posted Jul 3, 2009

I presume there will be a little bit more antipathy toward Boonen riding from this forum if he winds up in green mind you.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

One of my favourite riders, along with Chavanel and a few others, so glad he's going.

I suspect it would have been better for him if he'd been banned from the TDF (but that would have meant bending the rules), and thus have to face more consequences of his actions.

I'm sure he'll be super determined/inspired to do well.

I expect him to win a stage or two, and maybe even get a short blast in yellow or green, before the GC guys take over.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

I'm just delighted we're not to be denied a classic battle between the top sprinters.

When Cipollini wasn't invited to race in the Tour from 2000-2003, even despite being the world champion in 2003, it just wasn't the same.

I suspect Tom Steels, Erik Zabel, Oscar Freire, and Alessandro Petacchi wouldn't have as many TdF stage wins to their name, if Super Mario had been able to ride against them in those years, imho.

And beating the best, makes winning all the sweeter

May the fastest sprinter win!

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posted Jul 3, 2009

Well he's just gone straight into my tourchampion team - which has undergone radical changes today to accommodate the tainted one.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

I'm sure the Quick Step mechanics and support staff will be delighted Tom is coming on tour with them.

I expect they will be up very late being very social and chatty, far more than usual. They will hardly sleep but won't feel tired, or hungry for that matter. Know what I mean

Best..3..weeks...ever...

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posted Jul 3, 2009

without prejudice

doing coke may be fun for a normal person but if you have been loaded up with whatever out of season then it helps with the comedown, alledgedly and in Boonen's case it does seem ,ike he tested positive for someone else doing coke, in another pub, over the road

just sayin'

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posted Jul 3, 2009

I'm surprised he managed to win this one in the courts, but it will be good to see him race. I wonder how he will fare against Cavendish?

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posted Jul 4, 2009

>I wonder how he will fare against Cavendish? <

Oh, Cav's faster. Cav's faster than anybody. But guys like Hushovd, Freire and Boonen know how to go for green. Let's see how Cavendish handles sprinting for ninth place...

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posted Jul 4, 2009

Well this is great news. When they said Charlie was going to be in the tour after all, we should have guessed. Can't wait to see him charging for the line, nostrils flaring and all.

I have to say I'm surprised by the decision to let him ride, and whilst it adds to the spice of the race, I wonder how much he's been in training for this. The more top sprinters though, the better.

I still have Friere favourite for green though.

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posted Jul 7, 2009

Yes, Freire is a good choice - I still am not convinced that Cav is going to make it to Paris. Tom has been unlucky in the first couple of days of sprinting, but I expect him to mix it up tomorrow. And Big Thor Hushovd has looked like he's up for it as well, so it should be an interesting competition. But at the end of the day, if Cav does make it to Paris, I can't see anyone else winning it.

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