That would be awesome! Wouldn't that make it 7 green jerseys? Doesn't Barloworld have a sprinter that took some stages last year?Thor isn't going to do the green.
I'm guessing it's gonna be some new young gun.
Though I would KILL to see Zabel take one more...
Zabel to decide about retirement post-Tour
Erik Zabel
Photo ©: AFP (Click for larger image)
At his team's Tour de France presentation Wednesday, Milram's Erik Zabel announced that he will soon decide about whether to continue his career into 2008. His contract with Milram is set to expire in December.
"I want to concentrate on the Tour de France and after, in August, I will make my decision," said the 37 year-old German according to the AFP. He will be contesting his 14th Tour de France, where he will contend for the green sprinter leader's jersey and stage wins. He'll celebrate his 38th birthday during the July 7th stage of the Tour.
The sprinter said he is not having any trouble with motivation now. "But it may be in the first bad hotel or during the first rainy stage that I ask myself why I'm not already done."
Zabel has won the green jersey six times during his career, from 1996 to 2001. He finished second place at the World Championships in 2004 and 2006. His career continued even after admitting in the spring of 2007 to doping while racing under the team Deutsche Telekom. in 1996.
They have a new system for doping controls....instead of actually testing they randomly select one individual from the peleton, claim he is positive, and then eject him. It should make for an exciting eventSo when do they start announcing the positive tests or the latest evidence from Puerto?
Seven, but I think they took one away technically, when he said he tried EPO in the 90s.That would be awesome! Wouldn't that make it 7 green jerseys? Doesn't Barloworld have a sprinter that took some stages last year?
Will you have web access? I'm sure you can find someplace streaming vidI'm going to miss the whole last week of it while I'm on a mountain bike vacation! I hope my DVR can hold all of it.
I read that as "steaming vid" for some reason.Will you have web access? I'm sure you can find someplace streaming vid
I read that as "steaming vid" for some reason.
Which is a lot funnier.
fabian cancellara
Sadly I feel the same way. The whole Astana thing is a big part of it - the biggest race will not be contested by all of the top riders, so it's kind of an asterisk race and a lot less interesting to me.Not that excited right now. Maybe once it starts.
you to can get streaming, steaming videoI read that as "steaming vid" for some reason.
Which is a lot funnier.
I don't know why VS has seen fit to NOT use Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin to call the stage, instead relying Bob Roll (who can't see to talk without one of 3 hand gestures) or Al Trautwig (who is just horrible). It's telling that they cut to Phil/Paul for the last hour. I mean, they're announcing for the rest of the English-speaking world, why stick those other two talking heads on the screen?I haven't got a clue as to who the contenders are anymore, but I will watch every stage of the tour.
I got a fever, and the only prescription to cure it, is Bobke.
They use Bobke/Al for us dumb Americans...I'm with you and prefer Ligget/Sherwin; those guys always know the riders and what is going on.....plus it sounds more professional when Ligget talks, I think it's his British accentI don't know why VS has seen fit to NOT use Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin to call the stage, instead relying Bob Roll (who can't see to talk without one of 3 hand gestures) or Al Trautwig (who is just horrible). It's telling that they cut to Phil/Paul for the last hour. I mean, they're announcing for the rest of the English-speaking world, why stick those other two talking heads on the screen?
Hopefully like last year the live coverage in the early AM will be Phil and Paul, with the "extended coverage" Bob/Al later. That way I can just Tivo the good version.
Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a tangent...
Phil and Paul sound more professional because they are professional cycling announcers. They do this all year long so they know who all the cyclists are. They just don't go and pop up in France once a year and pretend to know about the sport.They use Bobke/Al for us dumb Americans...I'm with you and prefer Ligget/Sherwin; those guys always know the riders and what is going on.....plus it sounds more professional when Ligget talks, I think it's his British accent
Um are you serious? I prefer Ligget and Sherwin but what you are saying isn't even true about trautwig, let alone Roll. I'm not a Trautwig fan either but he calls a fair amount of races. And to say that Roll is "pretending" to know about the sport is just looney.Phil and Paul sound more professional because they are professional cycling announcers. They do this all year long so they know who all the cyclists are. They just don't go and pop up in France once a year and pretend to know about the sport.
Um are you serious? I prefer Ligget and Sherwin but what you are saying isn't even true about trautwig, let alone Roll. I'm not a Trautwig fan either but he calls a fair amount of races. And to say that Roll is "pretending" to know about the sport is just looney.
Here is Roll finding a creative line in Paris Roubaix (sometime in the 80's I think):
That's because they're afraid of Fabian!T'aint no prologue this year. Stage 1= stage 1.
T'aint no prologue this year. Stage 1= stage 1.
Yeah, I don't know whats up with no prologue.
Its been a long time since they haven't had a prologue......I guess I need to check the course profiles
Last year I think a big part of it was he was an unknown, so they let him get away in situations where they normally wouldn't have. That won't be the case this year.Here is an anlysis of the top contenders by velonews
http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/79162/these-eight-favorites-will-battle-for-victory-in-the-2008
They say Soler has been working on his time trialing so he may be a contender for more than the KOM this year. I hope the Tour is competitive in every stage, not just Evans holding on in the hills and then bleeding everyone in the TT.