Tour Teams Preview: Who's Got the Sauce?
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 10:36 PM EDT
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PrintTime to take a look at the twenty teams, one by one, hazard a guess at their overall goals for the next three weeksand try to analyze whether they'll actually accomplish any of them. Buckle in, this will take a few minutes, even before Tourbecco has his say.
[Aside: my wife works in a rather youthful office environment, and she informs me that the way to sound hip is to add the word "-sauce" to the end of various epithets. "Dorksauce" or even the more positive "coolsauce." Here at the Cafe we like to stay connected to the young folks (as long as they stay off my lawn), so please bear with me.]
AG2R
Key guys: Cyril Dessel, Rinaldo Nocentini, Vlad Efimkin
Objectif: Stages; Efimkin's GC placing.
Can they do it? Sure, they've done it before. Efimkin emerged on the cycling landscape by taking the lead in the 2007 Vuelta for a while and reinforced his grand tour chops by finishing 10th in last year's Tour. For my money their double-attack where they ran Tadej Valjavec and Efimkin together to take ninth and tenth on GC last year looks more impressive than this year's solo GC approach, but they burnt out Valjavec this spring, and with a 9th in the Giro and 7th in the Tour de
Suisse it looks like a good choice. Efimkin and Dessel have Tour stage wins among their palmares, and Nocentini makes a living at the business end of moderately hard bike races. The call: suavesauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Building a great French team, one Eastern European at a time."
Agritubel
Key guys: Maxime Bouet, David LeLay, Romain Feillu, Nicholas Vogondy
Objectif: Stages, Young Rider comp (Bouet).
Can they do it? The good news for Agritubel is their keenly tuned nose for the line in '09, resulting in an impressive 16 victories. Even better is the nice mixture of results: Feillu is the bunch sprinter, Bouet and Vogondy the climbers, LeLay the rouleur. The bad news is that the highest profile win was Bouet's success in the Boucles de l'Aulne. The worse news 
came last week when Bouet announced his future move to AG2R. Ah well... live for today, boys. The call: poseursauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Not just a farm club... a SUPER farm club!"
Astana
Key guys: Alancevi Contastrongheimer. Don't overlook Haimar Zubeldia either.
Objectif: Jaune! It's funny, I was trying to imagine how they could pursue stages as a way to distract people from simply locking on their wheels. But who goes for the stage? Andreas Kloden's next violent acceleration will be his first.
Can they do it? Oh, I guess. Not sure what more to say, except this: as volatile as the Contador-Armstrong dynamic threatens to be, I'm not really sure you can criticize any of the principals. Contador can't be faulted for wanting to honor his contract, coming as it does with at least some level of spoken support. Armstrong, once he decided to come back, had only one plausible place from which to launch his high-profile experiment in age defiance. Leipheimer has thrived under Bruyneel, no matter how much his fans would like to see him in the captain's role. And who was Bruyneel supposed to run off? The preeminent stage racer of the current epoch? The guy who made him his fortune? The other elite and yet strangely loyal guys? It may be a mess, but if it is, it was kind of inevitable. The call: powersauce!
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "We're Number One! And Two! And..."
BBox Bouygues Telecom
Key guys: Pierrick Fedrigo, Thomas Voeckler, Yukiya Arashiro
Objectif: Stages, Mountains Jersey (Fedrigo), face time.
Can they do it? Yup. Fedrigo is coming off winning the maillot pois at the Dauphine Libere, so you can bet he has given some thought to going after the bigger prize. The all-rounder is having a typical year, and won't dislike the Pyrenean stages, I'd guess. Voeckler is a well-known commodity at the Tour and can be counted on for some long attacks, unless his GC position tempts him to race for a top twenty or something. Bweeg may actually have two guys chasing the maillot pois. And imagine this... Arashiro is a very young, unknown bunch galloper and the only Japanese rider (besides the nondescript Fumy Beppu) to start the Tour. What if he steals a stage from a small group, say on radio-free day? How many Bbox audio players will they sell in Japan? I guarantee you Arashiro isn't the only person associated with Bweeg who's dreamt of this happening. The call: secret sauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Are those 25 rising suns on your jersey?"
