Interesting reading throughout these comments.­ Naturally as a Lance fan, I want him to do well in­ 2010, but not sure he can pull it off. Would like to­ see him on the podium, but I must agree with most, top­ 10 is probably the best he can do. I would love to see­ the Schleck brothers do well. Andy is a great climber,­ but, yes he needs quite a bit of work in his TT skills,­ but he mentioned after the tour last year, that he­ would take the winter and work on it. I also wonder how­ well Alberto and Vino will hit it off?? Hopefully some­ of these, and many other questions, might be answered,­ or given more inside, even before the Tour of 2010.­ Maybe the Tour Downunder, will give out some answers.

I like Nibali this year on the podium at the Tour de­ France. It may not happen, but he and Roman showed­ some signs of maturing in the 2009 Tour de France. I­ think Nibali and Krueziger can stay close in the­ mountains.
Contador is still the best cyclist in the­ last two years & will be strong in the Tour de­ France. Lance vs Contador is more an invention of the­ media than fact. I don't believe that Armstrong­ today is a strong enough rider to compete with­ Contador. I also see Armstrong as a top ten­ finisher.
I like Andy, but unless he can be a better­ time trialist and somehow pull away from Contador in­ the mountains,
second is the best he can do.
My wish­ list for the 2010 TDF is Contador, A Schleck, Nibali.

I agree this AC - LC thing is boring and we all know AC­ is at this moment in time stronger then Lance. I want­ nothing more to see neither of them on the podium nor­ do I wish to see RS controlling the race from start to­ finish. In fact the tours of recent years, without LC,­ were far more exciting. Although the Astana, Bruyneel,­ AC, LC soap opera has had it's time it is serving­ it's purpose by keeping everyone tuned in and very­ much interested. Much like all the doping scandals it­ is keeping our sport in the news and people are paying­ attention. I argue that cycling in North America is­ more popular now then it has ever been. More bikes are­ being sold, more sponsorship dollars are being made­ available and more races are being covered at an­ international level.
Look at some of the top teams in­ the peloton today.
Cervelo Test Team - Canadian­ Company
Garmin - USA
Columbia - USA
BMC - USA
Radio­ Shack - USA
I am Canadian and love the fact I can watch­ any race and see Canadians now competing and doing­ well. It wasn't to long ago that Michael Barry was­ the only Canadian in the Pro Tour ranks and US Postal /­ Discovery was the only NA team.
All this in the last­ few years. Coincidence?

Nibali is a follower in my view, rather like Kloeden,­ Zubeldia, Evans etc. He's a consistently good­ climber and TT rider, but isn't up there with the­ best at either. That said, he's very young, so has­ plenty of time.

Shiek - yes Nibali does look promising based on this­ years TDF but it would be good to see him get some­ proper results outside of Liquigas. Unfortunatley they­ are a big team with questionable ethics. (not my wild­ statement...its a fact)

19 Paul - some good points mate but disagree with your­ Leipheimer post.. LL is more comfortable and better as­ a 2nd Team Leader. At Rabbobank he was GC Leader and­ never looked like winning a Grand Tour.. he is­ essentially a week long Stage Race Leader as you said­ but the problem is he's won these already and so­ wants the Grand Tours... but when the big tour pressure­ is on LL doesn't have what it takes to beat the­ best.. Having said that I like him alot and wish him­ well but as for him being capable of taking on and­ beating a Schlek, Contador, Armstrong, Evans, Valverde,­ Nibali I can't see it...

PS - Why does no-one seem­ to mention Nibali.. am expecting big things from him­ this year..

Great post @Paul. Of course, it's all-out for the­ Tour - you can tell that with the roster of riders -­ super domestiques and strongmen, who can ride on the­ front all day in the wind. There's not a rider­ there with the class to contests the classics. Makes­ you wonder whether RadioShack will go the same way as­ Discovery. When LA retires again, the sponsors and US­ public aren't interested in cycling and it all­ folds in again..........until the next comeback?! ­ Paul's right about the whole AC v LA thing, it is­ boring. Frankly, LA doesn't (by any reasonable­ measure) present a real threat to AC. Nor does any­ other rider, really, in overall terms.

Yes Radioshack will be in the limelight in July but­ before that no no no...look at the team list­ "contest victories on all fronts in 2010" i­ don't think so! Thats just PR BS. Steegmans may­ have had the legs once but doesnt appear to have the­ head or heart for it. We will see in the Spring.

Apart­ from Leipheimer (who should have had more confidence in­ himself and gone elsewhere as a stage race leader) I­ dont think anyone else listed won a single race in­ 2009. (i'm sure someone will bother to correct me)­ It's a TDF team plan and simple. With ONE clear­ leader - what's the problem with that? Nothing!­

The last time i checked i think the TDF are intending­ there to be 200 riders on the start line next July so­ maybe some of you should start looking a little wider.­ This LA vs AC argument will be very tiring if you­ continue for another 8 months!

And finally to spark a­ bit of debate - I wonder how many you LA fans have­ actually parted with hard cash and placed a bet on him­ making it 8? mmmn not many i'd guess. For the­ record i like both LA and AC for different reasons;­ most of all i'm a cycling fan! More love, less­ hate!

