Tour de France 2012

[wy906]

Almost here. Come on Wiggins and Cavendish!

I’m going to miss the last four days of action though as I’ll be away.

Start the discussion here.....

[S10GTA]

[ewenm]

There's a Grand Tours 2012 thread running in the Pedal Powered forum already.

[wy906]

ewenm said:

There's a Grand Tours 2012 thread running in the Pedal Powered forum already.

Oh, didn't know that, cheers.

Mods - feel free to lock this thread. Thanks!

[ewenm]

[pattyg]

How long will it take before there is real friction between Wiggo and Cav.

Even the Sky picture on the OP is a little controversial with the World Champion taking a backseat. Not sure Sky can support both a GC contender and a sprinter. One ego will take a knock thats for sure.

[Yiliterate]

pattyg said:

How long will it take before there is real friction between Wiggo and Cav.

Even the Sky picture on the OP is a little controversial with the World Champion taking a backseat. Not sure Sky can support both a GC contender and a sprinter. One ego will take a knock thats for sure.

The other factor to bear in mind is Chris Froome. After his performance in the Tour of Spain, he too might well be in contention for the Yellow jersey. My suspicion is that a decision around priorities might not need to be made until well into the second week (especially if the course is mountain-lite this year)...and given the unpredictable nature of the race, it might be that by that stage fate has intervened to determine the priority anyway! Regardless, from a British perspective, it is going to be a fascinating contest...can't wait!

[Jimbo.]

pattyg said:

How long will it take before there is real friction between Wiggo and Cav.

Even the Sky picture on the OP is a little controversial with the World Champion taking a backseat. Not sure Sky can support both a GC contender and a sprinter. One ego will take a knock thats for sure.

They've throw their weight behind Wiggins, which suggests that Cav will bail before the end to concentrate on the Olympics.

[Yiliterate]

[S10GTA]

Jimbo. said:

They've throw their weight behind Wiggins, which suggests that Cav will bail before the end to concentrate on the Olympics.

Not a chance. He will want to defend his jersey. He has Bernard to help him in the mountains, and he is such a weapon in the sprints he can join any other train if needs be.

[Nom de ploom]

realistically the Olympic road race will be a sprint finish so Cav might take a slight back seat, share resources be a domestique for example to help wiggo win TDF IF the team help him win Olympic gold....?

can wiggins win the olympic road race? if so then bets are off but Cav might have to do his fair share this year after being so well supported last time out....

[London424]

Nom de ploom said:

realistically the Olympic road race will be a sprint finish so Cav might take a slight back seat, share resources be a domestique for example to help wiggo win TDF IF the team help him win Olympic gold....?

can wiggins win the olympic road race? if so then bets are off but Cav might have to do his fair share this year after being so well supported last time out....

Not massively up to speed on the ins and outs in the cycling world but have always kept an eye out on the TdF etc

I think Cav will be generally supported in the sprints in week 1, after that he will be supporting Wiggins. And in return he gets helped out for the inevitable sprint finish in the Olympics.

I was reading the other day that Cav has changed his training routine and dropped weight/bulk. Means he's not as strong a sprinter as he was (still bloody good, but relative to him), but a much better overall rider now.

[Nom de ploom]

will that damage his chances at the olympic road race then if he has lost bulk?

I would say the Olympic RR must be his top priority a tough tour can put you out of action for weeks competetively....

the uk course must be totally suited to cav, pretty flat and home support...whats not to like for him?

[ewenm]

I think the 9 circuits up Box Hill (narrow, easy to get separated from his teammates, difficult to cover breaks) were providing a minor concern for him according to his tweeting - pinch of salt application required obviously.

[anonymous-user]

S10GTA said:

Jimbo. said:

They've throw their weight behind Wiggins, which suggests that Cav will bail before the end to concentrate on the Olympics.

Not a chance. He will want to defend his jersey. He has Bernard to help him in the mountains, and he is such a weapon in the sprints he can join any other train if needs be.

He's already said he possibly won't even finish the tour and will concentrate on the Olympic road race.

Sky's priority this year is Wiggins.

[anonymous-user]

as others have said, the Sky team is centered around Wiggo and Wiggo only. Cav will have Boassan Hagen and Eisel to lead him out in the sprints but otherwise he will have to go it alone and as we saw in the worlds, he very nearly got blocked before he found a gap and squeezed through. he will be a marked man this year but also have to contend with the likes of Greipel, Sagan and Kittel, as well as Pettacchi and GreenEdge who have come out saying they want the green jersey... My biggest issue with Cav has been that he generally never contests the intermediate sprints saving everything for a "st or bust" sprint to the stage finish which can, as we saw in the Giro, go horribly wrong... he could have had the green jersey wrapped up long before Paris last year.

Eisel and EBH are a lead out train of sorts but they arent anyhting like as honed as HTC was. EBH will also be the man to go ahead with a breakaway and try to control it during the stage so might not ahve the legs for a lead out at the end of a stage. in my opinion, Cav wont be coming home with the green jersy and wont be wearing gold on the 28th July either. I'm not a pesimist, just a realist.

[Blib]

I may have dreamt this. But, isn't Cavendish pulling out before the end of the Tour to prepare for the Olympics?

[DJRC]

Pablo...did you see much of the Giro? Cav was contesting the inters.

[ewenm]

DJRC said:

Pablo...did you see much of the Giro? Cav was contesting the inters.

Which is why he almost got the points jersey. That's part of the changes that people are talking about - better in the mountains, contesting the interim sprints, doing domestique work on non-sprint stages.

[anonymous-user]

ewenm said:

DJRC said:

Pablo...did you see much of the Giro? Cav was contesting the inters.

Which is why he almost got the points jersey. That's part of the changes that people are talking about - better in the mountains, contesting the interim sprints, doing domestique work on non-sprint stages.

yes its a fair point, I only caught fleeting glimpses of the Giro. HTC could guarantee a super lead out in le tours of past so he didnt need the intermediates whereas sky can not do the same job so Cav has had to start contesting them.