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[cyclist]

More from Bicycling.com:

There are Six Ways to Beat Contador


The Spaniard has won the Tour de France three times, but there is enough strategy to outwit him — like finishing second at this year's race

 
Bogdan Cristel / Reuters
Alberto Contador of Spain holds a Spanish flag as he takes his lap of honor around the Champs Elysees in Paris, after winning the 96th Tour de France on July 26, 2009.



By Whit Yost

updated 4:29 p.m. ET June 22, 2011

As soon as he announced his plans to race the 2011 Tour de France, Saxo Bank-SunGard’s Alberto Contador became the favorite to take victory. So the question for every other contender and their coaches is, how do we beat this guy?

Here, then, are Bicycling.com’s top tips on how to beat Contador.

1. Steal time in the TTT
While certainly not the weakest team in the race, Saxo Bank does not possess the team-time-trial firepower it had in years past. Gone are powerful rouleurs like Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt. Their replacements — men like Daniel Navarro, Jesus Hernandez, and Benjamin Noval — are suited more for high mountains than flat, rolling terrain.

While Saxo Bank won’t lose minutes against the clock, they will likely lose time to more TTT-oriented squads like Team Sky, RadioShack, Garmin-Cervelo, and Leopard-Trek. Remember, Contador won two of his three Tours by less than a minute. Every bit counts!

2. Make life difficult for Contador and his team during the first week
Contador will likely come to the Tour having raced only once following his dominant win in May’s Giro d’Italia — and that race is likely to be the Spanish individual time trial championship. After a race as difficult as the Giro and several weeks away from racing, it’s safe to say Contador will have quite a bit of rust to shake off his legs.

This year will also be the first time that Contador comes to the Tour without having completed a pre-Tour stage race such as the Criterium du Dauphiné. He’ll need a few days to reacquaint himself with the speed of a fresher peloton. The first week of this year’s race is anything but straightforward: Wind and rain could be a factor in Brittany, while two stages offer tricky summit finishes.

If Contador and his teammates don’t mind their p’s and q’s, an opportunist could easily steal some time they might want back later in the race.

3. In the Pyrenees, attack Contador before he attacks you
In every stage race he enters, Contador is usually the first to attack once the high mountains arrive. During Stage 9 of this year’s Giro d’Italia, for example, Contador took the race right to his rivals, attacking on the slopes of Mount Etna, the Giro’s first major summit finish.

At this year’s Tour de France, Bastille Day (July 14) brings the first major climbs when the race hits the Pyrenees with a brutal 130-mile day offering three serious climbs. Teams with multiple captains (RadioShack) or powerful lieutenants (Leopard-Trek) might want to consider sending someone like Jani Brajkovic or Frank Schleck out on the attack as early as the Tourmalet (the day’s second to last climb).

Such a move would put pressure on Contador and his team to defend, while placing a key ally up the road for team leaders Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer, and Andy Schleck to have at their sides during the final ascent to Luz Ardiden.

4. Overwhelm his team
Contador won the Giro largely by himself. His team helped a bit, but they were generally absent when he might have needed them most (luckily, he didn’t).

At the Tour, though, Contador can’t afford to be isolated. Stage 14 from Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille would be a good day to try and single out the Spaniard. With four difficult climbs on tap before the final drag to the hors categorie summit of Plateau de Beille, the day will be tough to control, especially as it comes after two tough Pyrenean days.

The Plateau de Beille has been used on four occasions, and each time the winner went on to win the Tour.

5. In the Alps, there’s strength in numbers
In cycling, many races have been lost when rivals refuse to band together in an attempt to overpower one of their competitors. Unsportsmanlike? Absolutely not. Riders in a breakaway work together to overcome a chasing peloton. So why not work together in the mountains to overburden the race leader?

If Contador rides into the Alps wearing the yellow jersey, his closest competitors will have no choice but to band together, attacking constantly in a coordinated assault on the Spaniard and his team. Stage 18 is the day to do it. With three HC climbs, including the Tour’s highest ever stage finish atop the Galibier, it might be the last chance for the competition to try to make Contador explode.

But should Contador wear yellow heading into Stage 19’s battle up l’Alpe d’Huez, he’ll wear it all the way to Paris.

