Who has been the man of the Tour?

tailwindhome

Who has been your Man of the Tour?


For me it's Thor.

A week in Yellow, reinvention as a true hard man on Stage 13 and tops it off with a second in Stage 16

Edit Can't believe I forgot Gilbert.......

afx237vi

Pierre Rolland!

ridin8ude

Indeed pierre rolland is quietly looking after tommy and is there every day to te end

graeme_s-2

For me it's either Thor or Evans, but I'm not sure I can choose.

It's been such a great Tour for individual performances. Everyone on your list is worthy. It's the Tour of heroes!

iesous77

im going with Johnny Hoogerland

Always looking to get into breaks and did very well to earn the polka dot jersey even if it was short lived, and after his awful accident to place no blame on the driver and carry himself in such a professional manner. Well he will be respected by me always


Well done Johnny

Crankbrother

Evans ... Won a stage early on, marshalled his team to a great tt to keep him in the hunt ... Fought off the colluding spaniards, then called their bluff the next day ... and showed today that he has learnt from 2008 ...

TV is good for the race but got there by accident ... If it was TV vs AC then it's easy who to root for, but with Evans getting a chance to vindicate his efforts in GT's over the years and th Schlecks proving everyone wrong (even Harmon shut up about them today) TV is just a sideshow ...

takethehighroad

Garmin have been team of the Tour, and so the Man of the Tour is, by default, there team leader, who's led by example.

EBH and Tommy have run him close.

Shows our levels of expectations that these Cavendish's 4 stage wins don't add up to Hushovd's two...

samiam

Tommy voeckler's face at the top of the galibier yesterday said it all.

Sadly he will lose his podium place today I think

rick_chasey

S'been Hushovd's Tour.

MrTapir

Ah what a difficult choice it is this year, any of those riders could have got it. I also was thinking about Pierre Rolland, he's been there all the time for TV, who himself has been a total hero the way he has kept himself in yellow, especially yesterday when he was 'ripping his bike in half' across the last few hundred metres. Hoogerland is a model of professionalism and a fantastic rider too, Evans could win the tour as a notable clean rider (i'm an optimist). But I went for Thor HUshovd, two stage wins in the world champs jersey and the way he kept himself in yellow over some of those tough climbs early on was incredible.

I totally agree that this has been The Tour of Heroes.

Maybe someone should do a 'Domestique of The Tour' poll? I would but dont know too many of them.

rick_chasey

MrTapir wrote:

Maybe someone should do a 'Domestique of The Tour' poll? I would but dont know too many of them.

Pierre Rolland He's been there long after any other domesitque has long gone.

crescent

Purely because they have done better than anyone expected prior to the start, in order :-

Voeckler, Hushovd and Rolland. Jeremy Roy has done himself proud too.

Happiness1982

I'll go with Hoogerland as every time I check updates at work and there's a break, I scroll down, see him there and laugh.

Tom Butcher

Voeckler for me - whatever happens in the last 3 days when we look back on this tour it'll be remembered for the closest GC battle for years (possibly ever?) and Voeckler has been a massive part of that.

milton50

Hushovd or Voeckler. Both have exceeded expectations on multiple occasions. EBH runs them a close third.

Dorset_Boy

Voeckler for me - his incredible tenacity in hanging on to his yellow jersey, putting himself in places he never realized he could get to. Is it 5 mountain stages that he's hung on to it for, when he was expected to lose it on the first mountain? He's also been very humble.

I do agree though that there are others such as Thor who have had a great Tour.

thomasmc

With all the pressure of a pre race favorite on his shoulders, not great form up to yesterday and the heaps of criticism leveled at him, what AS did yesterday makes him my man of the tour

josame

TV, Bertie and EBH for me

How anyone can get excited about the schmux from Lux I dont know

rick_chasey

josame wrote:

TV, Bertie and EBH for me

How anyone can get excited about the schmux from Lux I dont know

I quite like Andy, so there.

Road Ace

Evans and Tommy are the stand out riders. Evans got a stage win plus still in contention. Tommy for refusing to give up. Got to mention Andy Schleck for his ride yesterday.

I voted for Cadel Evans finally!

RichN95.

One for each team:

Leopard - A Schleck
BMC - Evans
Europcar - Voeckler
Lampre -Cunego
Cofidis - Taaramae
Garmin - Hushovd
Omega Lotto - Vanendert
AG2R - Peraud
Euskaltel - Sanchez
Rabobank - Sanchez
FdJ - Roy
Sky - Boassen Hagen
Movistar - Rojas
HTC - Cavendish

Teams for whom the answer is probably 'nobody'

Quick Step - De Weert?
Katusha - Galimzyanov?
Liquigas - Basso?
Saxo - Contador?
Vacansoleil - Hoogerland?
Saur - Hivert ?
Astana - Iglinsky?
Radioshack - Irizar?

yenrod

I voted Evans yet GILBERT - hes been pretty consistent !

