Andy Schleck, welcome to greatness.
- Andy Schleck
- Joaquim Rodriguez
- Davide Rebellin
- Philippe Gilbert
- Serguei Ivanov
- Simon Gerrans
- Damiano Cunego
- Benoit Vaugrenard
- Alexandr Kolobnev
- Samuel Sanchez
Adding... The big winners today are:
- Andy Schleck and anyone remotely associated with him
- untold scores of drunk Luxemburgers running around Liege right now
- J-Rod, who just stepped into the Spanish classics guy vacuum
- Anyone who cares about the Tour de France.
On that last point, this is a big development. Alberto Contador will be the overwhelming favorite, but the only way to make it interesting would be to drum up another young, powerful rider with most or all of the same qualities, AND have him ride for a team that is deep in talent, aggressive, experienced, and knows specifically how to win a Tour. Up til now it was maybe looking like the usual suspects (ranging from utterly suspect to something more, like Sastre) banging their heads against the Astana juggernaut. Problem solved, today. I wouldn't make Andy the favorite, but I do like how the next five or so Tours are shaping up.