6. Finish second
On August 1, a hearing will begin in which the UCI and WADA will appeal the Spanish cycling federation’s decision not to sanction Contador for a positive drug test during last year’s Tour de France. If the appeal is granted and the Spanish decision is overturned, Contador stands to have all of his results dating back to last year’s Tour forfeited.

In other words, the man who finishes second in this year’s could become the 2011 champion. Stranger things have happened. Just ask 2006 Tour winner Oscar Pereiro.

[cyclist]

Since the TDF is not so news-worthy today, here is an article (from 2003, PEZ) on Phil Liggett, British cycling announcer:

Phil Liggett: The Pez-Clusive Interview
Monday, February 24, 2003  9:50:00 AM PT

by Richard Pestes



   It's been said that Phil Liggett can make anyone he meets feel like an old friend, just from chatting... That's how I felt after I talked to him last week from his home 40km outside London - like I'd just finished shooting the poop with an old buddy. In reality I've only met Phil in person once, about 10 years ago at the Tour. He is truly a unique individual - a special guy. What separates him from his contemporaries and from most people - is his way of connecting with people on some level we're not even ware of - familiarity, honesty, friendliness - it's tough to nail down, but if you've ever met Phil you know what I'm talking about. For that matter, you get a good sense of it just by watching one of his race commentaries - he really is the same guy we see on televison! 

We reconnected via phone from his home 40km outside London to do this interview, and find out more about the most recognized cycling commentator in the English-speaking world.



I was first struck by his openness to chat with fans in 1990, while following the Tour near Mt. Blanc. A buddy and I had just spied Phil covering the Tour for ABC tv, filming his end of day wrap-up in a field beside the final climb of the day's stage. After much courage-building ("we're not worthyyyyy"), we finally approached Phil and asked if he'd help us play a joke on our buddies. We were more than a little shocked when Phil happily agreed to staging a fake interview with me, as if I was actually riding the Tour. He was so cool and professional about it, not at all what I'd expected from a media personality of his stature.


The impression he left was huge, and I was eager to ask if he remembered our meeting, and find out more about the most recognized cycling commentator in the English-speaking world, what it's like to "be Phil Liggett".


JUST THE FACTS
- Hometown: Bebington, near Liverpool and Chester. Live now in Bayford, 25 miles n-e of London on a farm estate.

- Favourite Piece of Furniture: "An airplane seat, but not by choice."

- Favourite Non-cycling Activity: "Bird watching and walking."

- Which languages do you speak? "A little French when Paul Sherwen’s not around."

- Do you have a website our readers could visit? "I have, but there’s nothing on it!"



Traveling about 200 days per year, Phil meets more than his share of monkeys, but truly loves what he does.


THE REAL DEAL
RP - I've often wondered about the path you traveled that led you to your place as the premier English-speaking cycling commentator. Can you tell us a bit about your career history, the jobs you held and your involvement in racing that brought you here?

PL - This is a complicated trail without a guide. I started out as a zoo keeper in Chester Zoo and an ambition to be a zoologist. This failed, largely trough parental lack of funds, and I took up accountancy for three years. I always rode a bike (to go fishing) and wanted to be a professional after I moved into touring riding. I always talked a lot (so I was told) and had a great imagination – all good for a writer and commentator. I started to race when almost 18 and quickly became a 1st category rider. I went to Belgium in 1966 to be a pro and got a contract for 1967. However, I had also applied for a job in London as a trainee journalist with Cycling Magazine. I didn’t get the job first time around, but was offered it later and took it , so no pro contract and I had made the hardest decision of my life. I raced for about 8 years as a reasonably good amateur after this and lost so much weight trying to do two jobs, I retired. My path took me to organising the Milk Race for 22 years and during this time I fell into radio, writing and eventually TV commentating. I am the luckiest person in the world because I never asked for any of the jobs, and still don’t. Everywhere I worked, other networks offered me jobs like CBS and NBC in the US, and C7, 9 and 10 and SBS, in Australia. I have always followed my nose and so far, it has not let me down.


RP - You must have a very supportive wife, as being away from home can be tough on any relationship. How do you maintain the homelife while on the road?