Caisse d'Epargne
Key guys: Rigoberto Uran, Rui Costa, Luis Leon Sanchez
Objectif: Stages, GC position, Young Rider comp
Can they do it? They have to be targeting the Pyrenees, where their climbers can probably get away without dragging the entire peloton. Both Arroyo and Sanchez are strong all-rounders with only the faintest GC dreams. Uran and Rui Costa are both starting their first Tour, and talent alone doesn't usually save you under such circumstances. But both are thought of as guys to watch for later, and Rui Costa has been on fire for the last two months. At least one of them should make a stab at the white jersey. The call: kidsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: No chasing GC fool's gold in '09... thank you CONI!"
Cervélo Test Team
Key guys: Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd, Heinrich Haussler
Objectif: Yellow and Green, in that order.
Can they do it? Don't bet the house. The Knights of é don't impress me on paper as an overall team, notwithstanding their incredible run this spring. This is the Tour, not Vlaamse Wielerweek. Apples and oranges... and I don't know if they can protect Sastre from the chippy little attacks Astana and Saxo will be launching all month. I do think they can make the green jersey comp a lot more fun, but as long as Cavendish is upright I can't see anyone else winning. I've been wrong about them all year, however, so don't listen to me. The call: oldsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "You liked us in black? You'll love us in white."
Cofidis
Key guys: David Moncoutie, Amael Moinard, Leonardo Duque
Objectif: Stages.
Can they do it? One note about French teams: their failure to excel over the last 20 years doesn't mean the Tour is a walk in the park for them. If anything, the pressure to do something is as high as ever. That said, I have no idea why Cofidis picked these guys. Sure, Moncoutie can be counted on for long escapes, and Moinard are plausible stage threats over a variety of terrain. But why no Julien El Fares? And why on Earth no Rein Taraame?!? The guy just won two national titles, a week after an extremely solid Tour de Suisse. What's so pressing about Stephane Auge's Tour ambitions to exclude their only plausible GC guy? The call: blandsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Why try anything new or daring? It's not like we're losing our longtime sponsor or anything."
Euskaltel
Key guys: Koldo Fernandez, Igor Anton, Mikel Astarloza
Objectif: Mountain wins, GC placings.
Can they do it? Nope. Too crowded. OK, Anton and Astarloza will be somewhere in the top 20, most likely, but that's it. The call: mysterysauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "We're just here to train for the Vuelta."
Française des Jeux
Key guys: Yahueni Hutarovich, Sandy Casar, Jérôme Coppel
Objectif: Stages. No bones about it.
Can they do it? Casar might try for a GC placing, but his past suggests he would forego that for stages... maybe the maillot pois. Coppel isn't a great Young Rider threat, but you never know, and like the Caisse d'Epargne guys he's interesting to keep an eye on. But the Belarus Express, Hutarovich, seems like their best bet. Sprints will be crowded, but Hutarovich has five wins this year, including a national championship last weekend. The call: Belarusauce!
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Keeping the dream of a French team in the CQ Top Ten alive!"
Garmin-Slipstream
Key guys: Tyler Farrar, Christian VandeVelde, David Zabriskie
Objectif: Stages, and VandeVelde's top five GC aspirations
Can they do it? I dunno... nothing is going too well this year for the Gar-Men. Farrar isn't a great bet to win a stage on his first Tour, and with Cavendish patrolling the front. VandeVelde may find the going rougher this time around, with Lance and Alberto on hand. Zabriskie might be the best bet for a stage win, with the time trials shorter and more to his liking. The call: thinsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Is it next year yet?"
Liquigas
Key guys: Roman Kreuziger, Daniele Bennati, Franco Pellizotti, Vincenzo Nibali
Objectif: GC placings, Young Rider comp (Kreuziger).
Can they do it? Italian teams traditionally (nowadays) come to the Tour with low expectations and patchwork teams, but not these guys. OK, their sprint squad is in shambles since Bennati can't stay healthy for more than five minutes, but even without Basso the Gassers are bringing some serious GC mettle to the race. Worst case: Pellizotti is gassed (and his aversion to racing the Tour turns out to be for good reason) and Kreuziger and Nibali can't hang in week three. But it's plausible that the modest Pyrenean route and the TTT will call on their strengths and give the 'Gaz a huge boost of confidence. And if Andy Schleck is in yellow, Kreuziger could easily be in white. The call: babesauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Come for the babe-age, stay for the wattage."
