Tour Loose Ends ...
Perhaps the most interesting item from yesterday's stage - unless you just happen to be a big Thor Hushovd fan - was Lance Armstrong's very public wooing of Floyd Landis. Armstrong's a co-owner of the Discovery team and probably not too thrilled with its subpar performance in this year's tour. Hincapie revealed that he's probably no more than an uber domestique, Savoldelli saves his best for the Giro and Popovych didn't take that next step from young talent to Tour contender. So why not bring on the top American rider to lead the top American team?
First, all of this talk is purely hypothetical until we see how Landis responds to his hip replacement surgery. Assuming he does come back though, I don't think Phonak/I Shares will let him go without a fight. Landis dedicated his Tour win to the team owner and Phonak stood by him after he revealed to them, "oh by the way, my hip is decaying." So there are loyalty issues. Add in the fact that Floyd and Lance have never been bosom buddies, and you could see why Landis might pass on the invite.
On the other hand, it's a chance to race for an American team - and get all the attention and endorsements that go with that. And Discovery, despite its difficulties, is still a much stronger team than Phonak, which played the Jordanaires to Landis's Elvis in this year's Tour. So maybe that will win out in the end. We'll see.
Before we part for a while, dear cycling fans (I use the plural form loosely), let's look at who might be a favorite for next year's Tour.
1) Floyd Landis. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so he's going to have an artificial hip by then. Did you see what he did in Stage 17?
2) Ivan Basso. Depends heavily on what happens when Operation Puerto comes to a close. (Ha! I love punning in Spanish). But if Basso escapes any punishment, there's no reason to assume he won't be the man to beat in 2007, as he would have been this year.
3) Alejandro Valverde. My guy at the beginning of this race until he wrecked very, very early on. I liked what I saw of him in the 2005 Tour. Will he Valverde have his Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears teammates Oscar Pereiro around? And will Oscar be willing to go back to being a lieutenant rather than a team leader?
4) Andreas Kloden. I just can't get too excited about him. Yes, he rode a great time trial to make the podium - his second podium spot in three years. But I've never - ever - seen him do anything special in the mountains. And unless you're far and away the best time trialer - i.e. Indurain back in the day - you have to do more than just hang around in the Alps and the Pyrenees.
That's it. I'm keeping the list short and sweet. I would add the young Italian Damiano Cunego, but I've heard he may just focus on the Giro next year. The guy's only 24. He's got time.
Leipheimer's time has come ... and gone. I think Denis Menchov and Cadel Evans revealed themselve to be top 10 Tour guys, but not future winners. Carlos Sastre probably fades back to becoming Basso's right hand man. Ullrich? He's unemployed.