PL - I have indeed, although the older we get the more difficult it is to travel. Pat has her own business and lectures on the body and dance science at university. It is difficult to get quality time together, but I’ve given up trying to work that out. We’ve been married for over 30 years, but life gets no easier!


RP - Tell us a bit about your history as a cyclist... We've been watching you for years on the tele, but 've often wondered about your own time as a racer. Did you ride professionally? How long was your racing career - any notable results?

PL - I think this was answered in No 1. I raced from 17 to about 29, but after taking my journalist path, at 23 I was only allowed to race by the magazine providing it was the major event of the weekend, so I had to stay very fit. The result was I lost weight (to 135lbs) so I stopped. I didn’t ride at all for a while, but that didn’t last long and now ride as much as possible wherever I go. I won races, and one season felt like Sean Kelly, with 15 second places, but I never won anything worth noting.


Personal appearances, like signing autographs at Interbike, are a big part of a job Phil loves.


RP - For many fans and riders, cycling means much more to us than just riding a bike, it's freedom, power, a metaphor for life's struggles and triumphs - What does it represent to you? Can you share a memorable anecdote that signifies what the sport means to you?

PL - I’m sure cycling is no different to any other sport that becomes your life. For me I cherish the moments away from the limelight, but I am never happier than when I am riding a bike and can stop atop a mountain and look out at the world. The sport and pastime,( I’m also president of the Cyclists’ Touring Club, which has a membership of 70,000 and look after the rights of cyclists) has been kind to me and led me to meet many great people – from youngsters growing up with ambition to the likes of Lance Armstrong. I have a million tales to tell, but they can all come under the same umbrella of having enjoyed the company of people who have found the same incentives and pleasure of our hobby, as I have.


RP - You are considered by many a true gentleman in the sport. At signing sessions at Interbike, not only did people go away with an autograph or a picture, I would imagine every single person walked away feeling like they made a friend. Is it the love of the sport, or the love of people and the job that make you the person you are.

PL - This is embarrassing! I am what you see and do what I do – there is nothing false! I never cease to be amazed at how people want to meet me, tell me their stories, and stay nice things. I look at myself on TV and say “why”. Perhaps it is because they can see themselves in me or feel I have never outgrown my place in life. I often go to bed tired, occasionally wondering why I do it. Then I lie down and think, but if I’ve made a few people happy on TV today, then I can sleep with a clear conscience. I have met so many people around the world who have given me so many wonderful stories of their lives, I often feel very inadequate.


RP - Did any of the guys you rode with on the continent go on to big things? Did you see guys racing on the amateur scene with you, then commentate on/write about them in later years?

PL - Yes, Eddy Merckx did, I believe. He was too good for me and indirectly prompted my decision to be a journalist, as I would never have been as good as he was. (we raced together in belgium in 1966) Most of my contemporaries still race as masters these days. I’m sure they would still beat me too. I have written about them, and some have even built me a bike, like Pete Matthews, who was once the British road champion.



Phil was once a zoo keeper, perhaps this is where he learned to "talk to the animals."

ON THE JOB
RP - What's you favorite part of your job? What particular moment do you look forward to at races that gives you special satisfaction or pleasure? (ie: meeting riders, calling the race, the atmosphere?)

PL - Calling the race is the best moment. You sit down with thoughts in you mind and if you manage to get them all out during the commentary and call the race accurately and with panache, then I walk away on a high. I prefer to observe riders from afar and make my own opinion. Don’t misunderstand me, I am friends with many of them and often ride with them, but I prefer to be in a position to form an opinion without coloring from them. One of the greatest satisfactions is having known the rider from being a young amateur, to when he wins a stage of the Tour de France – like Robbie McEwen, for example. My wife, Pat used to be his masseuse when on the Australia national squad when he was 18. We are good friends and he has become the great rider we said he would be.


RP - You seem to be involved in a lot more than just television reporting. What are some of the other projects you have on the go?

PL - I do ski jumping and the opening and closing ceremonies for American and Australian networks at Olympic and Commonwealth Games. CBS pulled me into this in 1991 and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I have commentated on many sports since like four-man bobs, cross country skiing, water polo, judo. And still do the ESPN coverage for Ironman races. I was asked to do this summer’s World athletic championships from Paris, but felt I couldn’t do it justice just after the end of the Tour de France, and turned it down. Commentating is only easy if you have done your research well and it is too easy to ruin your reputation.