I'd like to see Andy Shleck win, but in order to do­ so, he needs a 10% improvement in his TTing and a more­ explosive change of pace, as AC has the ability to­ attack and ride away from him when the going gets tough­ - Schleck is more of a diesel engine. Schleck will be­ more comfortable in the wind and pave in the first­ week, but can't see him gaining bundles of time­ there, unless something drastic happens (ie AC crashes­ or has mechanical).

and yes he doped 2006, and likely 2007 not 2009

andy shcleck for 2010

Johan and Lance destroy strongest team on the world,­ that is a fact. Johan from finish TDF09 work for­ Radioshack, beside he is payed from Astana till­ 31december. But, there is a God in the sky, after­ TDF2010, Contador is going to have 3rd win on TDF,­ 5grand tours. Lance with 39years could dream on, of any­ win in grand tours ever again. I was a fan of Lance,­ many years before, but he's comeback is so­ disapoint me as a man, that i forget he's great TDF­ 7 wins, and he not deserve to win again.

Kloden has been dogged by allegations of long-term­ blood doping and specific links to the Frieberg Clinic­ since the 2006 TdF. Only recently, Kloden bought his­ way out of the investigation by paying a fine to­ distance himself from the Sinkewitz revelations. ­ I'm aware that the payment of this fine is not­ considered an admission of guilt (in German law), but­ why pay it (25,000 euros), if he has nothing to­ hide?

As for Steegmans, his refusal to sign­ Katusha's anti-doping pledge is just plain­ smelly.

Personally, I'm convinced that there are­ skeletons in closets throughout the pro peleton, many­ of which will never properly come to light, as many of­ the riders have moved on an cleaned up their act. But­ many of them weren't always that way.

last six months pedro? Would you like to inform me what­ kloedens done since the end of the season?

I'm not so sure about the decision to hire­ Steegmans and Kloden, both of which have been involved­ in doping 'issues' over the last 6 months.

No one ever seemed to mind riding with AC before LA­ crashed the party?! LA has simply get deep pockets and­ prefers to ride (or boss around) riders he knows. ­ I'm sure there's a bit fo spite there too and­ he was only to happy to take a swipe at Astana and­ Contador in the process. You have to remember, there­ was a period of time when the former Astana riders­ didn't get paid and I'm sure they haven't­ forgotten that. Given there's no TTT this year,­ all AC has to do is stay out of trouble in the wind and­ pave. Whilst light, he seems to be a good bike handler­ and don't expect him to lose more time that he can­ pull back in a single mountain stage. Frankly, LA is­ deluding himself if he thinks he has a genuine chance­ of winnning the TdF in 2010 - top 10, I reckon, by­ following Levi/Kloden/Zubeldia's wheels.

Sorry Singletrack your love for Bruyneel is blinding­ you. Bruyneel has worked out a formula for winning the­ grand tours - that does not make him the greatest DS­ working today. The season is more than just GTs. Lets­ also be honest about how he achieves those wins -­ through systematic organised programmes. It's no­ coincidence that most of LA's domestiques­ subsequent to leaving the team have tested­ positive.

The Contador team saga is dull. But you­ can't blame him for turning Specialized against QS.­ Specialized aren't stupid, they've built a­ global brand on great acumen and marketing prowess. ­ It's they who have nailed their colours to the­ contador mast not visa-versa.

And Hairy-Tongue - spot­ on - its driven by money nothing more nothing less.

Agree with Mercurycu and singletrack. All those riders­ who bailed on Astana and Contador would get paid BIG­ money on many other teams-not just RadioShack. After­ AC's campaign to stock Astana full of other Spanish­ riders, it's interesting that they also left in­ droves. Contador and Vino....Godzilla vs. Rodan?

Do any of you guys know ANYTHING about cycling? I mean,­ anything? Anything at all? I'm not a Contador fan­ in the least bit... but lets have "some"­ perspective. Why did the ex-Astanas go to RadioShack?­ The same reason anybody takes on any job... money. Or­ you think they're there for the greater good of­ Lance and get paid in powerbars. Johan? Is hands down­ the best in the business... but that style has stripped­ cycling of the epic moments that make US cyclist love­ it. Ban race radios? You betcha!!!

There is not a cycling fan that is happier at the­ moment then I. I am not a LA fan but am a Bruyneel fan.­ I love that Contababy was abandoned by Bruyneel and his­ team mates. I love that he had no option but to stay­ with Astana and I can't wait to see the drama­ unfold between Contagina and Vino! What is up with­ working out a private bike deal for himself? Good for­ QuickStep and thank god Garmin didn't get stuck­ with him either. I can't believe this guy destroyed­ the relationship between one if the top pro tour teams­ in the world and Specialized. If that doesn't­ scream selfish I don't know what does.
Martin! This­ is ALL about nobody wanting to stay with Contador. If­ it wasn't he'd be on Radioshack. Bruyneel is­ the best manager in cycling today, this is why the­ other riders went to RS. I just want the 2010 season to­ get going, it's going to be epic!