Monday, July 25, 2011

Tour de France - Overview of the experts' picks



The Tour is now over and I want to thank you all for checking in at the site during the race! The interest has been bigger than I expected, thanks! Let's take a look how well the 4 experts managed to do with their picks:

Thomas Löfkvist
Right winner pick: 7
Winner pick in top3: 2

Mauro Gianetti : 
Right winner pick: 5
Winner pick in top3: 1

David Etxebarria :
Right winner pick: 4
Winner pick in top3: 5

Right winner pick: 4
Winner pick in top3: 3

-----------
The numbers show that Thomas Löfkvist wins this little intern competition in front of David Etxebarria, Laura Meseguer and Mauro Gianetti. Thanks to the 4 experts for participating!

Well, thats all for me for now. It's about time to get some vacation, so I will change my surroundings in Madrid with new ones in Barcelona for a couple of days. See you all later!

Mikkel Condé 

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 21



Thomas Löfkvist : Mark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Mark Cavendish

Laura Meseguer : Mark Cavendish

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish


Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 20



Thomas Löfkvist : Fabian Cancellara

Mauro Gianetti : Fabian Cancellara

David Etxebarria : Cadel Evans

Laura Meseguer : Cadel Evans

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Fabian Cancellara

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 19



Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Fränk Schleck

David Etxebarria : Damiano Cunego

Laura Meseguer : Fränk Schleck

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Fränk Schleck


Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 18



Thomas Löfkvist : Andy Schleck

Mauro Gianetti : pending...

David Etxebarria : Alberto Contador

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 17



Thomas Löfkvist : Simon Gerrans

Mauro Gianetti : Damiano Cunego

David Etxebarria : Jelle Vanendert

Laura Meseguer : Carlos Barredo

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 16



Thomas Löfkvist : Edvald Boasson Hagen

Mauro Gianetti : Philippe Gilbert

David Etxebarria : Philippe Gilbert

Laura Meseguer : José Joaquin Rojas

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 15



Thomas Löfkvist : Mark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Mark Cavendish

Laura Meseguer : José Joaquin Rojas

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Interview - Claudio Chiappucci

To spice it up and get a fresh view on this year's Tour de France, here comes an interview the former Italian super climber Claudio Chiappucci who won the polka-dot jersey in both 1991 and 1992 and finish on the final podium in Paris in '91, '92 & '93.

Claudio, we are now half way through the Tour. Who has surprised you the most. Both positively and negatively?
Gilbert is sparking, he’s been like that since the beginning of the season! Very positive, Cunego as well. The others are more or less as we expected them to be. The two Schleck brothers are equally strong but Contador hasn’t lost the Tour yet.



Do you think he [Contador] is still capable of winning the Tour being 3-4 mins down already?
I think he can recover, but he has to find a way to attack his rivals. The problem is that there aren't that many occasions left to do so. I think Voeckler can keep the yellow jersey for one more week, he has a very good team.

Cadel Evans has turned out to be strongest of the favorites in the first half of the race. Do you think he can keep up like that?
Well, I think he has improved a lot. He is strong and he has been at the front of the peloton all the time. He is good on the climbs and in the time trials and I think he deserves to be on the podium based on his performances so far. 

Basso won the Giro last year, Nibali the Vuelta and now both Cunego and Basso are up there with the best in the mountains. How high do you see the chances for an Italian rider on the final podium in Paris?
I think Basso could end up on the podium, but he won’t win the Tour. Both  Evans and Contador have a strong time trial where they can take time on Basso, and then we have the Schleck brothers who can attack him from left and right in the mountains. It won’t be easy.

On Luz Ardiden the biggest surprise – except for Contador losing time – was probably Damiano Cunego staying with favorites. What do you think he can this year?
Cunego is not a top rider for the three week stage races anymore. On Luz Ardiden he did well but it will be hard for him to get close to the podium. Especially because of the time trial. He should target a stage win instead.

Leopard-Trek showed amazing team-strength on Thurday’s stage to Luz Ardiden, but in the end only Fränk Schleck gained a few seconds on the other favorites. What do you think about their tactic? 
They made a great effort and got the group down to only the best ones, but I think they need to pick a team leader. They need to sacrifice one for the other, Fränk never said he was the ‘gregario’.

