VeeshanVault

Well this is for Noel and whoever else cares.. What are your views on the cycling world leading up to Tour de France? From what I have seen so far (which hasn't been much, work has kept me very busy) the Discovery team seems kind of.. lost. Lots of strange decissions during races imo. Time trial in Giro wasn't promising either. And wtf is up with Basso trying to win both Giro and Tour? Major mistake imo..

I really dislike that Basso is trying to do both. I think it's a huge mistake... That is to say he'll be competitive in both, but after such a difficult effort in the Giro, his chances of winning the tour will be nearly non-existant. All that said, he's one guy I'd like to see win both.

I'm not sure Disco is lost, but clearly there's a let down without having Armstrong's [overbearing] personality focusing on every little aspect of well... everything.

I do think Savodelli looks great for the Giro, and I think he'll win. If you look at the lineup they took to the Giro with Eki, Danielson and Rubiera I think there's a definite commitment to give Paolo a back to back.

I'd guess Popovych of Hincapie are going to be the GC riders for Disco in the Tour. I think we can count on at least 1 Disco stage win, but I have serious doubts about whether either of them can win the Overall. I think Hincapie doesn't have the ability and Popovych is too young.

On a related note, I don't expect Ullrich to be a factor for the Podium in the Tour.

Popovych will be a beast imo but not this year. Hincapie has made some strange decission I think, he doesn't have the killer instinct it seems to win it all.

I'll actually be in Europe duing both the soccer world cup and the Tour so it should be a nice summer!