Tour de France stage 1: Brest>Plumelec
For the first time ever, Slipstream/Chipotle H3O will participate in the 2008 Tour de France along with 19 of the world’s best cycling teams. Each team will bring nine riders for a total of 180 competitors.
The 95th edition of the Tour de France includes 21 stages that cover 3500 kilometers. This year’s race includes two individual time trials, five mountain stages with four mountain finishes and two rest days. The riders will climb a total of 19 total mountains – a mix of categorie 1, 2 and hors categorie.
For the first time since 1967, the Tour does not kick off with the traditional prologue. Instead the race starts in Brittany with a rolling 197.5 km stage. The course includes four categorie 4 hills, three intermediate sprints and a finish on La Cote de Cadoudal (160 m), a short, steep hill the locals call “Brittany’s Alpe-d’Huez”.
Stage 1 is scheduled to start at 12:30 and finish between 16:59-17:26.
Slipstream Squad
Magnus Backstedt
Julian Dean
Will Frischkorn
Ryder Hesjedal
Trent Lowe
Martijn Maaskant
David Millar
Danny Pate
Christian Vande Velde
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My TDF squad…..Just wanted to see how close I come to the actual squad.
Backstedt
Dean
Hesjedal
Laurent
Lowe
Millar
Pate
Vande Velde
Z
Matt,
interesting and could be very likely. The big question mark for me is Tommy Gun. I noticed he isn’t on the Giro roster which concerns me. When Tom is healthy he is an elite climber let’s not forget he won a great stage in the Vuelta in 2006 and I believed finished 16th in the 2005 Giro. He is a mountain goat that VV could use as a super dm.
I know Laurent will be included for experience and the fact that he is French but he just hasn’t impressed me.
I’d like to see Tyler there to help Magnus and Dean for a potential sprint finish but he just can climb yet.
Lowe and Ryder have ridden their way into spots IMO!
I’m not sure who I would take out of your line up Matt but I am really hoping Frischkorn makes that team. Are two GT’s too much for Pate? He’s on the Giro roster but I did think JV wanted him on the Tour for sure.
My thought -
C, DZ, Maggy, Juilan, Millar, Pate, Will, Lowe, & TD.
With the win in Georgia, Trent showed he deserves a spot.
Martijn Maaskant should be in the squad as well. His results in the springclassics were awesome. I hope he can win his 1st pro race this week in Duinkerken.
I think you have to go with Tommy D. He has twice finished top 10 on GC in the Vuelta (5th and 6th). he showed good form in TDG. He was one of the four who crossed the line together in the TTT, so I think his form is progressing. I think maybe JV left him off the GIiro squad becuase two GT’s might be a bit much for his back.
Here are my other picks;
Backstedt
Pate
Hesjedal
Laurent
Lowe
Millar
Vande Velde
Z
You know that Pate will slaughter himself forthe team. And Lowe wight be a strong wild card for the White.
If you look at TD’s website he’s showing Le Tour on his updated schedule. It looks like JV didn’t see that spark yet during TdGA, but the form is progressing. Expect him to be ready for Catalunya as he preps for July.
My picks:
TD
Z
VdV
Millar
Farrar
Cozza
Pate
Lowe
Friedman?
Looks like Tommy D is in fact slated for the Tour. Not sure who I would pull from my original line-up. Anyway, it was fun playing armchair DS.
Here it is…make it happen:
Backstedt
Farrar
Hesjedal
Lowe
Maaskant
Millar
Pate
Vande Velde
Zabriskie
Je suis ravie de savoir que vous allez faie partie du Tur de France et je souhaite que David Millar soit de la partie car aussi non , vous allez gacher le début de mes vacances.
Marina
Cj Sutton would be a better move ahead of Maaskant for TDF.
Sam
Julian Dean has to be in the team.Hes a world class sprinter & was extremely successful as Thor Hushovds Lead-out over the years, in particular stage 4 2007 TDF & final stage 2006 TDF . He also has amazing stamina as evidenced in Giro lasting nearly to end with very painful injuries & helping CJ win Delta after a crash.
Tommy D Trent and Ryder for the mountains, CVV and Millar for the TT, Dean and Farrar to sprint, Pate to be a pain in the butt for everyone, and Maggie as the “enforcer”
Is Za Dave going to be ready for the Tour?
Maybe no Tommy D.
June 14th:
“Tommy D is ill and flying home for testing.”
OK, then he describes that his “Powertap was smoking” before the race and magically appears in the Route du Sud.
Then we see:
Route du Sud stage 2 ITT
50. Tom Danielson +4′13″
It does not look like he is riding up to his capabilities.
So, anyhow, we’ll know in a couple of days whether he’s on the TdF squad.