What about ‘your’ jersey, the polka-dot, who do you think will take it this year?
Samuel Sanchez can win it, I would go for him. Among the others I don’t see a true climber. No one is attacking anymore. You have to attack in order to win this jersey. Maybe the riders nowadays have different targets and don’t want to risk everything on the jersey. It’s a shame…

Last one. It seems like the Italian people (sponsors and tifosi) are waiting for a new fall of champions to fall in love with. Like with you guys in the Giro and the Tour. You arrived after a crisis in Italian cycling and managed to give a great Renaissance. How do you see the future of the Italian cycling right now?
It was different time. When I was a rider I was attacking because I wanted to see what the others were capable of doing, I wanted to give them a chance to defend themselves. Indurain was very strong and attacking him wasn’t easy, but I felt that I had to try every time. You don’t see that nowadays. It’s not easy for the Italians either. The globalization brings new sponsors into the ProTour and Italy doesn’t play that big a role anymore. We only have two ProTour teams and I think it’s going to be difficult for Italy to get new big teams with Italian sponsors. It will be interesting to see what a guy like Daniel Oss and future youngsters can bring to the table. I just hope they won’t crack under the big pressure and expectations. 

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 14



Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Ivan Basso

David Etxebarria : Andy Schleck

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Friday, July 15, 2011

Always follow your instinct!

Thor Hushovd once again amazed the whole cycling world, taking his first individual stage win in this year's Tour de France. Big Thor was the first to attack on Aubisque and even though he was two minutes behind Jeremy Roy at the top of the HC climb, the managed to take it all back on the descent and fly by Roy on the final km.

Non of the 4 experts had put Thor Hushovd down for the win today, but it could very well have been that way! When I talked with Laura Meseguer yesterday about her pick she actually pointed at Thor Hushovd as winner before ending up picking Philippe Gilbert. After the stage she sent out the following tweet:

@Laura_Meseguer: S**** yesterday I changed my pick from Hushovd to Gilbert. alwayslistenthefirstdecision

And just a few minutes later ex-rider David Etxebarria tweeted that he had the same plan, but also ended up picking Gilbert instead of the Norwegian Thunder God.

So remember, always, follow your instinct! ;-)

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 13



Thomas Löfkvist : Sandy Casar

Mauro Gianetti : Philippe Gilbert

David Etxebarria : Philippe Gilbert

Laura Meseguer : Philippe Gilbert

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 12



Thomas Löfkvist : Alberto Contador

Mauro Gianetti : Cadel Evans

David Etxebarria : Fränk Schleck

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Eagerness to perform sends home the favorites

What do Bradley Wiggins, Janez Brajkovic, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Chris Horner, Alexander Vinokourov and for this matter Christophe Kern have in common? For starters they all were listed as big GC hopes for the Tour de France but what’s more important; they all came to the Tour more ready and eager to perform than ever before!

After last year’s catastrophically Tour-performance Bradley Wiggins seemed to be fitter than ever and very determinate to show all his critics that his 4th place in 2009 wasn’t a coincidence. His overall victory in Dauphiné proved he was back on track and must have boosted his moral sky high. The whole team was build around him and he couldn’t wait to show what he was capable of – unfortunately we never got to see it...

Like Bradley Wiggins, Jurgen Van den Broeck was flying in Dauphiné taking an incredible win on the first mountain stage and 4th overall. It looked so easy for Van den Broeck every time it started to go uphill and suddenly only the a spot on the final podium in Paris seemed to be acceptable for the Omega-Lotto leader and his followers. Like Wiggins he was eager to show what he could do in the big mountains and like Wiggins he ended up leaving the Tour after a crash.

Other riders matching this profile are Team Radioshacks duo-leaders Janez Brajkovic and Chris Horner. Brajkovic build his whole 2011 season around the Tour. Nothing else mattered. His impressive win in Dauphiné last year, where he hold off Alberto Contador making it look like a walk in the park, made Bruynell and co. talk about a final top5 for the young Slovenian, if not the podium. Again a massive pressure being put on the rider and again he crashes out. Same goes for Chris Horner. Doing top10 last year, looking out for Lance Armstrong and the rest of the team, Horner was eager to show his own qualities. The very same qualities that made him win Tour of California with his closet rival being team mate Levi Leipheimer – almost 3 minutes ahead of Tom Danielson as third. Horner said before the Tour that he would make “Top5 for sure – if not more!” – well I am sure he would have been up there, but like the others he ended up in a ambulance.

