Tour De France, anyone else getting the itch?

[slacker00]

I know it's still months away, but is anyone getting the itch to watch the Tour De France? I absolutely love it, and I'm actually glad Lance is out of it. It should open it wide open this year. Personally, I'd say that Ulrich is the "incumbent champion" and it's his race to lose, but the books disagree. I haven't even started to look at team alignments or injury/training situations. Remember Ulrich won the last TDF before Lance ripped off 7 in a row. Also remember that Ulrich has finished in the top 2 or 3 most of those 7 years. Ulrich knows how to win this race, and experience counts for quite a bit. Here's the book lines, and my leans at first glance. Good bets. Weak Bets. Not sure. unmarked=No clue. I'm not really sure why Basso is the favorite, I mean, he's a very good cyclist, but I checked a few months ago, and his number v.s. Ullrich was flip-flopped. In a sport where teamworks means a lot, I am a little concerned about Ullrich's team. But, I'll have more info closer to race time, so we'll see what's going on at that time.

Tour de France: Tour De France 2006 - Overall Winner
Sun 7/30 Overall Winner (All In)
03:00 AM 31 Ivan Basso +147
32 Jan Ullrich +273
33 Alexander Vinokourov +716
34 Alejandro Valverde +768
35 Yaroslav Popovych +2115
36 Damiano Cunego +2115
37 Levi Leipheimer +3141
38 Andreas Kloeden +7087
39 Francisco Mancebo +9265
40 George Hincapie +5673
41 Michael Rasmussen +3613
42 Cadel Evans +3258
43 Floyd Landis +1566
44 Oscar Pereiro +10000
45 Iban Mayo +10000
46 Andrey Kashechkin +10000
47 Carlos Sastre +10000
48 Haimar Zubeldia +10000
49 G. Totschnig +10000
50 David Millar +10000
51 E. Mazzoleni +10900
52 Denis Menchov +5157
53 Paolo Savoldelli +4059
54 Valdimir Karpets +10000
55 Santiago Botero +10000
56 Danilo Di Luca +10000
57 Bobby Julich +10000
58 Joseba Beloki +10000
59 G. Simoni +10000
60 Christoph Moreau +20000
61 Aitor Gonzalez +15000

[imgv94]

As much as I love you my brother, you are a dork.

GL with your Beloki and Mayo bets.
Sounds like ingredients in a sandwich.

[slacker00]

LMAO

I can't explain it. TDF just gets my adrenoline pumping. Maybe it's the fact that a rider can be literally crippled at any moment, in a "seemingly" motionless race. Guys have died in wrecks during the TDF. Every other year I see a wreck that makes me almost lose my breakfast. Maybe it's the subtle strategy and positioning. I don't know. Maybe it's just the sheer force of will, trying to climb those mountains. Watching the expression on a guys face, as he "loses it". It's unlike any other sport.

[imgv94]

Give me Ivan Basso +147

LOL!!!

[slacker00]

Give me Ivan Basso +147

LOL!!!

I've been doing some reading. IMO, there's no way Ullrich loses this year, barring some sort of catastrophic crash and/or injury.

[Illusion]

I've been doing some reading. IMO, there's no way Ullrich loses this year, barring some sort of catastrophic crash and/or injury.

I feel the same way. He finally has a chance now that Lance is gone.

[imgv94]

A guy I know from Australia loves Ullrich as well.

[slacker00]

31 Ivan Basso +128
32 Jan Ullrich +242

Here's an update from Pinnacle. Ullrich and Basso are even bigger favorites now.