How else is going to win, the only other option is Thomas IMO? One of the 2 French riders nope, Nibali after the Giro, Quintana or one of the Yates, haha. True there wasn’t anyone special at the Tour of Swiss, but there isn’t anyone special at the TDF. The only really special ones either have the Giro in their legs or are out from injury. I think the only real question of who wins the tour is, which Ineos rider is on the top step. Which has been the same question for quite a while.

Last year, Nibs was going very well till he crashed out. And if you recall the top 2 in the Giro were the 2-3 in the TdF...

Jack

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They also had an extra week to recover in between last year.

Si, loco. Es verdad.

Iran, Pinot, Bardet
Green Jersey: Groenwagon
Polka dot: some dude from Astana

I started listening to the song then kept listening, then started laughing. Good one.

The whole spate of injuries and subsequent scratches from the start list is loco.
I haven’t kept up but,

Froome- legit. He did a Wiley Coyote into the side of a house. Can’t fake that.
Tom Dump- lingering knee? Wasn’t he game time decision for Giro? Still not right?
Geraint Thomas- crashed hard. How hard? Clavicle?
Porte is not hurt. Odd.
Who else is out? Is someone hiding in a hut outside of Bogota?
Gaviria- wha happened?
Gotta catch up. Wondering if the dope po po is zeroing in.......

You’ve mostly got it. TD was having lingering knee issues and had a procedure to remove piece of embedded gravel a couple weeks ago. Apparently he’s aiming for Vuelta.

With he and Froome out, Bernal’s relative inexperience and Nibs having done Giro, doesn’t seem like there’s really a 5 star fav.

But at least there’s Horner on the mic for NBC. If the dope federales show up he’ll be able to offer useful insight.

Fue horible. Me duele aun.

Puro colombiano para el gusto de trail. Si es verdad, tenemos que leer El Pais cada dia.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

who are the two announcers on Cyclingnews broadcast of us mens road race ?

Was probably Brad Sohner and.....

Looks like Flobikes will do the TdF for Canada peeps. Maybe time to fire up the T Bear and tunnel north?

Alex Howes. Nice ride, exciting race.

https://www.facebook.com/...os/2589981194345540/

Gotta be happy for him. Long time coming.

Where the bettors are putting their money. https://www.sbnation.com/...ernal-jakob-fuglsang

Geraint Thomas: 9-4
Egan Bernal: 11-2
Jakob Fuglsang: 11-2
Adam Yates: 12-1
Richie Porte: 14-1
Nairo Quintana: 16-1
Thibaut Pinot: 18-1
Mikel Landa: 20-1
Steven Kruijswijk: 20-1
Enric Mas Nicolau: 25-1
Romain Bardet: 25-1
Vincenzo Nibali: 30-1
Rigoberto Uran: 30-1
Wouter Poels: 40-1
Emanuel Buchmann: 60-1
Daniel Martin: 80-1
Alejandro Valverde: 80-1
Rohan Dennis: 80-1
Tejay Van Garderen: 100-1
Fabio Aru: 150-1
George Bennett: 200-1
Julian Alaphilippe: 200-1
David Gaudu: 250-1
Wilco Kelderman: 250-1
Rafal Majka: 250-1

I would give Julian Alaphilippe better odds. No Kasper Asgreen. No Deceuninck–Quick-Step (or did I miss someone)?

No Mas, who some of you have mentioned.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

"Fuglsang, meanwhile, is 34 and has never finished in the top 10 of a Grand Tour" - except his 7th place in 2013, I guess?

Thanks for the comments about me earlier in this thread, by the way. Will be interesting what Asgreen can do in the Tour TT if he's allowed to focus on it (if it's a flat'ish TT, haven't checked the course).

Cavendish not going to the Tour:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/48838998

Sad to say I think this might be the end for him.

We always like watching your spectacular results!

In other news, Cav is not selected for the Tour. Probably the right decision. Is this the end?

Is there a line on whether Richie Porte makes it through Stage 9 this year? Over/Under how many stages he finishes?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Ouch........

No fun watching Cav decline. Sadness accrues.

hahaha yes, we could have some side bets on that.

Maybe some interesting predictions would be who will NOT be in the top 5 at race end. As there have been GC predictions, would it be too soon to suggest who won't be in the top 5?

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Looking at that list, there are two obvious riders to short: Thomas and Porte.

Thomas has a good chance of winning, but 9:4 seems high.

And Porte at 14:1? Not that I have anything against Richie, but Hmmmmmm.

I actually think both Richie and Bardet are too low on the list. They're among the top 5 favourites IMO.

Agree Thomas odds are too short, it's more through an absence of credible alternatives than anything else.

On the other hand I think Porte might be a good outside bet. I'd say he's very similar to Thomas a year ago as a rider who has all the ability to win a GT but plagued by unfortunate crashes or bad days when over-extending himself riding for a leader. Not a favourite but if things go his way for a change he could suddenly find himself in a similar position to Thomas last year.

I agree with you that Bardet is placed too low.

But come on, Porte? His best Tour finish was 5th in 2016. He surfed wheels consistently that year and had a good TT (4th). Other years he's been well outside the top 10 or crashed out. He hasn't shown much this year. 11th at the Dauphine? Meh.

Don't get me wrong - I'll be cheering for him and Bardet both!

His top 5 included an unfortunate puncture in the last two kilometers in an earlier stage, and the famous incident on Mt Ventoux (Froome running without his bike) that both had negative effect on his placement and he couldn't do much about (I guess he was somewhat at fault, not attentive enough, re. the incident on Ventoux).

I'm not saying he won't have bad luck or crash again, but if he doesn't, he's among the favourites IMHO. I think he purposefully didn't show too much at the Dauphine. Keeping all his ammunition for the tour. I could be wrong. I guess we'll see.

Porte has the makings of a real enigma. An able rider in support of others; yet, a rider unable to make it to the top. From memory, it seems like he did his best riding in service to others. Some people are like that as they excel as part of a team result.

Perhaps this is why there are so many more domestiques than leaders. Domestiques sign up to subjugate their ride. Yet, when we have someone like Michal Kwiatkoski still riding as a lieutenant while Richie Porte is a leader, I shake my head. Hopefully Kwiatkoski is making more money than Porte and likes not being the center of attention. Being the center of attention hasn't seemed to help Porte.

Surprise me Richie and podium this year while making the TdeF competitive due to your riding and not following. And the same for a few others...

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.