Levi isn't strong enough for him to be the protected rider in a GC contender capacity. Other than a team defending yellow for a few days early, it's going to be up to BMC, Saxo and Radio-Schleck to control all the decisive stages. Everyone else will sit back and then take shots at opportune times. Levi and Martin both riding for high GC makes them a more serious threat, although I doubt any of the aforementioned teams will lose that much sleep over them.

That said, I don't think Martin is a serious contender. In yellow for a few days, yes. Top 10, most likely. Maybe even top 5 if everything goes right and he makes that his primary goal.

Has anyone actually bothered to read the article?

It says he wants to wear the yellow jersey and get a good overall GC...nothing about winning overall.

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I think people are misreading what Martin is saying in the article. Taking home a yellow jersey and going for a good GC is not saying he's trying to win.

Based on the Ventoux stage, Paris-Nice, the 2012 parcours, and the fact that he doesn't have to chase down the break/setup for Mark Cavendish-I think he can get top-10.

overall, good GC, or just a single yellow jersey will all depend on whether he has good masking agents. Just like everyone else.

Agree, he never said he was going to win, just wanted a higher GC placing. He's worked a lot for Cav and still was able to pull off some great results. He was also 4th on stage 16 I think, right before winning 20. When you look at his wins at P-N, Volta au Algarve and 2nd at Romandie, he's more than just a TTer.

Btw, check the vid on my FB page (it's uploading now). There might be a glimpse of eganski 2012 in it.

Oh, the suspense is killing me! I thought maybe Megan Fox finally released that video we made together.

Can we start calling Levi LOLevi?

Please elaborate......Saying Tony is doping like everyone else?

Prepare to be disappointed about that one. And the WiFi speed of the hotel I'm at ensures more suspense.

Cancalarra won the tour de Suisse but nobody it touting him as a tdf winner. Tony is one of my favorite riders, he should be a classics guy not a skinny mountain goat.

ummm....yup

they're all doping. some to keep up, some to win. but whatever, they're still total badasses.

I think its cleaner.........They are not "all" doping
Sad that you think you have to call them all dopers. Any emperical evidence on calling Martin a doper, or all are doping................There were even clean guys in the epo era, the early 2000's to.

maybe, but the clean ones are the exception not the rule.
many of those thought to be clean have turned up dirty, many never tested positive and subsequently admitted to it.
it IS a bit of a bummer, I agree. But their athletic ability is still undeniable. The strongest riders are likely still winning, its just that the speeds are so inflated by the dope. The only rider that I genuinely believe to have been clean at the tour was jon vaughters....based on 1st hand info from coaches and staff on the tour.

To:based on 1st hand info from coaches and staff on the tour....................Ah, please tell.....This should be good....................Speeds so inflated, really,,,,,,uh sorry buddy but power outputs are down. So Sastre was dirty, Evans. ................Only one guy clean. Well for those if us that have been around since before the epo era and are still watching cycling today. Your comments really show your knowledge.
So what is this first hand info? What team and coaches do you know? I am not naive to the doping issues. I was around when people thought the festina affair would change things, just to have what happened 8 years later to prove false........If you have watched how tactics have changed,strategy of teams you would know that there has been a change. To paint all with the same brush that things are like 1993 or 99 or 2005 is foolish. ......but if you have first hand knowledge I am open to hear it......

What team does Jon Vaughters ride for? Why only him clean? First hand knowlege, what team are you talking to?

You don't know how exciting it would be to hear Phil LIggett again saying, "the big German is a diesel," "the big German is a beast of a man," "watch him turn himself inside out to carry his huge carcass up this mountain"....you get it. That alone would be worth Martin making a run for the podium!

his huge carcass... all 165lbs of it.

Yes! Luckily 165lbs fits inside his suitcase of courage! I remember when my wife asked just how big Jan was after listening to Phil go on and on about him...I told her he was my size, 6ft and 160lbs...not quite what she expected after hearing Phil's commentary about the "huge German diesel."

He rode with LA on postal then moved around a bit. Now he runs Garmin-Cervélo.

Its cool. Believe whatever you want. I don't have a huge stake in whether or not my voice is perceived as credible.
Nor do I care if they're doping. The tour is a beautiful event in any case.

here is what you posted....:"The only rider that I genuinely believe to have been clean at the tour was jon vaughters....based on 1st hand info from coaches and staff on the tour.
.......I know who Vaughters road for,,,,,and you do not know much, especially first hand knowledge because a lot of evidence Vaughters doped in his career......Thats why I asked, because you were saying Vaughters was a rider when he has been retired for years...............Interesting that you would post he is a clean rider then say all the guys are doped.........so all "his" riders are doped.....Actually Garmin has a reputation of trying to change things and being clean. With some other teams.
If your going to say you have first hand knowledge from coaches and teams,,,,,,,step up to the plate and say so........You can always ask Gerard who post here, you know he is Gerard Vrooman of Cervelo

2. Don't underestimate the power that some of the climbers are able to put out. Guys like Schleck or Contador have FTP in the range of 400-420w and they are 140-150lbs. Chancellara likely is sitting around 500w (based on old race) at about 180lbs. He is also (much) bigger than both of them needing to punch a bigger hole through the air and overcome the difference between their weight.

It also doesn't help that many of the TT's in the tour take place after some very difficult stages where the TT specialists are required to set a very fast pace to bring back any breakaways or close some gaps. It takes a bit of a toll.

do you have data to back that up?

the top of the FTP chart is anchored to Boardman's performance for the hour record. Purported 442W at 69kg/ 6.40w/kg.

Contador is 135lbs. With a ftp of 420, that's 6.84
ASchleck is 150lbs. With a ftp of 450, that's 6.60
Cancellara, at 180lbs, would have ftp of 6.72.

All three seem a bit on the high side.

As Jordano pointed out he was a survivor from the day's break, he didn't attack from the group, and he benefited from a fairly pedestrian ascent of ventoux by the favourites. He's good but he's not that good.

Martin has more stage race results on tougher courses than any Tour de Suisse. And Riis has speculated about Fabian being a potential TdF contender...

It is interesting to speculate what some of the bigger guys would be capable of if they had no responsibilities. I have the video of the year Sastre won, and have watched it many times while on the rollers. Cancellara's performance in that tour is stunning in terms of output, including huge sections of less steep climbs.

Sorry I should have phrased that much better.

Contador, we aren't entirely sure but we can guess it is around 400w.
Andy has said in interviews his FTP is around 420w (although there may be some exaggeration on his part, but we can't be sure)
Fabians number comes from a prologue TT stage. Holding 550w for 8-10 minutes should put his FTP within the 500w range.