RP - You must have an incredible amount of gadgets to keep you connected from various parts of the world. What essential items do you never leave home without when heading off to cover a race?

PL - My laptop is my office and I have all the riders’ records in every discipline just in case. I also have a lot of friends around the world who e-mail me every day. It is much easier now to stay on top with the internet sites, but 20 years’ ago you had to work really hard to find things out. I devised my own records years ago and this allows me to bring up things in commentary that many may have forgotten. The thing about being a TV commentator is that you must remember most things as you make a spontaneous live comment. Gone are the days when, as a writer, I could refer back and make sure my facts were 100 per cent solid before signing the article off.


LET'S TALK RACING
RP - Favourite Race To Report On and why?

PL - The Tour de France for the past 30 years. It has no equal and the riders arrive frightened and stay that way to the end. The pressure is on everyone to give their best, be they rider, writer, or TV man. Every other race has it’s place, but there is only one REAL race.


RP - Who gets your vote for the greatest of all time?

PL - I’ve never hesitated; Merckx is my man – after all he changed my career direction! He dominated the sport like no other during his time at the top. Since retiring he has become a great man and stayed with the sport he has always loved. There are others I will always admire, like Lance and Sean Kelly. I was not around, believe it or not, when Coppi was the star, otherwise, I might have been influenced.


RP - Who gets your vote for the most dedicated, hard worker of all time, someone who did the most with not as much talent as the big guns.

PL - All pros at the top are hard workers, but I know what you mean. Sean Yates comes to mind as the super domestique who finally got his reward with a day in the yellow jersey in the Tour. I have no other in mind, but I always appreciate the trier in the sport and am so happy when he pulls off a big win – like Aussie Matt White in the Tour of Switzerland. Matt is a teammate of Lance and dedicates himself to helping others win.


RP - What was the greatest feat, race effort you ever saw - For example
Museeuw winning Paris-Roubaix after breaking his knee cap? Lemond
winning the Tour then Worlds in 89? Lance winning the Tour after
cancer?

PL - Well, you’ve named three of them and I was there for each one. There was also Stephen Roche’s big three in 1987. Stephen matured in one year with his battle with Visentini and tifosi in the Giro, Delgado in the Tour (especially on la Plagne)and he entered the World’s to help Kelly win, but had to do it for himself in the final sprint. In every race, riders make heroic efforts, but many are never seen or spoken of.


RP - Where do you see cycling on the world's sporting front in 10 years
from now?

PL - In 10 years – going pretty much as it is now, but further down the road I fear for it. The sport relies on access to roads and towns and they are clogging up at an alarming rate. The sport needs youngsters and plenty of them. On the plus side, venues around the world are realising that cycling and racing can sell their areas to the touring public and reach places farther away then ever. It is a great tourism tool. So-called fun rides, Audax and Randonnee will continue to increase in popularity, but I hope will not in the long term reduce the interest in competing.


RP - You've seen bike racing evolve through sum very formative years. What is the single biggest change you've witnessed in our sport (ie: technology, ethical issues, the racers...?)

PL - The sport has streamlined itself and become a world sport and not just a European one, as it was in the 60s/70s. Happily, it has never had any ethical issues and all are welcome. I would love for a black cyclist to make the grade right now as this would send the sport skyhigh in South Africa, for example. Equipment, with the arrival of the Americans, has changed and the best innovations have been the handlebar, Sti brake levers and clipless pedals. I hate the use of radios on riders and this should be banned. We have seen the problem manifest in motor sport last year and it could ruin the pro races this year if the riders become so robotic the thrill of the sport will die. Let’s leave the racing to the riders once the flag has gone down.


BONUS ROUND
RP - You prefer: Pint of Guinness, glass of Chianti, or single malt scotch?
PL - Glass of chianti (but had you said a pint of real ale from Great Britain, then you would have guessed right).

RP - Food choice: Tex-mex, Sushi, or Pub Pies?
PL - Pub pies.

RP - Most memorable practical joke you ever saw?
PL - When Raphael Geminiani poured a bucket of water over the commissaire on Paris-Nice after he had penalised his riders who he felt had ridden their hearts out that day.


