Credit Agricole's Mistake

[sspielman]

It looks like it was a BIG mistake for Credit Agricole not to renew the contract of Christophe Moreau....He is sitting in 12th at 2:07. He is pretty good at limiting his losses in the mountains, and is usually good for a couple of good days there as well. I am predicting a podium finish for him...which will be pretty good for AG2R.

[Climb01742]

he could certainly be riding with that extra motivation to prove CA wrong. as i remember it last year, the news that he wasn't going to be resigned pissed him off pretty good. ah, vengeance.

[Fat Robert]

for moreau...a big maybe. he was 2nd overall after a couple of mountain stages last year, and then had a big collapse. he had one good tour with festina, and since then (2000), nothing much. he usually has one awful day in the mountains, and, according to his ex-teammates, tends to ride on his moods, which are, politely put, variable. he's good for french cup races, which is sort of like the patriot league of euro pro bike racing, and an occasional high finish in a week-long french stage race.

credit agricole did what any team would do -- looked at past results, looked at patterns, looked at his age, then made their decision. it was better to make it the young consistant star's team (in this case, thor hushovd). this policy usually works unless its november of 1995 and you are dan duquette.

[saab2000]

Christophe Moreau has for the past 8 years or so been the best French rider. But he is unlikely to ever win the Tour. He is not consistent enough. Consistent enough to be good, not enough to win.

That is not to imply that he is not a terrific rider though, cuz he is. But it would take a colossal miracle for him to win.

[Fat Robert]

and gontchar may prove to be tougher than those who haven't watched the giro closely since 1996 may think

he's maybe five years past his best, but he's podiumed in the giro and been a consistent top 10 finisher in that race. he won't lose the jersey tomorrow, and depending on how well he recovers he may not lose it thursday.

my gut feeling is that there are a small number of guys -- four or five-- who can really win this race. there may not be a lot of time separating a number of good riders right now, but when you look at their history, tendencies, and team support, i don't think there are that many real contenders right now. we'll see after alpe d'huez.... its like 1997. lejaretta, mottet and bernard were entertaining, but that race was roche-delgado. everyone else was just following the fight.

[saab2000]

and gontchar may prove to be tougher than those who haven't watched the giro closely since 1996 may think



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