2009 Tour de France - The Teams

The teams in alphabetical order with a few comments on rosters and riders looking at possible stage winners with past stage winners in red, Aussies in Blue.

AG2R La Mondiale
o 1 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa)
o 2 Cyril Dessel (Fra)
o 3 Hubert Dupont (Fra)
o 4 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus)
o 5 Stéphane Goubert (Fra)
o 6 Lloyd Mondory (Fra)
o 7 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita)
o 8 Christophe Riblon (Fra)
o 9 Nicholas Roche (Irl)

French team with lots of French riders, Vladimir Efimkin was 10th last year on the back of some good efforts in the hills, he may well be a KOM contender with Valjavec as well who was 9th last year. If they work together with Dessel and Goubert anyone of the them could chase a stage win or KOM points. Nicholas Roche, son of 1987 winner Tony makes his debut here.

Agritubel
o 11 Maxime Bouet (Fra)
o 12 Sylvain Calzati (Fra)
o 13 Brice Feillu (Fra)
o 14 Romain Feillu (Fra)
o 15 Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Spa)
o 16 David Lelay (Fra)
o 17 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
o 18 Christophe Moreau (Fra)
o 19 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra)

Another French team, this one a wildcard. They do have ex French Champ Christophe Moreau though, he was a contender once upon a time (4th overall in 2000). Romain Feillu can ride and like the rest of the team, they have nothing to lose, they will be looking to get in breakaways and sneak a stage win. Feillu wore Yellow last year courtesy of a breakaway on stage 4 that got him a heap of time, he lost it the next day.

Astana
o 21 Lance Armstrong (USA)
o 22 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa)
o 23 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
o 24 Levi Leipheimer (USA)
o 25 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)
o 26 Sergio Paulinho (Por)
o 27 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
o 28 Grégory Rast (Swi)
o 29 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)

Um Yep. The Big guns. 5 ex stage winners, with 2 ex-winners, 2 others that have been on the podium and 2 others that have been in the top 10. Very hard to contend with, they will go for the GC win but Popovych could have a shot at the KOM (not that he did much to help Cadel last year!) if they wanted although i doubt it. They will try and win it overall and get the team win as well. Johan Bruyneel is one of the best managers in the game (its him or Riis), certainly he is the most successful. Guided Lance to 7 tour wins and has had contador for his 3 grand tour wins. Tactics will not be a problem and as we saw last year, team strength has a lot to do with winning this race.

BBOX Bouygues Telecom
o 31 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn)
o 32 William Bonnet (Fra)
o 33 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra)
o 34 Saïd Haddou (Fra)
o 35 Laurent Lefevre (Fra)
o 36 Alexandre Pichot (Fra)
o 37 Pierre Rolland (Fra)
o 39 Thomas Voeckler (Fra)

French Team who specialise in escape attempts, Voeckler and Fedrigo are probably the best riders, both trying to get away and stay away for as long as possible. Voeckler actively pursues KOM points every year. Other than that not much to offer.

Caisse d'Epargne
o 41 David Arroyo Duran (Spa)
o 42 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por)
o 43 Arnaud Coyot (Fra)
o 44 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa)
o 45 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa)
o 46 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa)
o 47 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa)
o 48 Luis Leon Sánchez Gil (Spa)
o 49 Rigoberto Uran (Col)

Caisse d'Espargne are a Spanish mob sponsored by a French bank. They are missing team leader Alejandro Valverde (top 10 last 2 years) becasue he is banned from riding in Italy - an the tour spends a day or two there. So Past winner Oscar Pereiro will probably be leader although i think Luis Leon Sanchez and David Arroyo are the best riders and with young gun Luis Rodriguez they will be looking to be agressive and win a stage or two in the Pyrenees. Chances of a stage win are good for one of those 4 mentioned but i can't see them having anyone 10 top in the overallclassification.

Cervelo Test Team
o 51 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa)
o 52 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa)
o 53 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)
o 54 Heinrich Haussler (Ger)
o 55 Thor Hushovd (Nor)
o 56 Andreas Klier (Ger)
o 57 Brett Lancaster (Aus)
o 58 Hayden Roulston (NZl)
o 59 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa)

They left out Simon Gerrans. What a waste. A bloke who is a super domestique and was head hunted. The take Inigo Cunesta a 40yo who i doubt will finish the race. This is one reason sastre will struggle, he will not get the help he needs in the hills. I rated Gerrans stage win last year in my top 5 favourite sporting moments (the others were Hawthorns AFL grand Final win, Usain Bolt at the Olympics, Phelps at the Olympics and aussie cricketer Brett Lee breaking down and missing a few tests). Sastre will be high up in the GC, Hushovd and Haussler can win stages. Aussie Brett Lancaster rides in his 3rd tour here after previously being a lead out man for Petacchi and Erik Zabel at Milram - he is a quality lead out man and will be looking to put Hushovd in the right spot in the bunch finishes.

Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
o 61 Stéphane Auge (Fra)
o 62 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra)
o 63 Leonardo Duque (Col)
o 64 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa)
o 65 Christophe Kern (Fra)
o 66 Sébastien Minard (Fra)
o 67 Amaël Moinard (Fra)
o 68 David Moncoutie (Fra)
o 69 Rémi Pauriol (Fra)

Doumolin won a stage last year when he led an escape group inot Nantes, that will be his aim again. Duque was 10 top in 7 sprint stages last year and is improving and Mouncoutie will be chasing KOM and is a chance for stage wins as well.

Euskaltel - Euskadi
o 71 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa)
o 72 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa)
o 73 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa)
o 74 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa)
o 75 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa)
o 76 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa)
o 77 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa)
o 78 Amets Txurruka (Spa)
o 79 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa)

The spanish men in Orange. They Climb. They have left their best rider - Olympic Gold Medalist and 6th overall last year Sammy Sanchez at home. Tey will attack in the mountains, Igor Anton and Amets Txurruka will be taking off in the pyrenees and looking to stay away. They are agressive and thats all we expect of them.

Française des Jeux
o 81 Sandy Casar (Fra)
o 82 Jérôme Coppel (Fra)
o 83 Anthony Geslin (Fra)
o 84 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr)
o 85 Sébastien Joly (Fra)
o 86 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra)
o 87 Jérémy Roy (Fra)
o 88 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra)
o 89 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin)

Another team of Frenchmen with not a whole heap going for them. Attempt the obligatory breakaways, hope to stay away. Sandy Casar can ride and was 13th overall ast year, he will chase stage wins with Geslin.

