Friday, October 20, 2006

Euskaltel for the Tour 2007


In his four last years with Euskaltel, Iban has been their undisputed leader for the Tour de France. Now that he`s not here anymore, who will take on leadership duties?


As any other team in the elite level of cycling, the Tour de France is what really matters. The same goes for Euskaltel of course. Though Euskaltel`s showing in France have varied from world-class to lacklustre, it`s still their biggest objective. Iban has naturally been the captain the last years, but the performances and the stability of Haimar Zubeldia have caught the eye. Many would assume that, now that Iban isn`t going to be around anymore, Haimar will get the full backing of the team. Nope, don`t think so. Sure, he`ll ride it, and he`ll peak for it, but Haimar will not be the sole leader of Euskaltel-Euskadi. I`m thinking that Euskaltel will have their usual two leaders for the Tour. Previously it was Iban and Haimar, next year I think it will be Samu and Haimar. Samu has shown his worth in stage races the last couple of years, improving all the way, and I`m predicting he`ll be right up there on the overall come the end of July. Together with Haimar, he`ll be the protected one. They will both ride for the overall, but Samu has the versatality to fight for the stage wins on hilly terrain, and will probably do so I think. I can imagine Haimar fighting for a top 5, and Samu maybe even a podium spot. The Tour 2007 promises to be a good one for Euskaltel; maybe, just maybe, even as good as the 2003 edition

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Further, they have Igor Antón, even if I don't think that he will be the captain but it's a good possibility to make the other teams feel pression... ;)

Magnus said...

Definetely, he`ll win the white jersey I think if he rides the Tour next year. Though, too young to be captain next year....

Anonymous said...

Hi, Magnus I'll send an e-mail about Mayo....

About Antòn I think he won't ride the Tour... Perhaps he will be at the Giro (the ideal race for Iban Mayo) and surely he will ride the Vuelta.

Ciao

Mattia (http://euskaltel.ilblog.it)

Magnus said...

Why don`t you think he will ride the Tour? Too early you think?

Anonymous said...

I think the Vuelta (and also the Giro) are more suitable for a climber like him.

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