Postscript:
It was a real treat chatting with a man who has seen so much in our sport. In the middle of our conversation, Phil's laptop froze up, prompting a string of coloful expletives that I'd never heard him utter in ten years fo watching his race coverage. It was one more a small thing that made me realize just how "regular" a guy he is.

Oh - and Phil did remember our 1st interview from 10 years ago...

[cyclist]

And, of course, with Phil Liggett, you get Liggettisms...  I'll post a few here:

"well, are you coming or not and the answer is NOT!" Refers to "The Look": Armstrong looks straight into the eyes of Jan Ullrich.

"My goodness me!"

"Marco Pantani has crashed and Alex Zulle has followed him in sympathy"
1998 Giro / It is probably a psychological thing, but riders tend to crash without provocation, except seeing a nearby vrash.

"And so, the first pedal has been turned in ANGER!" 

[cyclist]

And here is a youtube of Phil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dTEjERoQbk

[cyclist]

From VeloNews:

Tour de France Preview: Americans to Watch

 

By Jason Sumner
Published Jun 24th 2011 10:35 AM UTC — Updated Jun 24th 2011 1:00 PM UTC

 


The final podium at the 2011 Tour of California. Left to right: Levi Leipheimer (second), Chris Horner (first) and Tom Danielson (third). All three will start the 2011 Tour de France. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com
 
Barring the unforeseen, it’s unlikely an American will contest the top step of the final 2011 Tour de France podium. That battle belongs to Spaniard Alberto Contador and Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck.
 
But this year’s Tour field boasts a deep wealth of Yankee talent, including a top sprinter, a quartet of potential top-5 finishers, one of the sport’s most promising young riders, and a star-crossed veteran who will be starting his record-tying 16th Grand Boucle.
 
Here’s an alphabetical look at those seven select Americans, plus one Canadian who could also make some noise at the 98th running of the Tour de France, which kicks off on July 2.
 
Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo)
 
In 2005, Danielson was the toast of the cycling world following his dramatic triumph at the Tour de Georgia, a race then-teammate Lance Armstrong helped him win. In the aftermath, the Colorado resident was heralded as the next great American grand tour threat; VeloNews even labeled Danielson “Heir Apparent” in reference to a soon-to-retire Armstrong.
 
Six years later, it’s clear the appointments placed on Danielson were misguided. While by no means a bust (he was top 10 on GC at last year’s Vuelta a España), Danielson never developed into the world beater some had predicted. In fact, this year marks his first chance to even start the world’s biggest bike race.
 
But don’t be put off by his Tour rookie stature. The 33-year-old is an elite climber with better than average time trialing skills, a fact borne out by his third place finish at May’s Tour of California and a ninth place finish at the Tour of Switzerland. If Danielson can keep a cool head (something he struggles with at times) a stage win and/or a top-5 overall finish are not completely out of the question.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo)
 
Bar none the best American-born sprinter of his generation, Farrar enters the 2011 Tour as the man most likely to challenge the recent dominance of Brit Mark Cavendish (11 stage wins in the last two Tours). Already the native of Washington has grand tour stage triumphs at the Vuelta and Giro, but Farrar has yet to break through at the big show in France.
 

Farrar added to his palmares with a stage win at the 2011 Tirreno-Adriatico. Photo: Brad Kaminski @VeloNews
 
This season he’s shown continued improvement, taking stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico and slotting third at the Belgian semi-classic Ghent Wevelgem. And just a week ago, he showed the form is still on the up, snagging a win at the Ster ZLM Tour in Holland. On a down note, Farrar exited the Giro d’Italia early this year, following the tragic death of close friend Wouter Weylandt.
 
Like Cavendish, Farrar will have a strong team behind him, led by reigning world champion (and former Tour green jersey winner) Thor Hushovd. It might seem odd that Hushovd deferring to his less decorated teammate, but the reality is that Farrar has a much better chance of knocking of Cavendish in the drag races to the line.
 