Garmin - Slipstream
o 91 Julian Dean (NZl)
o 92 Tyler Farrar (USA)
o 93 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
o 94 Daniel Martin (Can)
o 95 David Millar (GBr)
o 96 Danny Pate (USA)
o 97 Christian Vande Velde (USA)
o 98 Bradley Wiggins (GBr)
o 99 David Zabriskie (USA)

The first thing that jumps out at me when i look a this team is SPEED. Zabriskie US national TT champion National Time Trial Champion 2004/06/07/08 and a Time trial winner at both Le Tour and the Giro. Brad Wiggins 2 time Olympic Gold medal winner in the Pursuit, 1 olympic gold in the team pursuit, 3 time world champion at pursuit, 2 time world champ in the team pursuit, world champ in the madison - fast. Vande Velde, great stage racer but also an excellent TT rider with TT results in lesser races, crashed in the Giro and has not had a great lead up but - fast. David Millar - British raod and TT champion, winner of prologue and TT races on tour de France and Vuelta as well as other stage races. Then sprinters Dean and Farrar. These guys are after TT wins. With Vande Veldes injury they have picked a team focused on wining the TT stages. & they would have to be a short priced fave for the Team Time Trial. Look for Millar and Martin to get into breakaways and try and pinch stages, otherwise they will be leading out for Dean and Farrar or supporting Vandevelde if he is strong enough.

Team Katusha
o 101 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus)
o 102 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa)
o 103 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus)
o 104 Serguei Ivanov (Rus)
o 105 Vladimir Karpets (Rus)
o 106 Danilo Napolitano (Ita)
o 107 Filippo Pozzato (Ita)
o 109 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel)

Unfortunately no Robbie McEwen. I beleive he would have had the best chanse of anyone of taking it up to Cavendish with a team built around him where the last few years they were working for cadel. Still Pozzato is a fair rider, he will be wearing the Italian jersey as their champ and expect him to be close to winning a stage or 2, he might even be the one they work for in the sprints, Ivanov has won stages before and can figure again, his win in the Amstel Gold this year was great.

Lampre - NGC
o 111 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) - Current world Champion.
o 112 Marco Bandiera (Ita)
o 113 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita)
o 114 Angelo Furlan (Ita)
o 115 David Loosli (Swi)
o 116 Daniele Righi (Ita)
o 117 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita)
o 118 Marcin Sapa (Pol)
o 119 Simon Spilak (Slo)

This team does not really care much for Le Tour - they are Italian and they chase Giro wins. But Bruseghin is a fair rider, Italian TT champ in the past and a decent all rounder, Ballan their best rider, he will be searching for stage wins and will get the support from the rest.

Liquigas
o 121 Daniele Bennati (Ita)
o 122 Roman Kreuziger (Cze)
o 123 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr)
o 124 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
o 125 Franco Pellizotti (Ita)
o 126 Fabio Sabatini (Ita)
o 127 Brian Vandborg (Den)
o 128 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita)
o 129 Frederik Willems (Bel)

I i have said in the other profiles i am expecting big things from this team. Kreuziger is a superstar in the making and i think he will be top 10. Nibali and Pellizotti provide adequate support and Pellizotti possibly goes for KOM points. Bennati is a sprinter of the highest calibre, a stage winner in the past and he can always figure again.

Quick Step
o 131 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa)
o 132 Allan Davis (Aus)
o 133 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra)
o 134 Steven de Jongh (Ned)
o 135 Stijn Devolder (Bel)
o 136 Jérôme Pineau (Fra)
o 137 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel)
o 138 Matteo Tosatto (Ita)
o 139 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel)
o 140 Tom Boonen (Bel)

10 men listed here - I highlighted the Davis / Boonen dilema in the Green jersey preview. They have two very stong riders in Chavenel and Devolder who will go for stage wins and look for breakaways, Davis or Boonen looking for the Green Jersey. great lead out train, good alround package, they will win a stage or two somewhere, hopefully Its Alan Davis flying the Ausie flag.

Rabobank
o 141 Stef Clement (Ned)
o 142 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa)
o 143 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa)
o 144 Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa)
o 145 Robert Gesink (Ned)
o 146 Denis Menchov (Rus)
o 147 Grischa Niermann (Ger)
o 148 Joost Posthuma (Ned)
o 149 Laurens ten Dam (Ned)

Menchov will go for Yellow, Freire for Green, Gesink possibly for KOM and is eligible for the White Jersey. a good all round team looking to put the memork of Rassmussen behind them. Gesink is a young star, the others more than capable and they will win at least one stage with Menchov, Freire or Gesink.

Silence - Lotto
o 151 Charles Wegelius (GBr)
o 152 Mickael Delage (Fra)
o 153 Cadel Evans (Aus)
o 154 Sebastian Lang (Ger)
o 155 Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
o 156 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel)
o 157 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel)
o 158 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel)
o 159 Johan Van Summeren (Bel)

Cadel Evans flys the flag for the Aussies with the assistance of another Aussie in Matt Lloyd, the 2008 Australian road race champion . He has Sebastian Lang to help out in the hills this year but has lost Thomas Dekker who was booted yesterday because of "suspect levels". It is a big blow to go with the big gun recruit Bernard Kohl who was last years KOM winner and 3rd overall - he tested positive and is now on the banned list. So Cadel again goes in with a sub standard support team and will be up against it.

Skil-Shimano
o 161 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)
o 162 Koen de Kort (Ned)
o 163 Simon Geschke (Ger)
o 164 Jonathan Hivert (Fra)
o 165 Thierry Huppond (Fra)
o 166 Cycril Lemoine (Fra)
o 167 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned)
o 168 Albert Timmer (Ned)
o 169 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned)

A wildcard entry that quite frankly has achieved next to nothing. Not one rider has had a tour start or won a major race. Breakaway and hope for hte best.