Lampre
Key guys: Marzio Bruseghin, Alessandro Ballan
Objectif: Stages, some GC notice, showing the arc-en-ciel
Can they do it? Tiering off my Liquigas intro, this is a more typical Italian team: not much hope of making noise, though Ballan's rainbow jersey will serve as a reminder that in other arenas they are players. The call: irrelevantsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "You may remember us from such races as Varese '08 and the Giro di Lombardia?"
Katusha
Key guys: Shaggy Karpets, Pippo Pozzato, Serguei Ivanov, Danilo Napolitano
Objectif: Stages, GC presence (Karpets), stop the madness
Can they do it? Nobody is having a worse month than Katusha. Survivable, perhaps, but the PR hit they're taking from the ham-fisted effort to get their riders to sign an anti-doping pledge hasn't been pretty. Five times your salary is a hard pill to swallow for any rider, even in today's strict anti-doping environment. Consequently, Kenny DeHaes is out the door, and Gert Steegmans is home. So too is Robbie McEwen, who started the insurrection before relenting, but he's not fit yet. What could have been a multi-pronged sprint attack is now just the Eyebrow of Sicily and his more glamorous countryman. Karpets has some history at the Tour, though he's been much more dangerous in the Vuelta. Decent course for him, I suppose. The call: Jerksauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Who needs karma? Or a serious sprinter? Or a GC threat? Or..."
Milram
Key guys: Linus Gerdemann, Gerald Ciolek, Peter Velits, Niki Terpstra
Objectif: Stages, GC (Gerdemann)
Can they do it? The road back from complete oblivion is long, but I will happily say that Milram are on it. Young and dynamic may not be the pathway to glory at the Tour, but it sure beats old and one-dimensional. Ciolek looks like he needs a little more seasoning, but Terpstra and Velits have both notched wins in the last month, and will likely rule any small group that they can jump away with. Gerdemann could also repeat his Tour stage glory in the Pyrenees, though this year's peloton will have more like-minded riders than the 2007 edition did. A better result might be top 20. Hell, making it to Paris would be notable, since he's only done so once. The call: Friskysauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "The train has left the station."
Columbia-HTR
Key guys: Pretty much everyone.
Objectif: Stages, jerseys, GC placings.
Can they do it? Cavendish is a heavy favorite for Green. Kirchen should like this edition more than the last. Tony Martin has been on fire. If they don't win the TTT I'll go into shock. The Everyday Boys could set team records for wins, maybe even points. The call: Awesomesauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Every day, (almost) every way."
Quick Step
Key guys: Stijn Devolder, Sylvain Chavanel, the French Olympic Committee
Objectif: Stages.
Can they do it? Depending on the Boonen resolution, maybe. Davis would make the finale here and there, but a fit Boonen (is this even true?) would give Cav a better run for his money. Can't disrespect a former maillot vert. Devolder and Chavanel will be stage-hunting, both with pretty huge credentials. Chavanel on Bastille Day could result in a general strike. The call: Nervesauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Eleven months of house money a year."
Rabobank
Key guys: Denis Menchov, Oscar Freire, Robert Gesink
Objectif: Yellow and Green.
Can they do it? Not the favorite for either, but they are very, very relevant. Each year their plan becomes incrementally more coherent, to the point where the team now makes some sense. In previous editions they had the Chicken chasing KOM points, a freelancing distraction to Menchov's plans. Menchov himself didn't appear overly confident, which made their plans subject to change. Now, Menchov is a treble grand tour winner, and over some serious competition. Now guys like Gesink know they should fall into line behind the Russian and give their all. Even Freire's points drive is a pleasant distraction, if it's a distraction at all, since Oscarito needs little help and can lend a hand on the mountain stages. The call: Happysauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "What's gonna work? Team work!"
Skil-Shimano
Key guys: Kenny Van Hummel, Cyril Lemoine
Objectif: Stages.
Can they do it? I doubt it. Van Hummel is their star, but his special power is bunch sprinting, and he won't be the favorite in any of those. As a Dutch team their forte is riding the classics, so look for guys like Lemoine in all the breaks. But how many of these will succeed? And how many other teams are basing their season on making the same selection? The Tour is rarified air, for sure. The call: roadfurnituresauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Sean Kelly isn't walking through that door."