He could win the 'tour I feel...

bobtbuilder

Voeckler for me. His ride this year even eclipses his epic ride in 2004.

For me, Voeckler's guts and determination are inspirational. The way he turns himself inside out for another day in yellow is the epitome of what's great about cycling.

Gingerflash

"Shows our levels of expectations that these Cavendish's 4 stage wins don't add up to Hushovd's two..."

I don't think it's about expectations. Solo wins or wins from long breaks are just more impressive to most people than bunch sprints.

I think the ride that will be longest remembered and written about was Schleck yesterday. For Merckx to say that it was the ride of a champion and he had honoured the grandeur of the Tour is quite a compliment.

rick_chasey

Gingerflash wrote:

"Shows our levels of expectations that these Cavendish's 4 stage wins don't add up to Hushovd's two..."

I don't think it's about expectations. Solo wins or wins from long breaks are just more impressive to most people than bunch sprints.

I think the ride that will be longest remembered and written about was Schleck yesterday. For Merckx to say that it was the ride of a champion and he had honoured the grandeur of the Tour is quite a compliment.

Hushovd was in yellow for ages, rather like Voeckler was/is - in that we didn't expect it.

He also won stages in a much more exciting, interesting, and, let's face it, difficult way.

Cavendish is an exceptional athlete, one which cycling has never really seen.

He isn't half dull though. And he says himself, he does enough to win. No cycling fans like riders who are left with change.

Daithi

Rick Chasey wrote:

Gingerflash wrote:

"Shows our levels of expectations that these Cavendish's 4 stage wins don't add up to Hushovd's two..."

I don't think it's about expectations. Solo wins or wins from long breaks are just more impressive to most people than bunch sprints.

I think the ride that will be longest remembered and written about was Schleck yesterday. For Merckx to say that it was the ride of a champion and he had honoured the grandeur of the Tour is quite a compliment.

Hushovd was in yellow for ages, rather like Voeckler was/is - in that we didn't expect it.

He also won stages in a much more exciting, interesting, and, let's face it, difficult way.

Cavendish is an exceptional athlete, one which cycling has never really seen.

He isn't half dull though. And he says himself, he does enough to win. No cycling fans like riders who are left with change.

"As a French commentator once said (in French) 'How did a man as sublime as Cavendish come out of a country full of cycling ignoramuses?'" read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2 ... briti.html[/url]

finchy

Impossible to just pick one. I'd say that every one of the options merits the description in their own way.

shinyhelmut

All of the above, plus Pierre Rolland and contador for his attack today.

Honourable mention goes to GT.

Would a fifth stage and maillot vert earn Cav a place on the list?

dg74

That bloke in the Devil suit for me.

Cheers me up no end.

geoff_ss

Daithi wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Gingerflash wrote:

"Shows our levels of expectations that these Cavendish's 4 stage wins don't add up to Hushovd's two..."

I don't think it's about expectations. Solo wins or wins from long breaks are just more impressive to most people than bunch sprints.

I think the ride that will be longest remembered and written about was Schleck yesterday. For Merckx to say that it was the ride of a champion and he had honoured the grandeur of the Tour is quite a compliment.

Hushovd was in yellow for ages, rather like Voeckler was/is - in that we didn't expect it.

He also won stages in a much more exciting, interesting, and, let's face it, difficult way.

Cavendish is an exceptional athlete, one which cycling has never really seen.

He isn't half dull though. And he says himself, he does enough to win. No cycling fans like riders who are left with change.

"As a French commentator once said (in French) 'How did a man as sublime as Cavendish come out of a country full of cycling ignoramuses?'" read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2 ... briti.html[/url]

Perhaps because he comes from an island with over a century's history of people riding very fast on two wheels Don't forget in the 1907 TT all riders had to provide so-called light pedal assistance to get up the hills and they had just a single fixed gear.

ms_tree

Tommy takes it for me by a small margin. I was practically in tears today when he realised he couldn't stay with Bert etc and kissed his wedding ring and bracelet. Dave Harmonious had been talking to Mick Rodgers who described him as 'a tough bugger'.
Also Thor. 2 great wearers of the yellow jersey this year.
Have to give credit to Schleck minor for yesterday's ride but try as I might find it difficult to like him.
Rolland too has been a star.
What about disappointments?
Rabobank definitely. Apart from LLS's stage win they've been practically anonymous. Radioshack and Katusha up there with them.