Team Columbia - HTC
o 171 Mark Cavendish (GBr)
o 172 Bernhard Eisel (Aut)
o 173 Bert Grabsch (Ger)
o 174 George Hincapie (USA)
o 175 Kim Kirchen (Lux)
o 176 Tony Martin (Ger)
o 177 Maxime Monfort (Bel)
o 178 Mark Renshaw (Aus)
o 179 Michael Rogers (Aus)

They were Columbia Highroad until today when HTC was announced as the new sponsor - just in time for the start! They boast The worlds best sprinter in Cavendish who will get great lead outs from Aussie Mark Renshaw and world TT champ Grabsch, thats the Green Jersey focus. There is Kim Kirchen and Mick Rogers for the GC and everyone will be ably assisted by Big George Hincapie having his 14th tour start, he was once Lance's general and knows how to play the game. Martin, Eisel and Monfort all provide above average support. Great Team.

Team Milram
o 181 Gerald Ciolek (Ger)
o 182 Marcus Fothen (Ger)
o 183 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger)
o 184 Linus Gerdemann (Ger)
o 185 Christian Knees (Ger)
o 186 Niki Terpstra (Ned)
o 187 Peter Velits (Svk)
o 188 Fabian Wegmann (Ger)
o 189 Peter Wrolich (Aut)

Gerdelman is a former stage winner and yellow jersey wearer on the 2007 tour, he and Fothen will be their best chances of a high GC finish, possibly aim for a breakaway and a stage win, although a top 20 GC finish would be their best hope. A few might chase KOM points but i think they will be trying to find a stage win for young gun Ciolek.
Team Saxo Bank
o 191 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor)
o 192 Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
o 193 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe)
o 194 Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
o 195 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den)
o 196 Andy Schleck (Lux)
o 197 Fränk Schleck (Lux)
o 198 Nicki Sörensen (Den)
o 199 Jens Voigt (Ger)

The team that destroyed the peleton is back. This year a new leader (A. Schleck or F.Scheck) but the result might be similar. Massive experience, 5 former stage winners, 4 guys who have worn yellow, another who won the white jersey, 2 tour deubtants and one of the best tacticians running the show in Bjarne Riis. Aussie favourite Stu O'Grady is an absolute machine and big Fabian Cancellara and the German Jens Voigt are both cut from the same stone, they just go and go and go. A very very tough team on flat stages, on hills and in time trials. No real sprinters here (although Cancellara won a sprint stage last year) and any man in this team can win a stage here. Along with Astana will be fighting to control the race.

2009 Tour de France - Polka Dots

The King of the Mountains Classification

2007 Winer Mauricio Soler is not riding this year, his team was not on the invite list.

I think this years race for the spotted jersey is a tough one to pick.

No doubt the French teams will throw riders at the KOM points in the early stages to get their sponsors on TV, the Euskaltel - Euskadi (little billy goats spaniards in orange) riders will go all out in the Pyrenees where they live, but in reality, it will be decided in the Alps in the last week. I am betting it is someone high up in the GC will win. The only thing surer is that Thomas Voeckler will be in just about every single breakaway chasing all the points and airtime he can get in the early stages. Good luck to him, he has led the KOM and tour overall in the past but i cant see him getting a look in once the real mountains hit. Its often good for a laugh though.

So i will throw the names out that are most likely.
Contador
A. Schleck
Kreuziger
F. Schleck
Sastre
Menchov

all the big guns - Enough said there and we wont know more until the hills hit.

Only a few that are not in the race favourites jump out at me.

David Moncoutié
Cofidis
Major Wins
2008 King of the Mountains Vuelta a España
2008 Vuelta a Espana, 1 stage
2006 Paris-Nice, Mountains Classification
2005 Paris-Nice, Mountains classification
2005 Vuelta al País vasco, 1 stage
2005 Tour de France, 1 stage
2004 Tour de France, 1 stage
1999 Dauphiné Libéré, 1 stage

A Frenchman on a French team - oh the pressure! He is a multiple mountain stage winner on this and other tours, was KOM at last years Spanish tour. no doubt he will go for it and the Frenchies will go ballistic, they have not had a KOM contender for a few years.

Franco Pellizotti
Liquigas
Major Wins
2006 - 1 stage Giro d'Italia (8th overall)
2008 - 1 stage Giro d'Italia (4th overall)
2009 - 1 stage Giro d'Italia (3rd overall)

I think Liquigas will have Kreuziger going for the highest GC position and and Pellizotti going out for KOM points, then dropping back to assist Kreuziger when thegoing gets tough. A climber with 3 Giro wins and consistently high finishes. Good to watch.




Robert Gesink
Rabobank
Major Wins
Tour of Belgium, 1 stage
Tour of California, 1 stage

A future star, he will be Mechovs main man in the mountains, possibly send him out for the points and then drop back for the help. Big things are expected by Rabobank but with Menchov and Freire on their team, going for all 3 jerseys is a long shot.
But really this is hard, the winner could come from anywhere. 2 years ago who had ever heard of Mauricio Soler? No one (except if you were Columbian). Every team is going to send racers out to take their chances, especially the french ones.


But a quick look through the results of the last few years......
2008 - Kohl - doping subsequently went to Sastre
2007 - Soler - not here
2006 - Rassmussen - doper
2005 - Rassmussen - doper
2004 - Virenque - 'reformed' doper
2003 - Virenque - 'reformed' doper

hmm - who is on the juice this year that will be able to take on the big guns, someone might jump out of the pack?

How the Points Work.
each Mountain Gets a category, from easiest to hardest it is 4,3,2,1 and 'Hors Category' (HC)
HC means beyond classification. Like the green jersey the points are awarded in the order the riders cross each peak.

Cat 4 - 3,2,1
Cat 3 - 4,3,2,1
Cat 2 - 10,9,8,7,6,5
Cat 1 - 15,13,11,9,8,7,6,5
HC - 20,18,16,14,12,10,8,7,6,5

If the Final climb of the day is a Cat 1 or HC then the points are doubled for that climb.

In the event of a countback the man with the most HC points wins.


The KOM may well be decided on the last mountain stage - in fact the whole tour will probably be decided here on this mountain - the famed and feared Ventoux

Tour de France 2009 - The Green Jersey.

Malliot Vert

Robbie McEwen after winning his 3rd Malliot Vert - sadly injury will mean he will not be here this year.

