2008 Tour de France Kicks Off!
The Tour de France is getting cranked up and I'm thrilled. The first stage rolls out Saturday, July 5th in Brittany, going from Brest to Plumelec, a 197.5 km stretch featuring terrain that clearly favors neither sprinters nor climbers. Along with several long and relatively flat sections, it's also quite hilly in places with four category 4 climbs and a 1.8km uphill finish. So it is is anyone's guess who will be the first to wear the yellow jersey at the end of the day.
Ready for a prediction? For the first stage, I'm betting that either George Hincapie and Thor Hushovd will take the yellow jersey, or at least end up in the top three. Cadel Evans will be nowhere to be seen in this early stage, but will emerge later on. Watch Alejandro Valverde, who beat out Evans for a victory at the recent Dauphine Libere, as he could well be there too on the podium at the end of the day Saturday.
Coverage - live and delayed recap - can be found on Versus TV. Streaming coverage online offers live streaming of the race from 6:30-8:30 a.m. ET for Stage 1 on Saturday, July 5, and from 7:00-8:30 a.m. ET for Stage 2 on Sunday, July 6. Televised coverage of the Tour de France on Versus will start at 8:30 a.m. ET both days.
Comments
Oh yeah, Valverde on the podium taking the yellow jersey. My predictions rock.