You probably see where I’m going with all this, but let us just take a few more examples. Alexander Vinokourov. Last Tour de France in his life. Ready to do whatever it takes – on the bike – to fulfill his life-long dream and get at least one day in yellow. On stage 8 it looks like it’s about to happen, but the strong head wind knocks Vinokourov out on the last couple of hundred meters. The very next time – and probably the last change to get yellow – Vinokourov ends up in the forest on a slippery downhill section. Was it because the Garmin riders were riding too fast or was it because Vinokourov was too eager to stay in front and try to get the jersey?

Last example for now is Christophe Kern. The big sensation in Dauphiné. Before a heavy time trialist, but after losing 11 kg in the winter season, suddenly a strong climber and gunning for the GC in the Tour. Kern won a stage in Dauphiné and was, if not the strongest, definitely one of the strongest in the race. Those performances made Christophe Kern rethink his Tour de France ambitions and went from “helping out team mate Charteau in the mountains” to “stage win, polka dot jersey and hopefully a good GC”. Like all the others mentioned here, Kern crashed and abandoned the Tour.

So is all this just bad luck? Could it have happened to anyone? Well, it probably could have. But it didn’t. It didn’t happen to Cadel Evans who nearly nobody counted in for the final podium. It didn’t happen to Ivan Basso who’s Tour-ambitions got knocked down a bit after his crash in May on Etna. It didn’t happen to Frank Schleck, a rider who normally crash as much as Cavendish wisn and it didn’t happen to Tony Martin, another rider who many seemed to forget while picking out favorites. I did in fact happen to Alberto Contador – the biggest favorite of them all – but is he out of the Tour? No Sir, he is not.

This little write-together could have been even longer if I got started on Robert Gesink (finally being the team leader in the Tour, going stronger than ever), Levi Leipheimer (winning Tour de Suisse and finally seemed back to former strength) and Andreas Klöden (Winning Paris-Vasco & 2nd in Paris-Nice) but even though they too are in a lot of pain cause of their crashes, they are still in race, fighting to prove me wrong…

RT: Mark Cavendish

In Twitter world RT stands for Re-Tweet but for today's matter it stands for Revenge Time. Mark Cavendish admitted after his narrow defeat to Andre Greipel that he didn't make his kick until 200 meters to go - which proved to be too late. Now it's time to take back the winning spot on the podium!

Today's stage 11 holds the last chance for the sprinters before the peloton hits the mountains and I think it's safe to say that it definitely will end up in the bunch sprint this afternoon in Lavaur. Yesterday Cavendish lost Renshaw and Goss on the last climb and had to rely on himself in the sprint. Today the chances of losing his lead-out are very low and with the eager to reclaim the throne of the sprinters only bad luck can come between Mark Cavendish and another stage win!

And hey, if you don't believe me, just take a look at who the 4 experts think will win today right here.

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 11



Thomas Löfkvist : Mark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Mark Cavendish

Laura Meseguer : Mark Cavendish

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 10



Thomas Löfkvist : Alessandro Petacchi

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Jerome Pineau

Laura Meseguer :  Edvald Boasson Hagen

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Monday, July 11, 2011

Rest Day update




















9 stages done and dusted in this year's Tour de France, the first rest day has arrived and that means that it's time for an update on how well the experts have been doing so far.

Team GEOX's manager Mauro Gianetti started out best with his pick for Gilbert to win stage 1. After that Team Sky's Thomas Löfkvist took over with 3 right winner picks in a row, while he at very same time become a father.

Cycling journalist Laura Meseguer has been consistently with her pick, hitting right winners and top3s four times within the first 9 stages. To end it all up former pro-rider David Etxebarria managed to pick out Voeckler for the win (Voeckler took 2nd place and yellow jersey) on stage 9, where Etxebarria himself won in 1999.

Thomas Löfkvist - 3 right winner picks (all in row! stage 5, 6 & 7)
Laura Meseguer - 2 right winner picks & 2 winner picks in top3 (stage 3, 5, 6 & 7)
Mauro Gianetti - 2 right winner picks (stage 1 & 7)
David Etxebarria - 1 right winner pick & 2 winner picks in top3 (stage 4, 7 & 9)

All in all a pretty good start for the experts. Tuesday we will find out if they can keep up the rate. Stay tuned!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Can Etxebarria repeat his win from 1999?

Our Tour de France expert David Etxebarria knows the finish of today's stage better than the most. In 1999 the Basque climber attacked his fellow escapees with 22 km to go and made it all the way to the finish to take beautiful solo victory in Saint-Flour. 4 days later Etxebarria won his second stage in the Tour, when he out-sprinted a young Alexander Vinokourov in Pau.