The battle for sprint supremacy does not always go to the best sprinter or fastest man in the peleton. Last years winner Oscar Freire only won the one stage, but he comfortably won the jersey. This was because Freire was consistently in the finish - he figures in bunch finishes and is able to compete in some of the harder stages as well - and also because Mark Cavendish wanted an Olympic gold medal so he packed up and left early, missed a chance at a green jersey and missed an olympic medal as well! You dont win the Green by just racking up stage wins, rather you have to being consistent over the whole race. If your competition is in the finish of a stage, you need to be there as well. Tricky stages that might be relatively flat but are not for the pure sprinters (with bunch finishes and lead out trains) because of short straights or uphill kicks can be a trap - Freire was able to breakaway on a stage last year that featured a small uphill finish - he and his breakaways got the points and they were denied to the pure sprinters competing for the jersey.

This year there are not that many tricky stages for the sprinters, a few rolling days which might sap some energy come final sprint time but a lot of stages with long lead ins to the line should mean that the fastest can win quite often.

This year we are robbed of three time green jersey winner (2002/04/06) Robbie McEwen who is out injured and probably will also be without 2007 winner Tom Boonen who tested positive for Cocaine for the 3rd time!. Still, 2008 champ Oscar Freire and 2005 winner Thor Hushovd will front up, then there is the possiblity of Aussie Alan Davis, Danielli Benatti and the quasi-aussie Heinrich Haussler mixing it up with the universally acclaimed fastest sprinter in the world Mark Cavendish. Columbia-HTC (Cavendish) Quickstep (Boonen or Davis) and Cervelo (Husovd) always have great good sprint trains going in the bunches, it should be fast on the flat!

How The Points Work
In every stage, the first finishers are awarded points for the Overall Points Classification. The stages are divided into several types: individual time trials, flat stages, undulating stages and mountain stages. There are also intermediate sprints during each stage.

A rider has to complete the Tour in order to be ranked in the Final Points Classification.

FLAT STAGES (stages 2,3,5,6,10,11,12,14,19,21)
1st 35 points, then 30,26,24,22,20,19,18,17 etc all the way down to 1 point for 25th place

UNDULATING STAGES (stage 13)
1st 25 points, then 22,20,18,16,15,14,13,12 etc all the way down to 1 point for 20th

MOUNTAIN STAGES (stages 7,8,9,15,16,17,20)
1st 20 points, then 17,15,13,12,10,9,8 down to 1 point for 15th

TIME TRIALS (stages 1 & 18)
1st 15 points then 12,10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1 down to 10th.

and the riders............

Mark Cavendish
Columbia - HTC
Major Wins
4 Stages 2008 Tour de France
2 Stages 2008 Giro d'Italia
4 Stages 2009 Giro d'Italia
2009 Milan - San Remo
2005/08 Madison World Champion (track)

Quite simply the fastest man on two wheels. All things being equal no one is going to beat Cavendish in a straight line sprint. He was a revelation last year when he won 4 stages before packing up and going home so he could prepare for the olympics. Despite all the stages he was not leading the points competition when he left, he did not chase intermediate sprints, it was all about the win for him. Same story at the Giro this year, 4 stages, left early but was not leading the classification either. Columbia has said it is time to deliver, they have given him some solid lead out men and he will have one of the best trains (including Aussie Mark Renshaw) so he should not have to many excuses. So if he plays the game the right way, chases points and makes sure he is in the right spot he should win, the even money quote with most betting shops reflects that. His victory at this years Milan - San Remo - the longest of the one day classic races, showed that he has developed into a very solid rider who is able to sprint after 300km of riding - no stage of the tour is that long. Heinrich Haussler had that race shot to pieces, he kicked was away and they were never going to get him with 100m to go - and then came Cavendish. Go to you tube and search for 2009 Milan - San Remo, simply amazing.
This year he has been in devastating form have a look at this win list for 2009, he has regularly beaten most of the men he is up against here - so far this year no one comes close to matching this kind of record:

Tour of Qatar
1st Stage 4
1st Stage 6
Tour of California
1st Sprints Classification
1st Stage 4
1st Stage 5
Tirreno-Adriatico
1st Stage 7
Three Days of De Panne
1st Points Classification
1st Stage 2
1st Stage 3
Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 1 Team Time Trial
1st Stage 9
1st Stage 11
1st Stage 13
Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 3
1st Stage 6
1st Milan-Sanremo

He has a lot of wins over the very men he will be racing here, but this is 3 weeks of racing not a single stage and there are a few questions on Cavendish.
It is time to deliver.

Oscar Freire
Rabobank
Major Wins
1999/01/04 World Road Race Champion
2005 Tirreno-Adriatico
2004/07 Milan-Sanremo
2008 Ghent-Wevelgem
2 Stages 2000 Vuelta a España
1 Stage 2002 Tour de France
1 Stage 2004 Tour de France
2 Stages 2006 Tour de France
3 Stages 2007 Vuelta a España
1 Stage 2008 Vuelta a España
1 Stage 2008 Tour de France
Points Classification 2008 Tour de France

One of only 4 men to have won 3 World Championships, Oscar Freire is the reigning points champ and remains on eof the most talented sprinters in the world. Last year he won just a single stage but was regularly top 3 and fought and scrapped for every point he could, he was there on the bunch sprints, the undulating days with uphill kicks and he does it pretty much on his own. When Cavendish left the tour at stage 14 he had won 4 of them and yet Freire had worn the Green jersey from stage 8. He is not going to get much help from his team but that will not bother him. He is often overlooked, but Freire will pop up and win a stage somewhere, he picks them up regularly on the tours of France and Spain and you don't become a two time winner of the monumental Milan - San Remo without being very strong all round. He will be in the finish of just aboout every stage because he is able to climb over some of the obstacles others can not. He will rely on his experience and road craft to try and beat Cavendish and pick up points at every opportunity.


Thor Hushovd
Cervelo Test Team
Major Wins
1998 U23 World TT Champion
2006 Gent-Wevelgem
1 Stage 2001 Tour de France
1 Stage 2002 Tour de France
1 Stage 2004 Tour de France
1 Stage 2005 Vuelta a España
2 Stages 2006 Tour de France
1 Stage 2006 Vuelta a España
1 Stage 2007 Giro d'Italia
1 Stage 2007 Tour de France
1 Stage 2008 Tour de France
Points Classification 2005 Tour de France
Points Classification 2006 Vuelta a España

Thor - The God of thunder. The big Norwegian has changed teams after 9 successful years at Credit-Agricole. He has picked up stages in all but two Tour de Frances since 2001 - amazingly he did not win a stage in 2005, the year he won the Green Jersey. He has been in good form this year, a Stage of the Tour of California, 2 stages of Vuelta a Catalunya as well as a pair of 3rds in two of the biggest spring classics, the Paris-Roubaix and the Milan - San Remo. Cervelo have spent half their team looking after Sastre in a bid for another GC win but with Haussler, Roulston and Aussie Brett Lancaster they will prove a formidable sprint team. Both Hushovd and Haussler are capable of wins but in a bunch finish it goes to the big guy over his team mate.


