(no subject)
I was all excited about watching OLN's Tour de France Preview show.
And then I watched it, and it was massively disappointing. WAAAAAY too American-centric. Yes, there are still Americans racing that have a chance of winning this year, but there also loads of Europeans/Australians/other people who are capable of winning!
They basically covered Ullrich and Basso (the two "duh" choices), then Leipheimer, Landis, and Hincapie. And man oh man, am I missing the boat on Hincapie or something? Because I think he'll be lucky to be Top Ten, but others are all "Podium, podium, podium!!!" He just doesn't have the experience of being a leader or of racing to win in the mountains. Yes, he won a mountain stage last year, but that more out of dumb luck than anything else. He didn't attack, and he didn't lead or set the pace on that stage - he merely "hung on." You don't win by "hanging on." Plus I'm willing to be that Johann Bruyneel is more interested in seeing how Popovych performs than Hincapie performs - Popo IS the future of Discovery Channel, after all.
Anyway - the main point - they didn't talk at all about Cadel Evans, Alexandre Vinokourov (who might not be racing now, GRRRRRRRR!!!), Francisco Mancebo, Michael Rasmussen, Denis Menchov, or Alejandro Valverde. Absolutely no mention of sprinters of King of the Mountains contenders.
Pitiful.
Ah well. I'll just have to be giddily appeased by the awesome Cycle Sport July issue. Now THAT'S a Tour de France preview!!!!
And then I watched it, and it was massively disappointing. WAAAAAY too American-centric. Yes, there are still Americans racing that have a chance of winning this year, but there also loads of Europeans/Australians/other people who are capable of winning!
They basically covered Ullrich and Basso (the two "duh" choices), then Leipheimer, Landis, and Hincapie. And man oh man, am I missing the boat on Hincapie or something? Because I think he'll be lucky to be Top Ten, but others are all "Podium, podium, podium!!!" He just doesn't have the experience of being a leader or of racing to win in the mountains. Yes, he won a mountain stage last year, but that more out of dumb luck than anything else. He didn't attack, and he didn't lead or set the pace on that stage - he merely "hung on." You don't win by "hanging on." Plus I'm willing to be that Johann Bruyneel is more interested in seeing how Popovych performs than Hincapie performs - Popo IS the future of Discovery Channel, after all.
Anyway - the main point - they didn't talk at all about Cadel Evans, Alexandre Vinokourov (who might not be racing now, GRRRRRRRR!!!), Francisco Mancebo, Michael Rasmussen, Denis Menchov, or Alejandro Valverde. Absolutely no mention of sprinters of King of the Mountains contenders.
Pitiful.
Ah well. I'll just have to be giddily appeased by the awesome Cycle Sport July issue. Now THAT'S a Tour de France preview!!!!