Tomorrow is the day for selection, any last minute guesses? I’d like to stick with my original (post 13), but Tommy D shocked me a bit by his performance at Route du Sud. I’d love to see him race the TDF, but…
Well, tomorrow is the big announcement. Here is my pick for the Tour team. It’s too bad Dave won’t be there he’ll be missed.
Magnus Backstedt
Dan Martin
Julian Dean
Tyler Farrar
Ryder Hesjedal
Trent Lowe
CJ Sutton
David Millar
Christian Vande Velde
*Danny Pate-alt
I will stick with my original picks (post #1) but since Z is out, Tommy D. fills the slot. In a 3 week tour, one can ride into form reasonably quick. I think he has alot to prove to himself…….I think he deserves the shot.
Matt- Tulsa, OK
Today is the day! I can’t imagine TD making it after disappointing in the mountain TT. It’s great news for young Dan Martin to win the Route du Sud, but it’s already expressed that he’s too young for Le Tour this year.
Maggie
Trent
David Millar
Tyler Farrar
Julian
CVV
Danny Pate
Christophe Laurent
Tom P!
Oops, scratch Top P. even though he was strong this past week. I see he’s not on the long list. I’ll have to say Cozza, with Maaskant as the alternate.
Matt,
There is no doubt he deserves to ride the Tour, however he hasn’t been 100% in over 2 years. I somehow doubt putting him in a 3week Grand Tour is the way to improve his form. I think he’d be a dnf or dns before the 2nd week and that isn’t good for him or the team. I’d love to see him do something special at a Grand Tour but I don’t think this is the one.
Put Tommy D in! There has to be a reason for his lack of performance. I’m trying to understand how those training videos didn’t transfer to results. Granted we’re only seeing tid bits, but time is running out. Garmin isn’t going to the Vuelta, so this is it for the year grand tour wise. All those years with USPS/Disco and no TDF, lets end the jinx!
c’mon, you’re killing me! What time of day is the final list going to be released? I’m sure I’ve got system admins checking the network logs seeing me suck up bandwidth hitting slipstreamsports.com every 15 seconds.
Who thinks the brass at Garmin Chipotle throw some schwag to whomever guesses the tour squad???? Yea Yea!!
Millar
DZ
Lowe
Dean
Magnus
VV
Tyler
Pate
Maaskant
Cozza
Lowe for White Jersey, Dean or Magnus will hopefully win a Stage. Millar or DZ will be in Yellow. Slipstream for Team win!!! Go the Argyle
My Picks:
Millar
VV
Pate
Hesjedal
Lowe
Backstedt
Maaskant
Dean
Farrar
Would love to see Tommy D on there, but he just hasn’t performed. When are they going to announce their decision?
Well, Velo News released the squad before the site, no Tommy D! Sure hope he can find some form for the rest of the year. As for the rest of the squad, go kick some French Butt!!!!
And it’s Fresh Korn by a wheel-length! Congrats to Will and the rest of the crew for making the Tour team. My wife asked me who she should cheer for at this year’s event and I said, “Duh, Slipstream! Oh, I mean GARMIN!”
Having known Tom personally for the past 7 years, since his racing days at Fort Lewis College on his old broken down mountain bike, I just want everyone to know that I am sure that he would really appreciate reading this forum and to see everyone rooting for him! Tom is a very mental rider and when he is on, boy is he ON, but toss in some crazy virus, and he gets the crap beatin’ out of him. There are only so many years you can take that!! It has been a long uphill (no pun intended) battle for him and everyone send him good thoughts and wishes so that he can ride hard and HEALTHY through the next year and FINALLY land a spot on the team for the Tour. Sucks that it wasn’t this year, but hey, maybe 6th pro yr will be the charm?
I can say as a fan of cycling I have been waiting for 3 years to see if Tom D can put up some good numbers in the greatest cycling race in the world. When Tom D and Dave Z signed on, Slipstream was a relatively unknown team who would be lucky to have two guys of that calibar to lead them into the TDF. Now in the last hour you tell a guy with that much Grand Tour experience that his services aren’t needed. And, someone please tell me what he was doing at the Route du Sud anyway he should have been working on his form in the FRENCH ALPS. This is very dissapointing. Leaving a world class climber behind can never be a good thing. The Team needed another guy like that to help pull through the mountains. I guess they must be just going for breakaway Stage wins and or Time trials.
Well Good Luck anyway!
I think maybe next year Tom should look into taking his experience to a Team who will garauntee him a spot on their TDF roster and let him help pull their Team through the mountains. Maybe a team like Astana, Columbia or CSC could use his services. See you at the top. I could be wrong but if I’m not don’t let me be the first to tell you “I told you so!”
VIVE LE TOUR!
Everyone in victoria and canada will be cheering Ryder on .We all know u can win us a stage.Go for it.Good luck to all the team .