Danielli Benatti
Liquigas
Major Wins
2 Stages 2007 Tour de France
3 Stages 3007 Vuelta a España
3 Stages 2008 Giro d'Italia
2 Stages 2008 Vuelta a España
Points jersey, Vuelta a Espana (2007)
Points jersey, Giro d'Italia (2008)

Benatti has been accumulating wins on major stages races on a regular basis over the past few years. To go with points classification wins in the Giro and Vuelta he also has won the points classification on the Tour de Suisse (2006, 2007) Deutschland Tour (2005) & Tour de Romandie (2008). He is consistent and he gets results. He wins stages and he chases points. He won't be getting a heap of support from his team as they look to support Kreuziger, Pellizotti and Nibali in the search for stage wins and a GC result. He missed the 2008 Tour with an injury and has missed this years Giro as well, hopefully he is fit and firing as he can make and impression.

The Quickstep situation. At the time of writing we are still unsure if Tom Boonen or Alan Davis will fill the last position for Quickstep. Boonen tested positive to cocaine in an out of competition test. For the third time - 2007/08/09 - reads like his Palmares! He is not banned from competing (he won the Belgian championships last weekend) however the organiser of the tour has decied that they dont want him to compete, it lokos bad for the sport. So Quickstep (who of course are under pressure from sponsors) want their best rider out there, have gone to court. On Monday the civil court of Nanterre, France, declared itself not competent to rule on the case between the Belgian Quick Step team and Tour de France organiser, ASO. So we are in limbo! Quick Step and Boonen have decided to ask the French Olympic Committee court (CNOSF) make a ruling, we are still waiting. If Boonen does not ride, the sprinters position on Quickstep will go to Aussie Alan Davis.

Tom Boonen
Quickstep
Major Wins
2005/08/09 Paris-Roubaix
2005 World Road Race Champion
2005/06 Ronde van Vlaanderen
2004 Gent-Wevelgem
2 stages 2004 Tour de France
2 stages 2005 Tour de France
2 stages 2007 Tour de France
2 stages 2008 Vuelta a Espana
Points Classification 2007 Tour de France

A man who racks up wins in classics, stage races and just about everything else, a green Jersey winner, world champ and 3 x winner of the queen of the classics - the Paris-Roubaix. Without doubt one of the most talented bike riders on the planet. He apparently celebrates these wins with copious amounts of cocaine - has tested positive in 2007, 2008 and 2009! Last year he missed the tour after a positive cocaine test and apparently after not being one to heed warnings failed another out of comp test in april. So the courts will decide if he can race or not. Im guessing not.

Alan Davis
Quickstep
Major Wins
not much in the way of major wins when compared to the others - however..
2009 Tour Down Under (3 stages)
Points Classification 2009 Tour Down Under
2nd 2007 Milan - San Remo
5th in 2005 Tour de France points classification

If Tom Boonen does not get a gig - Davis will be the beneficiary. A very solid sprinter without the big results on the board, he has stage wins in minor races, however his best result in europe is probably the 2nd to Oscar Freire in the 2007 Milan San Remo. He has racked up wins with ease on the tour down under (6 stages total) and won the race overall this year. I thought he rode quite well in the recent Giro d'Italia, no wins but finished top 5 on six of the sprint finishes there. A little more luck, and he will be the head of a team that will have a mcuh better lead out train in the Tour than the one he had in the Giro - arguably the best in the business. He can possibly pinch a stage and his consistency will see him hopefully top 5 in the points standings.

Heinrich Haussler
Cervelo Test Team
Major Wins
1 stage 2005 Vuelta a Espana

Aussie by birth, Haussler moved to Germany at 14 to pursue his dream, with German parents, he rides under a German licence, however is looking to change his allegiance to Australia next year. He has had some major results this year, not the winning kind, however he has placed 2nd in the Milan San Remo (to Cavendish when everyone thought the race was won! - have a look at the photo at right, they gapped the field) 2nd in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, a stage of Paris - Nice, 2 stages of Volta ao Algarve. Along with Hushovd, Haussler will be looking for stage wins knowing that they will also have to do some work for the team supporting Sastre. He is not a pure sprinter probably more of a stage racer but you could argue the same about Boonen. Look for Haussler going early, he is very strong and as we saw at Milan - San Remo it took an unbelievable ride from Cavendish to catch him. I think this guys is a star in the making and Im betting he will win a stage somewhere.

Ok then there are those that will be fighting for the scraps....

Tyler Farrar
Garmin- Slipstream
Major wins
-

Nothing of note but the kid is fast, with some great fast men on his team might get a decent lead out to put himself in the finish on a few stages.

Gerald Ciolek
Milram
Major Wins
2005 German National Champion
2006 U23 World Champion
5 stages Tour of Germany

This youngster won the German Nationals as an 18 year old. Yep 18. He beat some very very good riders from Germany to win that title - and some very juiced up Germans at that. An under 23 world title followed, wins on his home tour followed that. Now with Milrams king Erik Zabel gone Ciolek was recruited to fill the void - has not had great results so far this year but he is strong and fast and what better race to go for broke?

Leonardo Duque
Cofidis
Major Wins
1 stage 2007 Vuelta a Espana
4th in 2008 Tour de France points Classification

Honest and always there abouts in a sprint, will go for intermediate points and may chalk up another top 5 finish.


My Prediction
Without Boonen

1. Cavendish
2. Hushovd
3. Freire
4. Davis
5. Benatti

With Boonen
1. Cavendish
2. Boonen
3. Hushovd
4. Freire
5. Benatti

-----------------

Next I preview the climbers and then an overview of each team and their best chances at yellow, green, polka doots and stage wins.

Tour de France 2009 - The Yellow Jersey

The Yellow Jersey.

Lance is Back, the last 10 winners are all here, but can anyone beat Contador?

The Yellow Jersey is awarded to the man who completes the course in the fastest time. Whoever is leading at the end of each stage wears the yellow the next day. There are no longer time bonuses awarded for stage wins and intermediate sprints (they were removed last year).

