Kreuziger Vs Schleck

frenchfighter

Tour de Suisse Prologue only 7.8km but Kreuziger comes 2nd only to Cancellara and 30 secs ahead of Andy.

With this kind of form and given 56km of ITT in the Tour somehow Kreuziger seems like a good bet, maybe more so than Andy who is on everyone's lips.

Is Andy that much of a better climber than Kreuziger?

Last year, Andy came 12th and Kreuziger came 13th.

andyp

Schleck lost a lot of time on the Hautacam stage due to hunger knock. He then stayed with the favourites on every major climb left in the race and was clearly the strongest rider in the Alps in the last week of the Tour.

He's also finished second in a GC already, whilst Kreuziger's best finish was that 13th place in the Tour.

So yes, he is that much better a climber.

finchy

But then Schleck is a whole year older than Kreuziger.

Overall I'd say that Schleck would have a much better chance of winning or getting on the podium because he's in a far stronger team.

campagchris

Liquigas have a strong team too Kreuziger,.Nibali,and Pellizotti are riding the tour.

finchy

campagchris wrote:

Liquigas have a strong team too Kreuziger,.Nibali,and Pellizotti are riding the tour.

Yes, still not in the same league as Saxo Bank.

frenchfighter

Schleck only lost 37 secs to Kreuziger yesterday over 39km.

intothe12

if andy is allowed to use frank's suitcase ....top 3.
if not, top 10.

blazing_saddles

Andy Schleck, apart from LBL is trying his best to remain anonymous, which I think is rather ominous. I expect to see a different Schleckette, in 2 weeks.
Keuziger has been building steadily.
Reminds me a lot of Basso, both in climbing style and Ivan's later trialing.
....and what of Robert Gesink, in this equation. Will he figure?

frenchfighter

The White Jersey competition is going to be superb. Schleck, Kreuziger, Gesink (apparently so good that he was given a 5yr contract) and Dan Martin.

teagar

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Andy Schleck, apart from LBL is trying his best to remain anonymous, which I think is rather ominous. I expect to see a different Schleckette, in 2 weeks.
Keuziger has been building steadily.
Reminds me a lot of Basso, both in climbing style and Ivan's later trialing.
....and what of Robert Gesink, in this equation. Will he figure?

I can see Gesink trying to fill Rasmussen's old boots, before he went to Mexico, i.e. going for the polka dot.

Rabobank are the only team this year who have a reasonable candidate for the big three jerseys.

FJS

teagar wrote:

I can see Gesink trying to fill Rasmussen's old boots, before he went to Mexico, i.e. going for the polka dot.

Rabobank are the only team this year who have a reasonable candidate for the big three jerseys.

All four jerseys even, although for none of them with an all-out favourite...
Rabobank themselves talked (perhaps a bit of PR) about Laurens ten Dam possibly going for the polka dot...
I guess that all Gesink (and Ten Dams) personal ambitions depend on how well Menchov is doing in the GC... Andy Schleck and Kreuziger don't have real overall GC contenders to work for

teagar

FJS wrote:

teagar wrote:

I can see Gesink trying to fill Rasmussen's old boots, before he went to Mexico, i.e. going for the polka dot.

Rabobank are the only team this year who have a reasonable candidate for the big three jerseys.

All four jerseys even, although for none of them with an all-out favourite...
Rabobank themselves talked (perhaps a bit of PR) about Laurens ten Dam possibly going for the polka dot...
I guess that all Gesink (and Ten Dams) personal ambitions depend on how well Menchov is doing in the GC... Andy Schleck and Kreuziger don't have real overall GC contenders to work for

I read that Gesink was going to be given a free hand in the mountains, just like Rasmussen was.

He'd be my favourite for the polka dot, since his TTing is bad enough to give him a bit of slack on the leash.

Moomaloid

I just can;t see Gesink going the distance. He is looking strong this year but always tends to fade away over the longer tours. I think he needs another year before he is really going to challenge.

Same for Kreuziger for me, plus will Nibali and Pellizotti work all out for him? Nibali yes but not so sure about Franco. Who knows?

Andy i think will be super strong. I just think Baldy Bjarne needs to get their tactics bang on.

I'm so excited about this tour. Can Sastre and hold any form from the Giro and latch onto other teams work. Are Serg Pauwels and Simon Gerrans going to be strong enough to give him protection in the mountains?

Can Menchov do anything after the Giro? Will he support Gesink or the other way round?

Kirchen and Rogers? Can they do anything?

And then there is Astana.... :twisted:

richard wants a baum

Moomaloid

I'm so excited about this tour. Can Sastre and hold any form from the Giro and latch onto other teams work. Are Serg Pauwels and Simon Gerrans going to be strong enough to give him protection in the mountains?

Well you can count Gerrans out because CTT have left him out of the team i wonder if that points to them looking at the Green instead of Yellow jersey. Atleast that save me from making silly (if not patriotic) PTP picks.

FJS

teagar wrote:

I read that Gesink was going to be given a free hand in the mountains, just like Rasmussen was.

He'd be my favourite for the polka dot, since his TTing is bad enough to give him a bit of slack on the leash.

I don't agree; his TT is actually really good. A bit like with Contador people thought of him as a climber and miss his TT-talent. He came top 10 I think in the Olympics TT, and has been pretty impressive in all major TTs this year. He will gain time on Andy Schleck in Annecy. He might get a free hand from Rabobank, but not from the GC contenders.