The hearts of both the Schleck brothers collectively
dropped, when they discovered the route of the 2012 Tour de France.
Frank and Andy put on a brave face at the unveiling of the
next Tour route, despite it having 100km against the clock. 2012 looks to be a
very different year for the Grand Tours, with the Giro much flatter than its
predecessor. The Olympic Games has probably got something to do with it, with
riders not wanting to tire themselves out before the Games. The Grand Boucle
will start a week earlier than normal to accommodate the games.
With Frank and Andy were staring down the barrel of yet
another defeat, there were a few riders rubbing their hands with glee. Namely
Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, Bradley Wiggins and Samuel Sanchez, who are both
good in the mountains and against the clock. The battle between Contador (if he
is allowed to race) and Evans should provide us with some thrilling racing.
Bradley Wiggins is sure to have a grin on his face, after claiming silver in
the World Time-Trial championships. He also proved he climbing prowess a few
weeks earlier, in the Vuelta a Espana.
If Team Sky allow Chris Froome to ride the Tour, we could
see the two riders fighting for another leader’s jersey. Sky will have to be
careful to make sure they don’t hinder themselves and cut their losses, if they
feel one is falling behind. Sanchez
might not be as prolific as the others, but the 2011 King of the Mountains
could certainly reach a podium. The newly time-trial king Tony Martin could
also be a contender for a top-ten position, in the general classiment.
Mark Cavendish is going to like this route much more, with a
lot less climbing to contend with. He is likely to have some stiff competition
from Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel. The German and the Slovakian have not
really had the chance to go head to head with the Manx express. They will
surely get the chance in Cycling’s biggest race, after their great performances
in 2011. The fight for the green jersey will be another hot contest.
Mountains, like in the Giro, are much less of a focus in
next year’s race, which means anyone who wants the polka-dot jersey cannot take
a softly-softly approach. Jelle Vanendert will be eager to get his own back on
Sanchez, who took the jersey from him on the final mountain stage. With so many
time-trial stages, the Schlecks will look to make their impact during the
mountain stages. So we could see one of the Luxembourgish riders donning the
maillot grimpeur, as they make their bid for the leader’s jersey.
The 2012 Tour de France is set to be another thriller and,
with most of the riders preparing for the Olympics, we should expect some
fireworks.
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