s not quite there on the really big ones, but for the smaller ones, he could do something.

I hope he can do it in style like Evans last year.

STYLE STYLE are you crazy?

Do you remember him refusing to try in the mountains as his plan was to sit there and then win it on the TT

How many stages did he win in “STYLE”

That is not style , efficient, well planned
, well executed but it is not STYLE
FWIW wiggo will do the same IMHO

STYLE

How many turs have you seen? 😯

Lance giving the look = STYLE
Lemond = Style
Bertie = STYLE
Cuddles = YAWN

Sorry been a long day but i fail to see how anyone can think cuddles won in style

Shame Bertie isn’t therE? not it’s not! Shame Andy isn’t there, no it’s not!! They are buffoons 😉

I would be nice to see Wiggo win, and I really quite like the bloke but something is nagging at the back of my mind! Cav for green, yeah no problem, Sky is a formidable team they would not forgo Wiggo for Cav and vice versa.

People are forgetting Chris Froome??? He could be in for a top 10 position I think.

null

I shall say no more….carry on

This is disappointing 🙁 A tour sans Bertie et Schlekster is hardly worth watching….now wiggo just has to stay on his bike to get the yellow in Paris.
I would love to see some decent competition from the likes of Evans, Frank and the Sanchezs, and I really hope the young Movistar guy, Quintana (I think) gives Sky a run for their money. However, with 3 TT’s this year no one else stands a chance.
Can’t take anything away from Wiggos performance in the Dauphine and he fully deserves to be favourite

Are there any cracking downhill finishes for the remaining Shreck to have a moan about!? That was awesome last year, and I want to see more of Voeckler trying to kill himself on said crazy descents!

shame if you ask me, who are the press going to pick on now?
regardless of his injury, everyone will think that Schleck has fannied out because of bad form.

hopefully there’ll be some other skinny yoof ready to take on all in the mountains and contend for the GC – there’s bound to be someone – there are plenty of good climbers out there who will try anyway.

Wiggo vs. Cuddles will just be a grindathon, which should be tense, but hardly exciting.

i liked cuddles attack over the joux plane the other day.

he “attacked” over the crest of the hill… why didn’t he do it earlier? probably because he didn’t have it in him.

Apart from him wiggling up a hill a bit he’s an average rider IMHO, Andy that is. He’s never in a break, never out the front, just hidden and protected..

Still, whose left? Bit open this year init..