TdF All Star Team (version 2)

Usually when I pick my TdF All-Star team I use this formula: 2 GC riders, 2 climbers, 2 sprinters, 1 time trial specialist, and 2 domestiques. There is usually a little problem with the GC riders in that they are also the best climbers and/or time trialists. I’m going to deviate from the mold slightly. Also, the expulsions in the 2007 Tour have thrown in a wrinkle. OK, the departure of Cofidis had no effect on any awards. Astana was headed for glory before they were shown the door, as was Rasmussen. Excluding Astana makes sense since they weren’t around for half the race. I’m going to look over Rasmussen, but I won’t argue (much) with Stephen if he includes him.

Enough talk…here is the vaunted list of venerable TdF studs.

Bert Contador, Cadel Evans, and Levi Leipheimer are no-brainers. Part of the reason I’m not classifying these guys by position is that I can’t say Leipheimer was the better time trialist or that Evans was the better climber. They were both awesome at both. Just look at it this way—these 3 were separated by 31 seconds and the 4^th place man was 7 minutes behind. They were separated only slightly among themselves, but by a huge margin vs. the rest of the field.

Tom Boonen and Robbie Hunter are my sprinters, which is also pretty obvious. Boonen was the best sprinter by a lot. Although Zabel was very close to Hunter on points, Hunter got a stage win, so that’s the difference.

Mauricio Soler fits the profile of the pure climber and gets a spot on the All-Star team. Winning the KoM isn’t an automatic ticket, but this guy earned it. He didn’t disappear on the final climb or on the day after a big ride like some other phony climbers who have won this jersey in the past. He would have won even if Rasmussen had remained in the race.

Domestiques: Yaroslav Popovych was the best domestique in the race. His pacesetting separated the elite from the pretenders, and he did it repeatedly. Instead of punching out, he held on for a high finish day after day to propel Discovery in the team competition. Perhaps his key moment was in the Alps when, seemingly spent after a long breakaway, he was caught by Contador and then pointed to his back wheel. He paced Contador as he rode away from…Evans and Leipheimer, et al. Michael Boogerd earned a spot on the All-Star team in his service to Rasmussen. Setting the pace in the mountains was supposed to be his job, but he essentially pulled a double shift since Denis Menchov was worthless. My last spot goes to Gert Steegmans. Gert accidentally won Stage 2 as he lead out Boonen. Beyond that, Steegmans was ALWAYS Boonen’s number one man in the lead out. I was tempted to put Fabian Cancellara on the team because his first week was so great, but he doesn’t make the cut because his time trial in Albi was terrible. He finished 107^th in Albi and only 12^th in the final time trial.

Other awards:

Best moment: Like I said before, the 15-20 minutes in the final time trial between Leipheimer’s second time check and the time Contador crossed the finish line was riveting. The Tour was up in the air for the top 3 guys. At every moment I wondered if Leipheimer could maintain his pace (he did), if Evans was losing too much (he didn’t), or if Contador was getting faster at the end (he was).

Worst moment: One week ago I was sure it was Vino’s blood doping, but we sunk to a new low with the expulsion of Rasmussen. On the day he practically clinched the victory he got yanked for violating team rules. He’s never tested positive for dope, and the only public evidence against him is heresy. Oddly, the Tour and the doping police beat themselves up, saying they were failures. Maybe that was to obscure the fact that they had been railroading Rasmussen since the Tour started.

Iron man award: None. Nobody endured an extraordinary injury. Well, it could have been Vinokourov, but, you know. However, I will salute Stuart O’Grady, who, after crashing out with 5 broken ribs, a broken collar bone, and broken vertebrae, said, “Sign me up for the Vuelta.”

Best Surprise: Well, clearly Contador is, and then Soler. To avoid repetition, I’ll mention Linus Gerdemann. He got a stage win and wore the yellow jersey for a day. Surprisingly, he rode a good final time trial, so he’s got the endurance to make it through 3 weeks of Tour. As far as the most surprising team: obviously Barloworld.

Most disappointing:
Individual—Chris Moreau. He was a no-show. He couldn’t even muster a couple good days, much less a good tour.
Team—Banesto had 4 men in the top 15, so it’s not right to call them disappointing, but they did it anonymously. Really, I only remember seeing them as they were getting dropped by all the riders who were trying to make things happen. These guys were super talented, but it looked like they were watching the race.

Best tactical move: Discovery placed Popovych in the breakaway on Stage 9, setting up Contador. The worst tactical move was Michal Rogers’ decision to go on a long breakaway on the first mountain stage. The gutsiest move was Carlos Sastre’s desperate all day attack on stage 16. It didn’t work in terms of getting on the podium, but it did help him hold off Valverde, Popovych, and Kirchen (hence, I praise him and criticize Rogers).