Tour de France Fantasy League
I know Al said he'd create the league, but I figure he's got enough on his plate right now so I went ahead and set it up. Get your TDF groove on and join us in a little friendly competition!
Go here to set up your team: http://www.velogames.com/tdf11index.php
And then have your team join this league:
League Name: Endurance Nation
League Code: 29155205
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Comments
Team Marcro is ready...time for the Tour!
I'm in as well. Should make those breakaways on the sprinter days a bit more interesting!
I'm surprised they didn't have Horner as one of the choices on the GC.
Thanks for setting it up, Nemo.
Tom
I'll be watching the second weekend in a Percocet haze after my surgery on July 6. Narcotized is really the best way to listen to Phil drone on for three + hours - I won't even catch all his senile mistakes. My cheap pick: Ben Swift. Those Brits can really sprint.
Well, that was an interesting last ten minutes. Tomorrow's TTT will probably determine the yellow jersey wearer for the next week or so. I admit to making three of my picks in part taking wild guesses on who might be leading his team across the line, and all three of them are still in the running, i.e., no more than 6 seconds back.
Other commentary: Does anyone really beleive it matters that Cadel Evans has 80 seconds on Schleck, A or Contador. He does not have the mental fortitude to stick with these guys in the mountains. Do not worry if you didn't pick him.
The bigger intrigue is that Schleck, F did not lose time, and so can wreck havoc with Contador. Since I don't think there will be significant selection between Leopard and Saxo Bank in the TTT, they will enter the moutains with Frank over a minute ahead of Contador and Andy. Meaning, Alberto will have to go with Frank if/when he takes off in the mountains, and Andy can just follow along until the last 500-1000 meters, and try to grab 10-20 seconds on 4 mountain stages, enough for a win overall. Too bad, as I have Contador this year.
Is there any way to permanently ban Alexander Vinukorov from racing? It looked like he caused the crash when he tried to push a spectator out of the way, rather than just ease off a little.
It happened with 8.5km to go when Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) clipped a spectator and went down heavily.
This is going to be a wide open race. Already exciting.
I did not take Cadel but he is a different guy since winning the worlds. I say he's on the podium. Wish I had him but could not part with Thor. Hincapie is lending Evans a big hand, keeping him up front and relatively fresh.
Also, Tom Danielson and TJ van Garteren. Going to score some points and maybe more. I also didn't take Cav. The rest of Fred Velo voted him off. Not a team guy
Contador will be right there. I am in no way counting him out. He can go on a climb and make up half a minute. Until then, my bigger lineup better score some points. Once they hit the mountains, I'm off the back.
I wish Goss didn't have to sell out for Cav. He can win stages. But Cav is the best. Greipel was flying and boom, Cav just went faster still.
Bummer about Wiggo, and I thought Horner and/or Levi each had a real shot at the podium. Not now. I hope they climb hard. Or at least Horner.
Sneaky Ivan Basso (who sat out the Giro this year) is going to score some big points in the mountains, and I am convinced that Andy has been sandbagging and has form and will be ready to climb. Both have stayed up front and quiet. Cancellara and Jens have been steamrolling for the Schlecks.
Thoughts?
How about some props for Thor? I think he has finished in the top 10 in every stage. He's representin' well in the maillot jaune. Probably his last day in it, unfortunately.
Bummer about Horner and Leipheimer. Makes you appreciate how much luck and a constant focus on good positioning goes into winning this thing. How did LA avoid being in / getting stuck behind a big crash for so many years?
Let's put up a side bet that A. Schleck is not sandbagging. I don't think he has it this year.
Very bad news for Fred Velo.
Bet you beers at MFO that Andy finishes ahead of Frank.
I'd rather see a bike race than a crash fest. It's kind of like what's happened to WTC with mauling in the swim and unavoidable drafting on the bike. Didn't the TdF used to have 18-20 teams, not the 22 they have now?
The Tour is Andy Schleck's to lose. His team is clearly the smartest and strongest among BMC (smart, but not as much firepower or depth as Leopard-Trek) and Saxo Bank (good for the mountains, but will Contador make the right decisions there?)
Wiggo, Horner, and Leipheimer all looked good and ready winning the May & June shorter stage races. It is disappointing they will not get a chance to show what might have been. Wiggins had the best chance, if only becuase of his relative youth.
I haven'rt looked at the league standings since the start, being so depressed I didn't choose Thor over Gilbert.
So I'll bet beers at MFO that A. Schleck finishes outside of top 2. As a side bet to the side bet, if he wins, I buy you one of those fancy burgers. If he doesn't podium, said burgers are on you.
You're on. I think Andy has it.
Wow. Thor is the god of thunder! He finished with a smile, won't let go of yellow. What a bike rider! Cool guy too. World Champ and will pull for sprinters and set up others on his team for wins when he could take them himself.
Andy looked extremely comfortable marking Contador today. Serious mind games going on between those two. My theory is that Leopard Trek has it out for AC after last year and Andy has had only one goal- to climb with AC. And so is biding his time. Even in Tour de Suisse I think Andy was conserving. When Contador was in trouble in earlier stages Trek immediately went to the front and tried to insert the dagger.
Basso looks very good.
VS needs to post a TV-MA-V rating before its TdF shows.
Place hand over eyes and slowly peek through two fingers before looking... (fixed link)
http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/6504...land.dhtml
The reason for my call for a TV-MA/V rating. If you watch Voekler in the slow-mo, you'll see he actually gets knocked off the road by Flecha, onto the grass, and loses his pedal momentarily. He is in the Yellow due to his stellar "bike handling" skills and sang-froid in the face of chaos beside and behind him. He deserves some respect for that, even if he is a Frenchman riding an Italian bike.
The driver had three choices, all bad, and had to act instantly after the initial bad decision to speed ahead instead of slowing and pulling over when asked by the race director to get out of the way so EuropeCar team car could get up to Tommie V. to give him a requested bottle: continue on and slam self into the tree; brake hard and cause a crash of all the team cars and motorcycles behind him; or swerve into the leacing pack of five riders. The end result was probably the least damaging overall. although gruesome from a cyclist's perspective - it just looks so DELIBERATE.
BTW, here's a link which seems to have the best video quality (the one above doesn't work for me); ignore the ad for Thor at the end.
Big mistake, taking Spartacus w/o an ITT at the start.
Volker, had him on my squad lat year, tried to work him in again, should have tried harder.
I retain all nine of my crash prone losers. I traded Voekler and Hushovd at the last minute for two donkeys, I mean Leipheimer and Hesjedal. Too much North American chauvinism.
At least P Gilbert still has some pride and chutzpah. And he looks like a triathlete, too.
Cunego and Tommy D could still help me out, and I was this close to picking Basso...I think he's got real podium chances this year.
And my theory is el Pistolero is whipped from that brutal Giro. There's a reason there hasn't been a double winner since the Pirate.