Predictions for 2011

inkyfingers

Rick Chasey wrote:

Cal_Stewart wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Cal_Stewart wrote:

1. Team Sky being the top team in the classics
2. Dan Martin top 10 in a GT
3. Cav in Green

Is this predictions or hopes? :P

Predictions

None are to hard to believe.The Team Sky one is the biggest ask but they were one of the better classic teams last year

I'm not so sure they were.

In the cobbled races they were, one win and three podiums and this year they should be stronger with a fit EBH.

timoid.

Ricco to win MSR solo
Pip to win Flanders - Farrar to win a sprint for second
Cancelara to win Roubaix
Gesink to win Amstel
Evans to win Liege
Nibs to beat Ricco to Giro
Menchov to surprise everyone (except possibly Iain) and win the Tour
Samu to finally win the Vuelta, but then get busted afterward
Nobody to care who wins Lombardy. Scarponi first over the line
Greipel to win a sh1tty little World Championships

in other news
Boonen to have a poor season talk about retirement. Rick to don sackcloth and ashes
Sagan to get busted
Rogers to get glandular fever
Armstrong to still dominate this forum
Frenchfighter to continue to fight for Valv.Piti and AC
Denis to continue to fight everyone

rick_chasey

inkyfingers wrote:

In the cobbled races they were, one win and three podiums and this year they should be stronger with a fit EBH.

3 podiums?

I thought it was 1 win (Het Volk, the one that matters least..), a 3rd in Harelbeke (now the 3rd most important race after Flanders and Roubaix), and a 3rd in Paris Roubaix? Unless you're counting twice. All off the back of Flecha, who had no team support whatsoever.

And he was never remotely in a position to win any of the podiums, and never really tried.

rick_chasey

Timoid. wrote:

Ricco to win MSR solo
Pip to win Flanders - Farrar to win a sprint for second
Cancelara to win Roubaix
Gesink to win Amstel
Evans to win Liege
Nibs to beat Ricco to Giro
Menchov to surprise everyone (except possibly Iain) and win the Tour
Samu to finally win the Vuelta, but then get busted afterward
Nobody to care who wins Lombardy. Scarponi first over the line
Greipel to win a sh1tty little World Championships

in other news
Boonen to have a poor season talk about retirement. Rick to don sackcloth and ashes
Sagan to get busted
Rogers to get glandular fever
Armstrong to still dominate this forum
Frenchfighter to continue to fight for Valv.Piti and AC
Denis to continue to fight everyone

What makes you think Boonen will have a poor season? Knee troubles?
And do you have a line into Menchov's doctor's office? :P

Dgh

Cav to win Worlds.

Gilbert to win something (possibly a couple of things) big.

Evans not to wim LBL. Cunego not to do much.

LangerDan

Vino to have a stormer of a first 10 days in the Tour, taking the yellow. And then finishing top 15 at best.

Andy Shcleck discovering some young, new talented rider to finish second to. (Possibly Tom Danielson.)

Cav not being given permission by Cuddly Bob to ride all the Classics he wants.

Cav finally falling victim to his own crashes and losing a month with a banjaxed collar-bone.

Agree with Timoid - Boonen to have a stinker. I think his head is gone.

Evans to be struck by the curse of not having the rainbow jersey and being far less animated.

Freire to win the Worlds, sneaking out of the bunch while all the fat boys are too busy watching each other.

shinyhelmut

Contador to be cleared closely followed by FF disappearing in a puff of self righteousness

timoid.

Rick Chasey wrote:

What makes you think Boonen will have a poor season? Knee troubles?
And do you have a line into Menchov's doctor's office? :P

Physically he's gettting more niggles and last year's knee knack didn't help. But more importantly as Dan pointed out, his head is not in the game anymore. Crashing cars, sniffing charlie and chasing underage tail are signs of someone with a self destrucitve bent. I don't think he loves his cycling anymore and has lost his mojo.

Add to this the fact that he's got faster sprinters (Cavendish, Farrar) and a stronger strong man (Cancellara) and I think its downhill to a quick exit for Tom.

inkyfingers

Surely it's too early to be writing off Boonen?

If Cancellara really decides to have a crack at the hilly classics then (injury notwithstanding) he'll be the strongest guy on the cobbles again.

finchy

Timoid. wrote:

Add to this the fact that he's got faster sprinters (Cavendish, Farrar) and a stronger strong man (Cancellara) and I think its downhill to a quick exit for Tom.

Boonen is still a faster sprinter than Cancellara though, and probably next time he'd just try sitting on Fab's back wheel - either bring him back to a small group or let him do the vast majority of the work so he wouldn't have the energy to attack on the hills.

RichN95.

Let's add a few punts to the table.

Cav wins the Velo d'Or - MSR, four stage wins + green jersey and the Worlds (but he loses Sports Personality to Jess Ennis)
Cancellara wins RVV but not PR which is won by an outsider breakaway.
The Tour - Andy wins and Wiggins is top 6
Igor Anton wins the Giro
Matt Goss wins more races than Andre Greipel
Van Garderen comes top 10 in the Vuelta
HTC get the most wins (plus the sun will rise in the east)
Armstrong gets away scot free (and the Cyclingnews forum will explode)
Gilbert wins nothing big
Rick Chasey's love for Tommeke outweighs FFs love for Bertie
The top three in PTP will be andyp, FJS and Kleber
The Real Peloton podcast will get less frequent
Cav doesn't get an MBE, even though Paul Manning and Ed Clancy have one
The Schelcks team ride half the season without a sponsor
Jens Voigt and George Hincapie announce their retirement
And IainF72 is the first to tell us all of this.

rick_chasey

Didn't Canc say he was skipping the cobbles for the Tour of Basque in preperation for the Ardenne races?

peterst6906

1. No doped bikes found.
2. Landis to make some more stupid claims to show he only did it because everyone did
3. Cancellara to be strong in the Spring and win at least 2 classics
4. Gilbert to also be strong in the Spring and win
5. Team Leopard (or whatever they end up as) to be #1 team by end of year (then die in a few years)
6. Contador given 3 month ban, which is already served. Wins TdF with Evans 2nd

takethehighroad

RichN95 wrote:

Let's add a few punts to the table.

Cav wins the Velo d'Or - MSR, four stage wins + green jersey and the Worlds (but he loses Sports Personality to Jess Ennis)
Cancellara wins RVV but not PR which is won by an outsider breakaway.
The Tour - Andy wins and Wiggins is top 6
Igor Anton wins the Giro
Matt Goss wins more races than Andre Greipel
Van Garderen comes top 10 in the Vuelta
HTC get the most wins (plus the sun will rise in the east)
Armstrong gets away scot free (and the Cyclingnews forum will explode)
Gilbert wins nothing big
Rick Chasey's love for Tommeke outweighs FFs love for Bertie
The top three in PTP will be andyp, FJS and Kleber
The Real Peloton podcast will get less frequent
Cav doesn't get an MBE, even though Paul Manning and Ed Clancy have one
The Schelcks team ride half the season without a sponsor
Jens Voigt and George Hincapie announce their retirement
And IainF72 is the first to tell us all of this.

It's only less frequent at the moment because there's not so much going on isn't it

RichN95.

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

It's only less frequent at the moment because there's not so much going on isn't it

I hope so. Plus Ned Boulting doing the Champions League.