Friday, July 13, 2007

Stage 7 prediction


So, the first big test is on for the peloton, with this big day in the mountains. Tomorrow`s stage is not the hardest, but it`ll surely seperate the contenders from the pretenders. There`s loads of riders who can win; Iban, Valverde, Karpets, Schleck, Sastre, Leipheimer, Menchov, Rasmussen, Vino(?), Kloden(?), Haimar, Igor, Moreau, Evans etc. just to name a few. My bet is on Iban in fact. He`s rumoured to have "good legs" as they say, and he`s feeling good. According to team mate Christopher Rinero, who`ll provide vital support to Iban, Iban`s in "great shape" and "will ride for the GC". Rinero, who`s on his best days a force to be reckoned with in the mountains, spoke to French TV after today`s stage and further confirmed what we all have been thinking. Iban is their undisputed leader, and is in great shape. Those statements, together with his riding on stage 5 and the profile for the day, makes Iban my number one tip for stage 7. Iban knows the Colombière climb inside-out, and the 10 km descent into Le Grand-Bornand should suit a quality descender like Iban. And, if he conquers the stage, he`ll probably conquer the yellow yersey with it as well. Okay, I`ll try to stay down to earth. A lot will have to go Iban`s way if that`s to happen, but, remember, Iban`s only 43 seconds down on Kloden, and he`s not exactly feeling great these days. Time will tell, but there`s no hiding that Iban will start out as one of the favourites tomorrow.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

you forgot mikel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Magnus said...

Ah, sure, I`m sorry. He`s looking solid these days, huh?

Anonymous said...

with this unknown strength in tt and a strong mountain performance he could be "the" surprise of the tour

Magnus said...

He could indeed. Though, I think a 15th or something is more realistic. But, still, a 15th would be awesome.

Anonymous said...

As always you're very optimistic, Magnus, good to see =D

I don't really think he will win, because the stage doesn't end on top of the hill. The possibility of a group of 10-15 riders coming to the finish-line together is big, and for example Valverde is much better in the sprint. But if Iban is among the 15-20 best I would be satisfied...

Magnus said...

Me too:) But my hope is that Iban can escape that 10-15 big group and go it alone

 

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