Farrar could also be a player in the green points jersey chase, but a new-for-2011 rule change places greater emphasis on stage wins and less on intermediate bonus sprints, meaning the path to green will almost certainly go through Cavendish.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervélo)
 

Hesjedal went on the attack several times at this year's Tour of California, mostly just to test his fitness. His focus was on July. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com
 
In each of the last three Tours, a member Jonathan Vaughter’s U.S.-based squad has managed to come up with a surprising GC result. Last year, that honor belonged to Canadian Hesjedal, who finished seventh in a season that also saw the former pro mountain biker win a stage at the Tour of California and finish second at the Amstel Gold Race.
 
Hesjedal’s best result thus far in 2011 is a ninth at the Tour of the Basque Country, which could mean one of two things: he’s dropped off some from 2010, or he’s better timed his peak and will be even better at this year’s Tour. The hunch here is the latter. Look for the British Columbian to snag a stage win and be in the mix for another top-10 finish.


George Hincapie (BMC)
 

Hincapie tuned up for the Tour at the Tour de Suisse. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com
 
Long gone are the days when Hincapie’s name was bandied about as a potential GC contender. His former Discovery Channel team tried pushing that story line in the wake of former teammate Lance Armstrong’s first retirement in 2005, but Hincapie ended up a distant 32nd at the Tour in 2006.
 
This year, Big George will be charged with a more familiar role, supporting a potential GC contender, in this case BMC teammate Cadel Evans. And assuming nothing happens between now and July 2, Hincapie will also earn the distinction of tying Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk, who started a record 16 Tours de France in the 1970s and ’80s.
 
Until recently, it seemed likely Hincapie would race this year and one more, allowing him to break Zoetemelk’s record. But a recent report on 60 Minutes alleging that Hincapie admitted to a grand jury that he and Armstrong provided each other doping products while they were teammates in the early 2000s could potentially accelerate the 37-year-old’s retirement plans.
 
Hincapie has denied he spoke to the TV show’s producers (the show did not say he had), but, notably, he has not specifically denied that he confessed before the grand jury.

Chris Horner (RadioShack)
 
Emphatic winner of May’s Tour of California, the seemingly ageless Horner is primed for his second straight run at a top-10 Tour finish. And if you believe Horner, the final podium is a possibility, too.
 

Horner on his way to taking the California lead on stage 4's Sierra Road climb. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com
 
Those are big words for a 39-year-old rider who’s not even the pre-race leader of his team (RadioShack comes in with four potential leaders). But Horner has a knack for backing up big talk. Just witness his pre-California declaration, when he boldly predicted that Team RadioShack would go one-two. They did.
 
Since winning that race ahead of teammate Levi Leipheimer, Horner has bunkered down at his San Diego training base, forgoing the traditional pre-Tour warm-up races in favor of focused training and maintaining his newly adopted strict diet. By laying off burgers, fries and Cokes, Horner’s kept his weight below 140 pounds. That improved power-to-weight ratio could pay big dividends in this year’s Tour with its four mountaintop finishes.
 
If Horner can snag the team leadership nod early in the race, look for him to be a player in the wide-open race for the third place on the final podium.


Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack)
 

Leipheimer time trialed to dramatic last-stage win of the Tour de Suisse. Photo: Graham Watson | grahamwatson.com
 
Talk about taking motivation from disappointment. While Leipheimer did his best to keep a stiff upper lip while finishing second to teammate Chris Horner at the Tour of California, his unwillingness to talk to reporters at the close of the critical Sierra Road stage spoke volumes about his mindset. The once proud King of California had been roundly dispatched by a teammate, and he wasn’t happy about it.
 
But talk of Leipheimer’s demise as a stage racer was premature. The California resident was back on top at the end of June, taking what he called the biggest win of his career — a narrow four-second triumph at the Tour of Switzerland.
 
Now Leipheimer faces the same dilemma as Horner: how to be a good teammate and separate oneself from those teammates early in the Tour, taking over the sole leadership role. The answer to this question for all four of the RadioShack contenders (German Andreas Kloden and Slovenian Jani Brajkovic are the other two riders in the mix) will likely come during stage 12’s 211km run from Cugnaux to the summit of the hors categorie Luz-Ardiden climb. As Leipheimer told VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood, the legs will decide.


Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervélo)
 

CVV was looking lean at the Tour de Suisse. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com
 
In 2008, the Chicago native was the revelation of the Tour, finishing just one spot off the final podium in fourth. But instead of building on that monumental effort, Vande Velde has spent most of the ensuing years battling a rash of crash-caused injuries. Finally, this year Vande Velde has avoided unscheduled trips to the tarmac, and after a recent Colorado training camp, he told insiders his form was as good as it’s been in years.
 