Last years results for the Yellow Jersey or General Classification (GC) as it is known:

1 Carlos Sastre (ESP) 87h 52' 52"
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) + 58"
3 Bernhard Kohl (AUT) + 1' 13"
4 Denis Menchov (RUS) + 2' 10"
5 Christian Vandevelde (USA) + 3' 05"
6 Fränk Schleck (LUX) + 4' 28"
7 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) + 6' 25"
8 Kim Kirchen (LUX) + 6' 55"
9 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) + 7' 12"
10 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) + 9' 05"

notes
- Contador, Kloden, Leipheimer & Armstrong did not ride in 2008.
- 3rd placegetter Bernhard Kohl was later disqualified for doping.

2009 sees 4 men competing who have won the yellow jersey in the past
Sastre (2008)
Contador (2007)
Pereiro (2006)
Armstrong (1999-2005)

So in effect we have the winners of the last 10 tours here!

Add to that the riders who have finished 2nd
Evans (2007/08)
Kloden (2004/06)

and those that have finished 3rd
Menchov (2008)
Leipheimer (2007)

For me this is certainly the most anticipated tour since 2005 and not just because Lance is back.

The Contenders.
Here i attempt a top 10 - this is hard!
I am very confident Contador will win barring misfortune, however after that it gets quite difficult.

1. Alberto Contador.
Astana
Major Wins.
2007 Tour de France
2008 Giro d'Italia
2008 Vuelta a España
2007 Paris - Nice
2005 Setmana Catalana
2008/09Vuelta al País Vasco
2007/08Vuelta a Castilla y León

Tour de France Stage Wins: 3

One of only 5 men to have won all 3 grand tours (France Italy and Spain) and he had achieved this at the ripe old age of 25. He missed the tour last year because his Astana team was not invited - thanks to the mischievous behaviour of Alexander Vinakourov the year prior - when Contador rode for Discovery.

He is the best stage racer in the world, all his notable wins described above are in stage races. He is in ominous form, beginning the season with an overall win in the Tour of the Algarve, including a stage win in the 33.7km individual Time Trial (TT). In March he stunned everyone when beating Olympic pursuit champ Bradley Wiggins in the opening 9.8km individual TT in the Paris - Nice race. He also won stage 6 there - braining cadel in the mountains. Whilst failing to win the race overall in what as been described as a stupid error (failed to eat enough on a mountain stage and capitulated - surrendering the lead) he was a solid fourth overall. He claimed the overall victory in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco - also winning the 24km TT and just last week won the Time Trial at the Spanish Championships over 47km. His final stage race lead up was the Dauphiné Libéré - he was 3rd overall and again showed his improved TT prowess, only 8 seconds behind Evans in the opening TT, and 45 seconds behind in the second TT. Contador repeatedly stated that he was not at the the Dauphine to win, just as a training run, he pretty much just tagged Cadel wherever he went and showed Cadel on the climb to the top of ventoux that he had his measure. Clearly his results this year have shown that his TT performances have improved and far from working to limit losses from competiors, he will be taking time off most of them in the TTs. He probably has the strongest team with Lance, Leipheimer and Kloden, he is the strongest climber in the group vying for overall honours and in my opinion he will be very very hard to beat.

2. Andy Schleck
Saxo Bank
Major wins
2009 Liege - Bastogne - Liege
2nd place 2007 Giro d'Italia

A white jersey (youth classification winner) of both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, Andy Schleck is widely spoken of as a future tour winner. When is the only question. He was 2nd in the 2007 Tour of Italy and 12th on the Tour de France last year at his first attempt. This year he won the time honoured Liege - Bastogne - Liege a gruelling 260km single day race. A week later he backed up and placed second in La Fleche Wallonne and has also had good results in the other aspring classics. In last years tour Andy basically had one bad stage, on the road to Pau in stage 10 he failed to eat and drink properly and cost himself a massive chunk of time. Otherwise he would have probably been top 5. He showed on the pivitol day of last years tour, the Climb to L'Alpe d'Huez that he can match anyone on the climbs, in fact many believe that if he had not have been riding in support of Carlos Sastre and chasing down attacks by Menchov, Evans and co with ridiculous ease he would have ridden away with that stage. Certainly for him it looked little less than a training run while all the others looked in pain. The big question will be who Saxo Bank chooses to support, Andy or Frank. But the experience of O'Grady, Cancellara, Voigt and his brother (all who have worn the leaders yellow jersey before) will mean that they will be given every opportunity and it will probably come down to tactics and who is in the right spot at the right time.

3. Lance Armstrong
Astana
Major wins
1999-2005 Tour de France
2002/03 Dauphiné Libéré
2001 Tour de Suisse
1996 La Flèche Wallonne
1995 San Sebastián Classic
1993 World Champion

Tour De France Stage Wins: 22

What can we say about Lance that has not already been said? The greatest Tour rider of all time, the cancer survivor, the world champion, the philantropist. After a 3 year abscence he is back. But there is a new king and Lance will be working along with his Astana team mates for Alberto Contador, they declared last week that Contador was leader. Lance is here to promote cancer awareness, his bike and helmet will be different to those of his teammates and he will stand out. He is going to get heaps of air time and he is going to promote his cause. Can he win the Tour de France? On current exposed form - probably not. Can he scare a few people? Hell Yes! Remember Lance used to train with one goal specifically in mind, he revolutionised the way people prepared for this race by ignoring everything else just for Le Tour. After he placed 12th in the Giro, not long after a broken collar bone and with limited miles in his legs, a few riders publically stated that they were scared - Ivan Basso - "He will go like a beast....I think he will win the Tour." Denis Menchov - "lance will do something special at the tour". Whether he is in a position to launch an all out assault on the tour is yet to be seen. He rode in Support of Leipheimer in the Giro and towards the end of the three weeks certainly looked stronger than his team mate, he dropped back to help more than once. Maybe he stays in contention just in case somethiggn happens to Contador? Maybe its all just a ruse and Lance is the team leader? Maybe he just goes for a stage win or two - lets just say he might have been training the last month specifically for the opening days TT - imaging that! Lance returns, 1st stage, wins, stands on the podium in the yellow jersey......... you cant buy PR better than that! Cancer will be all but cured! Well maybe winning the whole thing would do the trick but that remains to be seen. The money has poured in around the world this week and he is into second fave. You never write off a champion. Strongest team, champion, great all rounder, brilliant tactician - never ever say never.

