Belgium-based squad Predictor-Lotto is interested in having the signature of American Levi Leipheimer, third in the recent edition of the Tour de France. The 33 year-old is looking for a new team after it was announced that current team Discovery Channel will be folding it’s operations at the end of 2007.
Predictor-Lotto Team Manager José De Cauwer confirmed in an interview with La Dernière Heure that the team is motivated in having a strong general classification rider to help Australian Cadel Evans, second in the Tour. “We would like to have a second man at the side of Evans who has the capacity to ride for the classification in Grand Tours, and Leipheimer would be an ideal man,” noted the Belgian.
No decent team is going to sign him as the out and out GC guy because he isn’t one. He can’t/won’t attack which means he can’t win the overall at a grand tour. Worth signing for lower level races like the tour of california and for support in the grand tours but he is never going to get a better chance at the tour de france than this year and he couldn’t even finish as top discovery guy despite being the designated team leader.
Wow, what do you have against poor Levi? “He can’t/won’t attack” And he still only finished 31 seconds out of the yellow and if you take away that 10 seconds penalty he would have finished in 2nd in the Tour.
“No decent team is going to sign him as the out and out GC guy” What teams had a better performing GC guy in the Tour this year?
Levi had a great year maybe a little much hard riding in the Spring but still a great year. Other than that it was a pretty funny post.
What teams had a better performing GC guy in the Tour this year?
His own team and the team that this report indicates may wish to sign him…also rabobank and astana would have done if the obvious hadn’t happened. He was kinda lucky to be on the podium, he never actually looked like winning the thing.
Yes, he had a decent year. No, he’ll never win a grand tour.
“rabobank and astana would have done if the obvious hadn’t happened” you mean dopping and/or evading dopping controls? I am pretty sure that Levi placed higher at the end than anyone from those teams
“Yes, he had a decent year” I wont take the bait but that is a pretty ignorant statement. But thats what you get in a Tri forum
People who wish to lecture on ignorance should be sure that they know how to spell “doping”, especially if they call themselves a doctor
Levi seems to get way more adulation than he actually deserves around here, I’m pretty sure that it’s just because he’s American. Half the forum members seemed to think he was going to win the tour, one idiot even thought disco should have had contador pull over so levi could win because he “deserved it”. Give me a break. When he’s the fastest rider out there, that’s when he’ll deserve it…
this seems like a classic american statement where there is one winner and everyone else is a loser. oh wait let me clairify. there is one winner of ONE RACE and everyone else is a loser.
Levi is a pretty solid rider that certainly 18 of the 20 so called pro tour teams would be glad to have as their top dog. while this year might have been his best chance ever he certainly isn’t slowing down and had arguably his best year ever this year. i think the big question about his is his age - and the fact that he really only has 1 to 2 years left as a top GC guy. it’s tough for teams who are bringing up 25-29 year old GC guys to switch focus and bring in a guy like Levi to lead the team.
Not only can he bring the solid potential for results, but he also has a ton of race experience and will be a big help to a team with developing talent. Personally i hope he doesn’t sign for Predictor - his talent will be wasted if he has to wait for Cadel next year on Alp d’Huez or any other steep stage ending climb that the Tour throws into the mix…
Hmmm…Levi was ahead of Kloden in the GC prior to Astana getting dumped and Levi ended up riding the 4th fastest time trial in the history of the Tour. He destroyed everyone in that time trial! So what basis do you have to suggest Kloden would have finished ahead of Levi if not for his “misfortune”?
Well the town of Santa Rosa is throwing a party for him next Sunday here so maybe I should just ask him. He is an approachable guy and very supportive of the local cycling team here. Perhaps not the most exciting bike racer out there but he has had a pretty nice career so far. I imagine lots of American riders would love to take his victories (Dauphine’, Tour of Germany, ToC, etc).
I said “the” GC guy, not “a” GC guy, meaning that no serious team is going to put all their eggs in his basket. Witness what disco did and what predictor lotto are proposing…
There are only 1 or 2 at most truly top-notch GC guys around at any time…the ones you pretty much expect to win when they turn up to a race intending to go for it. I would say there maybe aren’t any this year in Basso’s absence.
18 of the 20 would be thrilled to have Levi, but Predictor-Lotto has Cadel Evans (who beat Leipheimer, BTW).
As for Kloden, who knows? He is certainly very strong in the TT, and Kloden beat Leipheimer in the first long TT by 1 minute. Kloden lost a few minutes due to crashes and having to wait for Vino in the mountains.
Leipheimer finished on the podium. That is a fanstastic result, but there are a few teams who regularly put guys on the podium. They want to win the whole thing, a podium finish isn’t quite good enough. The other thing is, except for the last TT, you would never have even known Leipheimer was in the race.
this seems like a classic american statement where there is one winner and everyone else is a loser. oh wait let me clairify. there is one winner of ONE RACE and everyone else is a loser.
I’m not american, I follow the whole cycling season although I do know what the most important races are but carry on…
Levi is a pretty solid rider
Agreed
certainly 18 of the 20 so called pro tour teams would be glad to have as their top dog.
Not only can he bring the solid potential for results, but he also has a ton of race experience and will be a big help to a team with developing talent.
Yup. I’m 100% certain he’ll never win a grand tour. Stuff like the T of C or dauphine is well within his reasch though and I’m sure he can offer plenty to most teams. But he’s not the guy to build a whole team and season around. Very good but not truly great.
Given that kloden is generally regarded as a better TT’er than levi and that the last few days of the tour were somewhat subdued for most of the riders not in the top 5 or so given the chicken and astana shenanigans I don’t think that you can say what would have happened in the final TT if kloden had actually gotten the opportunity to ride it. I get to suggest that Kloden might have finished ahead of levi because he usually does. We’ll never know though so we get to argue about it on the internet
