Looking forward to the Tour although I will miss the first weekend as we will be sitting in a wet field in Kent watching Bob Dillons and those Primal screamers...

1. Cadel Evans
2. Bradley Wiggins
3. Luis leon Sanchez

I cycle occasionally (not as much as I should)but as the years pass by I find myself enjoying the Tour more than any other sporting event.

1. Wiggins
2. Vicenzo Nibali
3. Evans

Love the Tour. Not a small reason is that I actually get to see most of it--it's live on TV in the US, so I can watch a little bit before I leave for work in the morning, then I can usually catch the end of the stage when I get into work. I did get to see a bit of the Giro, but the stages were usually over by the time I got into work and found a stream.

Well I've just backed Nibali each way (22/1). Still can't quite see Wiggins dominating it the way the odds would imply, and Nibali should be there or there abouts.

My heart would've said Sammy Sanchez, but you only get 25/1 on him, and his TT abilities make him far more of a longshot than that.

I can see Nibali using his descending to put the cat among the pigeons in the mountains.

Bring it on- really looking fwd to it.

Starts on Saturday and really looking forward to it, how will Cavendish compete as he is after the gold in London.

Froome to pull a surprise, do not know enough to make any serious prediction.

I read somewhere that Wiggins' odds are shorter than Armstrong was in 2003. I assume a large element of that is the British bookmakers pricing in the patriotic bets. Does anyone know the current odds from a non-British bookie?

I do fear there is going to be a lot of negative riding (Wiggins and Evans watching each other) and Sky and BMC setting a high tempo in the mountains to discourage attacks. Hopefully there will be a stage where the racing goes completely anarchic, then we'll really see what Wiggins is made of.

Wonder if this might be the year Gesink finally makes a major breakthrough. He's improved his time trialling and shown some decent form this season. If he can avoid falling off in the first week he could be a real podium candidate.

The favouritism for Wiggins seems determined by the expectation that he'll dominate the TTs, but seems to ignore how he'll do in the mountains. I know they're only spending two days in the Alps on this Tour, but they've got three in the Pyrenees, and if Wiggins gets dropped on any of those climbs it won't matter how much time he makes up in the TTs. Shame as well that the Tour pretty much misses out Brittany and the Loire altogether this year, those are the bits of France I know best.

I think Rogin, a few years ago Wiggins would not even have hoped to stay with mountain specialists in the hilly stages; but this is a different bloke now.
He's proved he can hang tough in the mountains - maybe not win any stages; but not get disgraced, Coupled with his TT's and strong team around him he could be within sniffing distance, of the podium, if not the yellow at the end.
But saying that I think the odds for him are far too short - but looking forward to it all.
I still think the dynamic between Wiggins and Cavendish and the divvying up of the support work is going to be interesting, and then if Froom gets a good couple of goodpositions - Sky may have some tricky decisions to make.

Love the Tour.

Based on nothing more than pure guesswork:

1. Sanchez
2. Nibali
3. Evans

1. Evans
2. Wiggins
3. Sanchez

Evans to ride another consistent safe race with no mistakes. Wiggins will be stronger in the TTs but will suffer on a couple of mountain days. Sanchez to gain the odd 30 or 45 seconds at the end of mountain stages by daring to attack as all the favourites watch each other, and then just hold on in the final TT.

I'm very excited.

Great effort by old Wiggo Wiggo McWiggo today. Is no one giving Cancellara a chance?, Is this because he doesn't specialize in the longer TT?. Looking forward to the next 3 weeks whatever the result.

Cancellara's more of a pure TT guy than an overall contender, he's unlikely to be able to keep up with the leaders in the mountain stages. It's doubtful that he'd even be thinking about an overall win himself, he's more likely to target stage wins (particularly in the TTs).

Given the relative lack of mountains this year, I'm hoping for some all out attacks on those stages, rather than the marking tactics of last year, particularly as there's no guarantee of being able to claw back time in a TT between say, Wiggins and Evans.

The favourites being seemingly quite evenly matched gives this Tour the potential to be particularly intriguing (in theory, anyway).

Ride of the prologue, for me Denis Menchov.

Is he a possible contender?

Yeah, he's about 3rd or 4th favourite

I do think Wiggins will win, but not by much, and the mountains will be pretty tense stuff.

I don't know where the stage is finishing today, but it really looks like one of the ugliest cities I've ever seen.

Crazy final 30km in that stage. Clever riding from Wiggins, who stuck to the wheel of Evans and let Cancellara race up the hill, only to be caught in the final sprint.

The name of the city is Seraing, phenomenally ugly.

Seraing is not somewhere I'd want to go on holiday judging by the pictures today.

Usual mad first stage. Enjoyed the old-fashioned "every man for himself" up the final hill.

Sagan is apparently the first Tour stage winner to be born in the 1990s, which is a bit scary.

On ITV4’s highlights programme last night they showed a clip of Ned Boulting asking various riders for their tip for GC. Every reply bar one was "Wiggins" in various accents. The "one" was Cadel who when asked for his tip for GC replied "erm ... well, me actually ... is that ok?" !!

I really do love the Tour de France, and I'm not sure there are many things in sports that compares with the peloton chasing down a breakaway. But I can't really take it seriously anymore. There will be a winner, and then he'll have the title stripped a few months after.

I'm a once-a-year TdF cycling kind of fan, and I just don't get the belief in Wiggins. He seems an average rider compared to Evans or even someone like Tony Martin.

Is he being tipped because the riders in his team should be able to drag him over the mountains and he'll do his bit in the TTs?

Matchenko wrote:


A pity that, not an uncommon view though. I'm sure there will always be cheats in the sport, particulary when human endurance is pushed to such levels, but isn't there a consensus that cycling is probably at it's cleanest for many a year?.