4. Denis Menchov
Rabobank
Major Wins
2005/07 Vuelta a España
2009 Giro d'Italia
2004 Vuelta al País Vasco

The form cyclist. Comes into this years tour on the back of an excellent performance in the Tour of Italy where he collected 2 stages (would have been 3 if he did not fall in the final ITT) as well as the overall win. This sits nicely with his 2 wins in the tour of spain, a 3 time Grand Tour winner who is in form and will have a team built around supporting him. Last year he was elevated to 3rd in the Tour after Kohls disquallification. He was somewhat unlucky last year, he lost a minute on stage 3 when caught up in a crash but then set about fixing that with consistent results that put him in contention. On stage 15 to Pravato Nevoso (won by aussie Simon Gerrans) he attacked the lead group and only Andy Schleck could go with him, he looked capable of stealing a break on Sastre & co but slipped and fell, regaining his composure to get back finish with the group, it could have been much different. The man can climb, he can time trial. I believe he is less vunerable than evans when he finds himself isolated, if he was riding for a slightly stronger team then he would be the biggest threat however the stronger teams might be able to break him. Rabobank have a solid squad, they dont have the strenght of Astana, Saxo bank or Columbia but with the likes of brilliant young debutant Gesink to support him Menchov is going to be in it for a long way

5. Cadel Evans Silence Lotto
Major Wins
2006 Tour de Romandie
2nd place Tour de Frace 2007/08
Tour de France Stage Wins: 1



The man most likely for the last 2 years now faces a field that is going to cause him some grief in comparison to the last 2 years. Team CSC tore Cadel and his Silence - Lotto mates to shreds last year, they showed how important a strong team is to winning this whole thing - only the untouchable Eddy Mercyx could do it all by himself - hell he won the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys all in one year! Unfortunatley you still have CSC (now racing as Saxo Bank) but now you get Astana on top of that. Sadly Cadel will just not have the man power to chase down attacks from these other 2 teams, they hired last years 3rd place getter and king of the mountains Bernard Kohl - but he tested positive. So it looks like another year of pain for Cadel trying hard to chase down attacks in the mountains after he team mates have been broken. He lacks the explosiveness in the hills that Contador & Schleck have. We know he is an A grade Time trialler but he is not going to win on that this year. His best chance is if his competitors have overlooked him and he gets the chance to attack and gain some time. My opinion though - he lacks the balls. Cadel was in the lead of the Dauphiné Libéré a few weeks ago - Valverde attacked on the climb to Ventoux and Cadel could not go with him. He then complained after the stage that no one would help him chase down the attack - he obviously still lacks a basic understanding of cycling. You wear the leaders jersey, you do the chasing, no one helps, everyone works to isolate you and there is no point crying about it. Back in the Armstrong years the T-Mobile heavies of Ulrich/Vinokourov/ Kloden attacked Armstrong again and again and again after his team mates had dropped off - what did the isolated armstong do? He attacked them and broke them one by one. No point waiting Cadel, no one is going to hand the tour to you and certainly this year it is not going to be won defensively. Lets hope Cadel has learnt a few lessons, grown some balls and decides to attack - because that is the only way he is going to win this thing.

6. Michael Rogers
Columbia - Highroad
Major Wins
2004/05/06 World Time Trial Champion
2003 tour of Germany
2002 Tour Down Under
2009 Australian National TT champion

The forgotten man of Australian Cycling, a 3 time world champ who is in the elite of world cycling. He does not have the wins on the board like other racers but is a solid performer.

2 years ago he was the virtual leader on the road during stage 8 (ie. if they had of stopped the race then and there he would have been wearing yellow) but a crash and a broken collar bone ended that. Last year he missed because of illness. He was 9th in 2006 as team leader for T-Mobile. This year he finds himself witha very solid support crew, Kim Kirchen spent 4 days in yellow last year (but has stated he is riding in support of Rogers), George Hincapie, Tony Martin and Maxime Monfort have been included in the the team which strikes a balance for a Columbia who has intentions to support both Rogers winning overall and superstar sprinter Mark Cavendish wining the Green Jersey. A solid 8th without really threatening in the Giro last month said to me that Rogers was saving plenty tp be primed for a big effort here, a very strong team in support that can withstand the Astana/Saxo onslaughts that will no doubt come, i think Doger is up for a big performance.

7. Levi Leipheimer
Astana
Major Wins
2007/08/09 Tour of California
2006 Dauphiné Libéré
2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León
3rd 2007 Tour de France

Tour de France Stage wins:1

Leipheimer is a great all rounder, a brilliant Time trialler, very strong with out being explosive in the mountains He is a stage winner in the Tour and also in the Vuelta, he has actually been on the podium in both races (2nd in the Vuelta 2008 behind Contador, 3rd in the tour of France 2007 - behind Contador) He was 6th overall in the recent Tour of Italy the highest ranked Astana Rider. He is always going to finish near the leading group, he is always going to be around the mark in time trials. He is not going to win the tour but Top 5 is certainly possible again, certainly top 10. With Armstrong will form Contadors main support when the roads get vertical.

8. Carlos Sastre.
Cervelo test team
Major Wins
2008 Tour de France
3rd 2006 Tour de France

Tour de France Stage wins: 3
Last years winner, a man who has always been consistent in the mountains (has won mountain stages on all 3 grand tours) but suprised last year by taking the initiative when others could not. Not a good time trialler (except for his amazing final TT last year!) he is let down in this area as well. He won the race last year because he had the best team with the best tactician leading it. this year he is riding for a first year team without the experience, without the riders and quite frankly without the brains required. They left super domestique Simon Gerrans out of their squad, a tour de France and Giro stage winner - in the hills in the last 12 months. A man who teams were bidding over to get his ability on their side. Instead they chose a 40yo spaniard who is not ranked in the top 200 in the world. i hope they all crash and burn. In reality I don't see Sastre finishing on the podium this year although he could surprise, he will sit quiet, bide his time and if he sees a chance will take it.


