by In the blinking of an eye another TDF is over and the World Cup races
are back with us raising a plethora of questions:
Is there cycling after the TDF?
Will Armstrong be trying to win this one or just training for next
year's TDF :-)
Will Dekker maintain his lead in the World Cup?
With a new cat 3 climb shoved in just 13km from the finish will the
Telekom boys be able to bring it back together for a bunch sprint for
Zabel?
Will Tchmil just keep on adding to his never-ending list of amazing
rides - I can picture him launching an attack prior to the final climb
and just managing to stay away despite the best efforts of a chasing
group of 4 or 5 - isn't that how he wins most of his races ?
Will riders like Jens Voight, who did well in the TDF, capitalise on
their new found confidence and surprise the big names?
Can Domo show the world that they can ride well in races that aren't run
over cobblestones and in horrendous conditions? (this course would seem
to suit Axel Merckx to a T)
Will Davide Rebellin finally get to stand on the top of the podium again
- he seems to be a regular on the other steps lately, although he did
win this race way back in 1997. I know that is more than 3 years ago
but as has been pointed out elsewhere, cycling did actually exist then -
indeed a big muscled Texan won this race way back in 1995!
Will Casagrande again find himself in a small group with 5km to go and
no one willing to work - hasn't he figured out yet that if his break
away companions have decided not to work then waving his hands at them
is unlikely to change their minds and he should just put his head down
and ride them off his wheel? If he needs tips on how to drop a
wheelsucker then he need look no further than RBR....
Will Jaja, full of confidence from his great rides in the TDF recapture
some of his former glory and add this great race to his impressive and
perhaps already forgotten by many, palmares?
There are of course, many other riders who must consider their chances
at winning better than average.
As much as I would enjoy the Tchmil scenario above, I think that this
could well be the race for Axel Merckx.
Any other picks?
Michael - attempting to insert some discussion on bicycle racing back
into the forum.