Today David Etxebarria has picked French animateur Thomas Voeckler to win the stage and giving his inside knowledge on the stage, don't be surprised if the Europcar leader crosses the finish line first later this afternoon!

The Expert's Tour Picks - Stage 9



Thomas LöfkvistPhilippe Gilbert

Mauro Gianetti : pending...

David Etxebarria : Thomas Voeckler

Laura Meseguer : Philippe Gilbert

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 8



Thomas Löfkvist : Thomas Voeckler

Mauro Gianetti : Alberto Contador

David Etxebarria : Rigoberto Uran

Laura Meseguer : Alberto Contador

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Alberto Contador

Congratulation to our expert Thomas Löfkvist!

Not only is Thomas Löfkvist burning hot with his winner picks these days, hitting 3 winners in a row, he is also a very happy and proud guy! Thomas became a father yesterday and that sure seems to have had a positive effect, at least on his picks!

Thomas Löfkvist’s winner pick for Saturday’s stage8 will be online together with the three other experts’ later this evening. Will it be 4 in a row? Stay tuned…

Once again, congrats Thomas!

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 7



Thomas LöfkvistMark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Mark Cavendish

Laura Meseguer : Mark Cavendish

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 6



Thomas Löfkvist : Edvald Boasson Hagen

Mauro Gianetti : Mark Cavendish

David Etxebarria : Philippe Gilbert

Laura Meseguer : Thor Hushovd

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 5



Thomas Löfkvist : Mark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Tyler Farrar

David Etxebarria : Thor Hushovd

Laura Meseguer : José Joaquin Rojas

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Hope rising for Movistar

After the most tragic month in the history of the team, the hope and smiles now start to come back at Team Movistar. Juan Mauricio Soler's condition is getting better and better every day and green jersey aspirant José Joaquin Rojas has showed to be just as strong as we all wished for - Well, I know I did!

Rojas was the only one of the fast guys able to follow Thor Hushovd on stage1 and afterwards he followed up with strong performances on stage3 and 4. On top of that both Andrey Amador and Beñat Intxausti (read my pre-tour interview with Beñat here) seem to be recovering well from their injuries caused by the crashes on the first stage. Beñat Intxausti even managed to stick with the favorites on Mur de Bretagne! Hopefully he will be back at 100% for the mountains - keep an eye on him...

The next four stages all look good - on paper - for the new Spanish champion Rojillas, and I really, really, hope he can give Team Movistar that Tour-stage that would mean so much for everyone involved! Ánimo!

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 4



Thomas LöfkvistPhilippe Gilbert

Mauro Gianetti : Philippe Gilbert

David Etxebarria : Alberto Contador

Laura Meseguer : Philippe Gilbert

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Philippe Gilbert

Monday, July 4, 2011

Interview - Damiano Cunego

Damiano Cunego showed in Tour de Suisse that he can stay with - and beat - the best riders in the moutains. Now it's time to show that in the Tour, and with the interesting finish on Mur de Bretagne on stage4, don't be surprised if you see Il Piccolo Principe right up there fighting for the stage win!

Damiano, sorry about the narrow defeat in Tour de Suisse. You were close to a stage win twice during the race and end up with second overall. What positive things did you take with you from Switzerland?
Of course I would have preferred to win Tour de Suisse and losing the success for only 4” is even tougher. But I always like to look at the positive side of every thing, so I focused my attention on the fact that I showed to be very competitive in the climbs, that I can aim to win vwery tough stages and that I can manage intense situation during races. These are all signals that support my morale.

Except for yourself who did you see as the strongest in Tour de Suisse?
I think that some of them, for instance Andy Schleck, didn't want to perform Tour de Suisse on a competitive level, they only wanted to perform trainings. Others, such Leipheimer and Mollema, were already on a high level of condition, they were pedaling in a very good way, so I think they'll be able to obtain satisfactions in the Tour de France.

I made an interview with you last year right before the Tour. Back then you said you targeted ‘a beautiful stage win thanks to a great break-away’ but not the GC. How about this year? Will you aim at the overall classification this time?
No, I'm happy to start this Tour de France with no pressure on me about the overall standing. I only want to fix targets day by day, stage by stages. I would like to win my stage, this is my first target, then my goal will be to win another one and so on. If, step by step, I'll be able to achieve important results, I'll be happy. Of course, if my condition will be very good, as consequence I'll be in a good position of the overall standing, but this is not a primary target.