Vande Velde (along with Danielson and Hesjedal) is one of three Garmin-Cervélo riders who could contest for a high GC placing, or even a stage win. He’ll just have to hope his run of good luck continues. Remember that last year, he crashed on the second stage and was forced to abandon the race.

Tejay van Garderen (HTC-Highroad)
 

Van Garderen in the Best Young Rider's white kit at the Tour de Suisse. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com
 
Part of a new generation of potentially great American cyclists, van Garderen, 22, will be starting his first Tour de France. His grand tour debut was at last year’s Vuelta a España, where joined the HTC squad in its TTT win on stage 1 and finished sixth on stage 4. Expectations from the outside will be set low, but van Garderen is not one to buy into the just-happy-to-be-here mantra.
 
The HTC-Highroad rider is exceptionally competitive, witness his “disappointment” after taking the Best Young Rider jersey and finishing fifth overall at the Tour of California. But that’s what happens when you finish on the podium at a major Tour tune-up race, as van Garderen did at the 2010 Dauphine. Next up, a Tour de France podium. The question is not if, but when.

[cyclist]

Slim pickings again on stuff to report today.  The Tour starts next Saturday, July 2. 

Here are a few Liggettisms to hold you over:

"He's wearing the mask of pain" Referring to any rider with a grimace (usually suffering up a climb.) 

"He's crazy. He's always been crazy. And what on EARTH is he doing?" Probably in reference to Chiappuci!

"Once again, they've stretched the elastic."

"The elastic has snapped." All time classics!!! 

[cyclist]

From VeloNews:

Is defending Tour champion Alberto Contador this year’s Tour villain?
 By Jason Sumner
Published Jun 27th 2011 4:57 PM UTC
 

Contador's fans at the Giro d'Italia last month. Photo: Gregg Bleakney
 
Pause for a moment and ask yourself, how do you feel about Alberto Contador?
 
Is he the premier stage racer of his generation — and possibly the best of all time? Is he a rider without equal in the high mountains, his sharp attacks and brash accelerations serving as debilitating upper cuts to the hopes of his competition? Is he a skilled time trialist, able to roundly dispatch all but the world’s elite TT specialists?
 
Is he the only rider who ever truly stood toe-to-toe with Lance Armstrong — and won? Is he a victim of tainted meat and an overzealous anti-doping system that’s sweeping up innocent riders with its draconian rules of strict liability?
 
Is he using legitimate means to effectively prepare his legal case in the wake of testing positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol on the second rest day of the 2010 Tour? Is it simply coincidence that the delay of his hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport will push its start date to a week after the 2011 Tour de France concludes?
 
Or is Contador the personification of all that is wrong with cycling and sports in general? Is he a selfish teammate, who only knows how to ride for himself? Is he a simple-minded athletic anomaly, surviving on genetic gifts, but lacking any modicum of grit, guile or tactical sense? Is he an egomaniacal showboat, his El Pisteloro finish-line salute bike racing’s version of a preening wide receiver moon walking across the end zone?
 
Is he using deceitful legal tactics to push back his inevitable suspension from the sport just long enough so that his Saxo Bank-SunGard team can secure another round of sponsorships? Is he another in a long line of dopers, willing to do whatever it takes to win, assuming everyone else is doing the same thing, and not caring what effect it has on the rest of the sport?
 
Should he be starting the Tour de France — or racing at all?
 
How you answer these questions says a lot not just about your opinion of Alberto Contador, but also the state of cycling in broader terms. Is the sport riding steady tempo toward a cleaner future? Or is all the tough talk about biological passports and changing culture just hollow lip service aimed at placating a fan base grown exceedingly weary of doping — not racing — dominating cycling’s headlines?

Indeed, there is a strong argument that the 28-year-old is the best stage racer of his generation, a rider in possession of cycling’s rare and deadly double, the ability to climb and time trial with equal brilliance.
 
Yes, Contador did square off with the great and powerful Armstrong two years ago, and if you believe the Spaniard’s version of the events, he successfully fended off attempted fratricide and beat Big Tex at the Tour.
 
