Tour Picks

The Tour de France started today ... in London. I got to see a little of the prologue on Danish TV in my hotel room since I'm in Skåne visiting my sister's family this weekend. I feel obliged to document who I am cheering for before we get too far into the event. Alas, Ivan Basso is not participating this year either, alas because it turns out he is a documented cheat. So, who do we have left? No Floyd but I am no more enamored of him than I was last year and frankly, I'm glad I don't need to watch him ride with his awkward body. Leipheimer may be the best bet for the US, but I'm not routing for him either.

I've decided that my top choice is Vino. Ya gotta love Vino, that is, Alexander Vinokourov (Astana). He's an incredibly aggressive rider (in the good sense of "aggressive"). He and his team were unable to participate in the Tour last year because a Directeur Sportif was tied to doping although the team wasn't. It can't be easy to be a Kazakh. And finally he looks exactly like the comic book character Tin Tin (which can't be easy either). I wish I was more original in this choice, but I'm not. Vino is the top pick of many according to www.cyclingnews.com. My 2nd pick is more novel: Cyril Dessel! He isn't even a team captain but he placed in the top 10 last year (7th) and was the most recent Frenchman to wear yellow. It would be great if a Frenchman won the Tour again (finally) and I think Dessel may have what it takes. 3rd is tough. Initially I thought Jens Voigt, cuz he's strong and has a great spirit, but realistically, he probably doesn't have a chance because he'll have to sacrifice himself for Carlos Sastre or Frank Schleck. Oscar Pereiro is at least captain of his team, last year's runner up (or #1 depending on your perspective), and really cute, but I don't really think he has it in him. So, because gosh darn it, it would be a beautiful thing to see and he should be strong enough, my 3rd choice for GC is George Hincapie (see, I can root for a Yankee). I think Levi Leipheimer peaked too early this year and he's too much of a pipsqueak for me to get worked up about. So there you have it. I have spoken.