A lot of people say that the first week of the Tour is perfect for Philippe Gilbert, but isn’t it also perfect for Damiano Cunego? Many Ardennes-like finishes.
Yes, that's correct. The first stage was like an Amstel Gold Race final and in fact Gilbert performed an impressive action. I liked the stage and I like also others in the first week, so I'll try to obtain a good results in one of them.

I read earlier this year, that you thought about targeting the Polka-dot mountain jersey this year. How about that?
I'd like to wear the polka-dot jersey, it's a charming symbol, but in order to do it it's necessary to focus the attention on the breakways: the rules of the points for the climbers classifications changes, but it's still very important to get points in the early stages, so the breakaways are still a good method to collect points. Considering this, if I want to win stages, it would be quite difficult to compete for the polka-dot jersey too.

Looking at the Lampre Tour-team is seems very well structured around Petacchi for the sprints with Malori & Kostuyk to work in front of peloton and then Bole and Hondo to deliver him in the final. Who on the team is assigned to help you?
In Lampre-ISD we're lucky, because we can rely on riders that can support in the best way different kind of riders. Hondo is a very good “last-man” for Petacchi but, in arrival suche the one of Mont des Alouettes [stage 1, edt.], he performed a marvellous job for me, leading me on the wheel of Gilbert in the last 2 km. Bole can do the same thing in this kind of arrivals. Kostyuk, Bono and Loosli are very skilful in supporting me in the approach of the climbs, then I'll have Bertagnolli by my side on the mountains, where it will be my turn to give my best, after the support that I'll have received by the team mates.

Alpe d’Huez is back on the menu this year. Do you have some unfinished business after Fränk Schleck beat you back in 2006?
Alpe d'Huez is a top charming stage for all that it means to the history of Tour de France and for what it means to me. I dream of winning there. 

And Pinerolo?
Of course, also Pinerolo arrival will be very important for the Italians and I think that I'd give a huge satisfaction to my team and to all the Italian fans if I could win there.

Last one. Saying Contador, despite his time lost on stage 1, and Andy Schleck will take 1st & 2nd in Paris, who's going to to join them on the podium?
Pay attention to Evans, Gesink and to Vinokourov.

Thanks Damiano, good luck!
Thank you, I hope I'll be able to give good cycling emotions to all the fans.

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 3



Thomas Löfkvist : Mark Cavendish

Mauro Gianetti : Alessandro Petacchi

David Etxebarria : Mark Cavendish

Laura Meseguer : Tyler Farrar

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Mark Cavendish

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Interview - Denis Galimzyanov

Denis Galimzyanov is a new name on the international sprint scene but just as difficult as his last name might seem to pronounce, just as fast is he on the final meters in mass sprint! I will even put him down as my personal outsider for the win on stage 3. Here is what the young Russian had to say about his chances in the Tour.

Denis, after your great stage win in Luxembourg and ending up 13th in the Russian Nationals, how do you feel right now?
I’m feel good. I will try to put myself in show and then we will see.

You have been very consistent in the top5 in almost all your sprints this year. Do you think it will continue in the Tour where the level is that much higher?
It's true the level here is the highest in the world, but the adversaries are the same as always. So I expect to take, more or less, the same results as earlier this year, hoping for a stage win!

You have already been very close to beat Mark Cavendish a couple of times this year, do you think you have what it takes to beat him in the Tour?
Cavendish is the strongest sprinter at the world. I’m happy to be very close to beat him, but I think it’s very difficult in the Tour de France this year because it’s the first time for me.

Are you aiming for the green jersey?
Well, every sprinter thinks about green jersey at Tour de France. I want to finish the race because until the 15th stage there are a lot of options for sprint finishes.

Your Katusha team is 100 % Russian this year in the Tour. Does that bring any extra pressure to perform?
No, for me it does not change anything. At this level the nationality doesn't mean much. However it's a pity that a young sprinter like Porsev is not here. He’s young but he has the quality to be a good last man to lead out my sprints.

Last one. Does the team have any GC-plans this year? I'm thinking about Karpets & Gusev...
I think Karpets it’s a little bit stronger than Gusev for the GC, but this year the main goal for the team is to win a stage.