Saxo Bank
Key guys: Every last one of them
Objectif: Overall victory
Can they do it? Sure, though another step on the podium is a safer call. Riis has gone all-in for Andy this year; Frank's knee adds a little more clarification (and it's a little touching that Frank will carry on despite his knee -- we tease him but you know he wouldn't miss his little brother's coronation for anything). Nobody has more workhorses at his disposal than Andy. And just a guess but I suspect they're the first TTT squad featuring the Olympic gold and silver medalists. The call: Sweetsauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "You can't stop us. You can only hope to contador us."
Silence-Lotto
Key guys: Cadel Evans, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Greg Van Avermaet
Objectif: Stages, podium place.
Can they do it? Ah... nope. Well, Cadel could sneak onto the podium, but once again he hasn't got a ton of support, and he's only getting older (and seemingly less confident). Over the last four years or so he has occasionally looked like the world's #1 rider, but Cadel's not having a very interesting season, unless you consider losing his lead in the Dauphine interesting. No mojo, and the Dekker story only further depresses the mood. The call: white whine sauce.
Tourbecco's Team Motto: "Nobody understands me but my dog."
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TTT
I don’t think Columbia is as much of a favorite for the TTT as people might think. Granted they are much stronger now with the addition of Grabsch. Still think the GarMen will take this.
No impossible
Hm, there must be some way to start a gambling arm of the Cafe….
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Um.
If When Andy has the yellow, he can’t help but also have the white. Kreuziger might get to borrow it to wear, but it (and the points) will still belong to Andy.
I can't understand why people cheat--Mark Cavendish
yeah
that’s what I meant. Might need some light editing…
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Fumi Beppu's got the sauce...
if you had only included him on the TdF Excel list!
Racing for Victory and Free Beer!
If you really want to sneak him on
(just pretend Chris can’t see this) then look on sheet 2 of the spreadsheet, insert a row at the right alphabetical spot and put him in as (I guess) a 1-pointer. The validation checks will kick him out, but it will be quicker for Chris to add him to the master list than to type out an email to you saying that you’ve goofed.
What do you think Chris?
Actually going to send my selection in and put in the Iranian rider and ask Chris if he’ll change it.
We’ll see, he’s been weirdly silent on the matter.
It seems it’s easier to get Tom Boonen into the TdF, than Beppu on the spreadsheet!
Sheesh!
Racing for Victory and Free Beer!
If it doesnt work and Beppu wins a stage...
you can call me visionary!
I’m telling you that he is going to go all Crazy88 on the peloton!
Racing for Victory and Free Beer!
Fine
I’ll deal with it.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Since you're both on here, and talking about VDS points...
Was there any resolution about Cav’s 10 points from the TTT in the Giro for the white jersey? I know there was a difference in the spreadsheets since Chris said he wasn’t sure if they gave it out or not. I know Cyclingnews had the best young rider times listed on it’s site after that stage, but I’m not sure if they handed out the jersey and such. Just curious…
Thanks!
Yes
It counted, so I went back and added it to the results. I haven’t rerun the standings, but you’ll see it show up in the next iteration.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions
The expectations game
Does anyone else feel that this Tour can’t end in anything but disappointment for Columbia? With the built-up expectations they almost can’t help but fail to live up to them.
Also. Is Devolder the most underrated GC threat? Under the radar doesn’t begin to cover it. Of course he isn’t going on the podium but I bet he is avoiding last years mistakes and ends up in the top 4-7.
Does radar
pick up objects moving that slowly?
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Sadly I'm with Jens on this one.
I need a shower.. but The lack of Devo talk is deafening. What is said above about Kirchen liking this edition more than last should also apply to Devo. I’ll be interested in what QS do in the TTT too.
I don't get it.
“high mountains”. We’re not talking Cote de la Redoute, not that Devo did anything there either.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 2, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions
it's picking up
echos of Devolder-for-GC talk from last year. In this field? I don’t see it.
"The road is our agony, but also our daily bread; and at night, when it is deserted and the moon glistens on the asphalt, the ridiculous dreams of racers like us pass up and down it."
--Dino Buzzati
not from me you ain't
Never happen. NEVER!