9. Frank Schleck
Saxo Bank
Major Wins
2006 Amstel Gold race
Tour de France Stages: 1

He wore the yellow last year and if his Team had not decided to send Sastre up L Alpe d'Huez first he may well have come out the winner. Frank was wearing yellow at the start of the stage, Sastre attacked up the big hill first, the plan was that when the big guns caught Sastre half way up, Frank (who won up L'Alpe d'Huez in 2006) and Andy would then attack, Frank would extend his margin and ride off with the yellow jersey. Funny thing was they never caught Sastre, the rest is history. Had a solid year, Stage wins in the tour of California, placed second in the Paris- Nice, Won Tour de Luxembourg, two time national time trial champ. He has the mix, he has the team to support him. Many think his younger brother is now the better rider, but Im guesing Saxo Bank will be sending them both out to win and tactics and positions on the second last day will decide who they back to win.

10. Roman Kreuziger
Liquigas
Major wins
2004 Junior World Champion
2008 Tour de Suisse
2009 Tour de Romandie

This is my Bolter - a youngster who was 2nd in the White jersey last year behind Andy Schleck. He has had good results to start this year and will lead his team with support from Pelizotti (3rd in this years Giro) and Nabaldi. He is a great climber, a very good time trial rider. I like that Basso and Pelizotti rode the Giro and this young gun was saved for the tour. If it all goes well Kreuziger, Pelizotti and Nabaldi could have a really good race (as a team) and Kreuziger could sneak into the top 10. It just remains to be seen who the team leader is, but im betting the former Junior World champ fits the bill.


Others who will shape the race for the yellow Jersey............

Damiano Cunego (SCRATCHED - NOT RIDING)
Lampre
Major Wins
2004 Giro d'Italia
2004/07/08 Giro d'Lombardia
2008 Amstel Gold Race
2006 Tour de France White Jersey

At 22 he won the Giro, he was White Jersey winner at Le Tour in 2006. Last year he crashed when ranked 14th and had to abandon. At this years Giro he just was not good enough. He seems to be a one day specialist now and at the time of writing im not even sure if he is lining up. Sure has the talent so it will be interesting to see if he comes to support World Champ team mate Ballan or stays home to think about next years Giro?

Samuel Sanchez (SCRATCHED - NOT RIDING)
Euskaltel - Euskadi
Major Wins
2008 Olympic Road Race
3rd 2007 Vuelta d Espana

6th last year on the Tour, placed in the Vuelta, multiple placings in spring classics, olympic Gold.
An all rounder who is a very good climber, on his day can stay with the best of them, problem is consistency and he wont be able to sneak away to gain time like he has in the past, he will be marked. The men from Euskaltel - Euskadi dont do flat stages, all 9 will be there for climbing, break aways and when they are in the pyrenees it will be action stations as the team hils from the Basque region. Much stronger field this year but if he continues good results can figure in top 10 again.

Christian Vandevelde.
Garmin - Slipstream
Major Wins
2006 Tour de Luxembourg

I think he slipped under a lot of peoples guards when he finished 5th last year on the back of some good climbing offorts and a solid TT. This year he wont be getting by unnoticed, he won a stage of Paris-Nice and was part of the team that took on the Giro this year although a fall with some broken ribs casued him to withdraw. Could sneak into the top 10 here.

Andreas Kloden
Astana
Major Wins
2000 Paris - Nice
2000 Vuelta al País Vasco
2008 Tirrenno-Adriatico
2nd overall 2004/06 tour de France

A very strong all rounder who has twice stood on the podium, Kloden will find himself working hard, chasing down attacks and looking after his team mates and getting into break aways to try and nullify them. Just being there will result in a high finishing position.

Oscar Pereiro
Caisse d'Epargne
Major Wins
2006 Tour de France

Tour de France Stage wins:1

With his team mate and team leader Alejandro Valverde not competing, Pereiro becomes team leader by default. A fairly strong team who goes well in the mountains Pereiro is no chance of winning but look for his team to try and get him and team mate Arroyo into a breakaway and look for stage wins or King of the Mountain points.

Kim Kirchen
Columbia Highroad
Major Wins
2008 La Flèche Wallonne
2008/09 Luxembourg TT Champion
2004/06 Luxembourg Road Race Champion

Tour de France Stage wins: 1

7th in 2007, 8th in 2008, wore the green and Yellow last year. A solid performer who time trials well, can chase results on the flat and is competitive without threatening in the mountains. It has been stated that he will be helping Rogers but if he gets a chance on the flat or intermediate stages will go all out, might findhimslef higher up the GC and then could take over as team leader.

The 2009 Tour de France preview.

Here we are again, that time of year when the worlds greatest annual sporting event takes place.

Le Tour.

Since Christian Prudhomme took over as race director in 2005 he has sought to make the tour better every year. He has modified the format, created brilliant stages and taken a tough stance on drugs. He is an ex TV journo, so he realises that for the viewer at home the scenery can be used as a major spectacle. He also knows the value of close racing and with carefully constructed stages and by removing time bonuses and has sought to make things very tight, the last two years the margin after 3 weeks of racing has been under 1 minute - i think he has succeeded! This year the tour will have perhaps one of its most fascinating conclusions with the penultimate days racing finishing on the summit of the famed mount Ventoux - one of the most imposing climbs that has ever featured on the Tour. Having a mountain top finish so close to the end of the race will ensure an all out war on the 25th of July to decide the winner.

The Route.

Starting in Monaco on July 4th the Tour will visit a total of six nations: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy. The total length is 3,445 kilometres.

This year the tour features:

2 Individual Time Trials (15km and 40km)
1 Team Time trial
10 Flat Stages
1 Intermediate Stage
7 Mountain Stages (3 uphill finishes)

The year we have the re-introduction of the team time trial which has not been seen since 2005. The Total distance of the time trials featured is just 93 km - the shortest amount of time trialing in the tour since 1967. With only 55km of individual time trials we see Prudhomme working to negate the advantge of the strong time triallers and reduce the gaps between the competitors - it really will come down to the mountains.

The Competitors

This year of course sees the return of the King, Lance Armstrong. The seven time winner is joined in the field by past winners Alberto Contador, Carlos Sastre & Oscar Periero. Highlighting the strength of this years field are Andreas Kloden & Cadel Evans who have both finished second twice and Ivan Basso who was second to Lance in 2005. Then we have Levi Leipheimer, Dennis Menchov & Basso have also stood on the 3rd placegetters position on the podium in the past. This is a marvelous line up.

The sprinters, the Climbers, the Aussies!

Over the next week, Mattopia will preview all the teams, the leading contenders for each jersey, the aussies and of course we will have a stage by stage preview with results.

Check back daily as the build up to the tour begins!