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 2



Thomas LöfkvistHTC-Highroad

Mauro Gianetti : Leopard-Trek

David Etxebarria : HTC-Highroad

Laura Meseguer : HTC-Highroad

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Garmin-Cervélo

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Interview - Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso got caught up in the crash on stage 1 with two km to go but managed not to lose any time (except for the three seconds to Cadel Evans) to the other favorites thanks to the 3 km mark rule. Here is what he had to say about this ambitions for the Tour this year. Enjoy...

Ivan, thanks for taking time. How did your Tour-preparation come along after your crash on Etna? Are you on the right track?
The crash of Etna took me precious time, but, luckly I had one month to recover. I run Dauphine as training, then I had some mountain training at Passo San Pellegrino. I ended it with a really good feeling and sensation. Of course I had no opportunity to check my shape in a race, but I’m sure to have done everything to be at the top level. The best Ivan Basso you’ll see on the mountain.

Compared to your condition winning the Giro last year, how good are you right now?
As said, before the Giro I had a confrontation in race, this time I don't have that. But my technical info and feeling say that I have the same good shape. I’ll need some stages to find race rhythm but on Pyrenees and Alps I want to be at the top level.

You won the white jersey back in 2002. You have ended 3rd and 2nd in Paris and last year you showed your strength by winning the Giro again. With your experience and results, will you consider anything but a spot on final podium to be disappointing?
Of course, after taking 2nd and 3rd, I need only the 1st to complete. I face this Tour aiming for the best results and I want to end it and be sure I have been spent 100% of my forces. I know that I’m ready, I know that I can compete with the bests. The route will be the judge.

The last many times you have been the leader in a Grand Tour, you have had great riders like Carlos Sastre, Roman Kreuziger and Vincenzo Nibali to help you in the mountains. This time your Tour-team seems a little bit weaker than normally, do you agree?
No, I don't agree. It’s true that we don’t have a co-captain but the team is suited for this route. Together with me I’ll have strong distance riders able to maintain good rhytm in flat stages and medium mountain, then in hard mountain I have a team mate like Szmyd. An added value will be the motivation: sometimes you can find more energies in mind that in legs. You’ll see during the team time trial how strong is Liquigas-Cannondale.

Speaking of Nibali. He was one of Contador’s biggest rivals in the Giro this year. Have you been talking with him before the Tour about how to beat Contador?
We usually phone each other during the season and we did that as well before the Tour. But there’s no secret or suggests to beat Contador. I know that I need 3 days in the Alps similar to the performance of last year on Zoncolan to beat him on mountain.

It’s a given that Contador and Andy Schleck are the two biggest rivals for the yellow jersey, but who else do you think will be up there to fight for the podium this year?
Well, Alberto and Andy are one step above the others, but I see a huge group of pretenders in really good shape for this Tour. Evans, Gesink, Van den Broeck, Wiggings, Sanchez… it will be a closed and strong competition!

Last question. If you had to pick, what you would take; a stage win in the mountains or a spot on the final podium?
Well, I would like to be on the final podium thanks to a stage victory in the Alps: can I choose this option? (smiling)

The Experts' Tour Picks - Stage 1



Thomas Löfkvist : Edvald Boasson Hagen

Mauro Gianetti : Philippe Gilbert

David Etxebarria : Alessandro Petacchi

Laura Meseguer : Francisco Ventoso

-----------

Bookmaker's favorite : Phillippe Gilbert

The Experts' Tour Picks - Final GC



Thomas Löfkvist :
1. Alberto Contador
2. Andy Schleck
3. Cadel Evans

Mauro Gianetti : 
1. Alberto Contador
2. Cadel Evans
3. Andy Schleck

David Etxebarria
 :
1. Andy Schleck
2. Alberto Contador
3. Ivan Basso

Laura Meseguer : 
1. Alberto Contador
2. Andy Schleck
3. Ivan Basso

Tour de France picks!

Do you want to make the Tour de France stages a bit more interesting?
One way is to bet with your friends and colleagues on the outcome of the stages and show off your big inside. Another way is to put down a wager with a bookmaker and let your knowledge earn you a little extra during the summer. Either way C-Cycling wants to help you!

The following experts all know their way around the professional peloton and each of them will give their best winner bets during the Tour 2011.

The experts are:
Thomas Löfkvist - Rider, Team Sky
Mauro Gianetti - Manager, Team GEOX
David Etxebarria - Ex-rider, ONCE, Euskaltel etc.
Laura Meseguer - Cycling Journalist