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 3, 2009 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't think so
But it depends on how you want to define disappointment. Barring injury, I can’t see them not winning at least a few stages. I don’t think Cav is a lock for Green, for that matter, I don’t think he’s a lock to finish. KK may not finish in the top 10, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. I guess it’s a matter of expectations though.
I guess if they were as bad in the Tour as Garmin was in the Giro, that would be disappointing, but I can’t see that happening.
"I get paid to hurt other people. How good is that? How good is that?
I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, that's good." Jens!
One Quibble
We all love Dave Z and all, but do you really think he’s more of a TT threat than Wiggo this year? Based on recent results, I’d be very dubious about that.
who you callin' 'we'?
At some undefined point recently, I started getting really, really tired of Zabriskie’s schtick.
Can some one remind me the last time he actually like rode his bike crazy fast?
His fans?
I see his ‘schtick’ to mean the character DZ is in front of the camera and in interviews. I don’t understand how that can be his fans. He’s actually started to grow on me, because I didn’t like his schtick from the beginning, but his performances have not been impressive lately.
i like tourbeccos mottos
they should be a part of every grand tour, from each member of the becco (?) family.
But what happens...
… if Cobi the sheepdog tries to round up Vueltabecco?
My money’s on the ibex.
AG2R
They went for the team classification last year. Only barely lost it to CSC if I remember correctly. But without Valjavec a repeat will be hard I guess.
"Where there’s a will, there’s a way.": Alberto Contador, shortly after waking up from brain surgery.
Great race overview
Proposal:
I’d like the Tour to launch the Grey jersey, for the over 35’s.
I’t would be fun to see Moreau battling Hincapie, and it would give LA something to fight for after he bonks on Tourmalet.
sometimes life is a false flat
Great idea!
Even if the Tour doesn’t do it, we should track it here. I volunteer to keep track of the numbers if someone (Veloki? gav?) can whip up a graphic.
I can't understand why people cheat--Mark Cavendish
yeah that is a fantastic idea
maybe the jersey can be a bit nasty too, kind of old, tattered, sweat- or a535-stained ;)
by plinytheelder on Jul 3, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Like this!
Although will Skil-Shimano not be looking to French protegee Hivert? Find it hard to believe they’d include him and not use him..
Lots of riders I’m looking forward to seeing what they do :D
"When he accelerates, he's like Superman emerging from the telephone booth!" La Gazzetta journo Paolo Condo talking about Edvald Boasson Hagen.
I've never heard it used before and i'm also young
Perhaps it has something to do with my lack of coolness..
"When he accelerates, he's like Superman emerging from the telephone booth!" La Gazzetta journo Paolo Condo talking about Edvald Boasson Hagen.
I'm (reasonably) young and I've never heard it either.
But then I’ve never been cool….I worked hard at school, I played the flute, I sang CLASSICAL music….nothing’s changed apart from cycling in the place of school work.
Adrenalina Italiana!
Yeah i'm not particularly cool either :/
I worked hard at school, i always preferred reading, writing or taking photos to going out and getting drunk (which is virtually unheard of in Grimsby), didn’t even drink for 3 years, i was always into cycling and not much has changed since then, minus it’s now university and i have reverted to drinking because i missed the taste of malibu and wine, though i still hate being drunk.
I like to think we’re cool in our own way Albertina! :)
"When he accelerates, he's like Superman emerging from the telephone booth!" La Gazzetta journo Paolo Condo talking about Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Another singer once told me I was cool.
Not sure that would be much of a recommendation to the masses of today’s youth though!
Adrenalina Italiana!
The only people seen as "cool" in my high school were mega douche's
and I was happily not one of them and still managed to have a good amount of friends. Stayed away from troubles as well, seeing my HS is now infamous for its heroin problems…
I’m totally supercool and end virtually all my words with sauce!
by plinytheelder on Jul 3, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I believe it was Fonzi's phrase of choice as well
"I get paid to hurt other people. How good is that? How good is that?
I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, that's good." Jens!
Honestly, the term "happy sauce" shouldn't be used
when there are so many under age members.
I fear the day Becco begins talking about creamed pies
Vlad Efikim
became famous after won the Volta a Portugal in 2005 because of a brilliant breakaway in the queen stage. He show nice perform in DL, i think he could do well in next days.
I think Le Lay will go to AG2r too, poor Agritubel…
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