And until the courts say differently, Contador has totaled six grand tour wins, earning a career grand slam by grabbing the final leader’s jersey in the Vuelta (once), Giro (twice) and Tour (three times), something only four others have accomplished in cycling’s century-old history. Win this year’s Tour and he’ll equal Armstrong for grand tour triumphs, and be the first rider in 13 years to notch the Giro-Tour double.
 
But clearly Contador’s presence in France will be unwelcome for many. Shortly after announcing his plans to race despite his ongoing doping case, a poll claimed that two-thirds of French cycling fans preferred the defending champion stay home in July. The sport’s governing body, preparing for the expected negative reaction, has urged fans and media to exhibit the “utmost sense of responsibility” toward Contador, who has the “statutory right to take part in any competition.”
 
Some of his peers have also chimed in, Sky’s Bradley Wiggins telling the Associated Press that Contador’s presence at the Tour’s 98th running will be “bad for all those teams that are fighting to be clean.”
 
So what now? Do you marvel at Contador’s jaw-dropping ability, knowing that like Armstrong, Bonds, Jordan, Clemens and Tiger, he’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent whose achievements (tainted or not) may never be equaled? Or do you see him as a fraudulent pariah who’s doing irreparable damage to an already battered sport?
 
Sadly, we may never know with absolute certainty the answer to any of these questions, meaning in the end, how you feel about Alberto Contador is the only answer that really matters.

[Lynch]

How is the field going to shape up in a few days? Any one coming out of the wood works that looks to be a surprise? Is there any scandals going on that I've missed?

[cyclist]

How is the field going to shape up in a few days? Any one coming out of the wood works that looks to be a surprise? Is there any scandals going on that I've missed?

Final lineups are being made on most teams.  Contador, the Schleck brothers. 

Usually the surprise (comes out of the woodwork) happens on the road in the first several stages.

Scandals.  Welp, Contador's persists.  Most others are on Lance Armstrong, who is retired...

[cyclist]

The next several posts are from VeloNews and is analyzing the race stage by stage:

Analyzing and rating all 21 stages
 
Last year’s Tour de France was headlined by a mountaintop finish on the Col du the Tourmalet (won by Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck over Spain’s Alberto Contador) to mark the centennial of the Tour’s first crossing of the Pyrénées. This year’s race, starting on Saturday, celebrates 100 years of racing through the High Alps, culminating with a stage to the top of the Col du Galibier — which, at 8,678 feet (2,645 meters) elevation, will be the highest stage finish in Tour history.
 

The Galibier
 
That stage comes three days from the finish of the 98th Tour, which covers 3,443km (2,108 miles) over 23 days in July. The three stages in the Alps, along with the penultimate day’s individual time trial at Grenoble, will decide who wins this year’s Tour, but in a race that is often won by mere seconds the race can be lost on any of the 21 daily stages.
 
So here’s a detailed look at all the stages with the scoop on what to look for each day and my rating of each day’s importance to the overall, or general classification (GC) contenders. A one-star rating indicates the least influence on the race for the leader’s yellow jersey, while five stars is given to stages that have the very highest importance.
 
This Tour’s Grand Départ (the “Great Start”) is in the rural Vendée region of western France. As when the race started here in 1993 and 1999, the teams will be presented to the public on Thursday evening (June 30) prior to a spectacular nighttime sound-and-light show at the lakeside medieval castle of Le Puy du Fou. But the true fireworks begin two days later when the opening stage gets underway besides the gray waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
 
The 198 riders (22 teams of nine riders each) mount their bikes at the fishing port of Fromentine before heading off on a processional ride of 13.5km across the island of Noirmoutier and the Passage du Gois (pronounced “gwah”), the infamous 4.5km-long paved causeway that’s flooded at high tide. They will stop at the causeway’s eastern exit where, at the lowest point in the Vendée, the Tour’s starting ceremonies will be held. A band will play the Marseillaise and a VIP will cut the tricolor ribbon stretched in front of the peloton before they roll away behind the race director’s red Skoda sedan. Then, 2km later, he’ll wave the official starting flag to get the 2011 Tour de France underway, almost an hour after leaving Fromentine.