maddash wrote:
One of the best Tours since the days of Lance and Jan Ullrich battling it out. I'm bummed for the Schlecks. I'm a big fan of Andy and it's tough to see him finish second once again, but Cadel earned the Maillot Jaune. Some great young French riders coming up into the scene, and with Voeckler's run this year that should provide some inspiration for a resurgence in French cycling.
I am not sure Schleck will ever win a Tour unless he improves his time trialing and descending skills. He is a fantastic climber, but his time trialing is pretty poor (though 17 in today's stage isn't terrible, but he still lost almost 3 minutes). The whole deal with the Tour is that you face the best riders on the planet, and you need to be pretty well rounded to win. Contador is proving to be a pretty good time trialer. Lance was great at it. And so on.
Could not agree more about the French. 5 riders in the top 15. Peraud, the former mountain biker, finishes 9th in his first Tour? That's amazing. Rolland wins convincingly on Alpe d'Huez and takes the white jersey. It's good to see the French coming back.