Less Than A Week To Go!
By Phil Liggett
June 30, 2008

As I write, we are less than a week away from the start of the 95th edition of
La Grande Boucle. Are you all ready? If you cannot be at some point along the
2200 miles route during July, then stay rooted to your seat and follow it with
us on Versus, as we will not miss a thing.

On Thursday, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll, Craig Hummer and myself will rendezvous in
Brest. Roll and Sherwen have been there before as riders, but for us
journalists, I think the feeling of anticipation is just the same as we look
forward with optimism in the hope that we will witness a great sporting clash
without the scandals of recent years.

On paper, qualified somewhat by recent performances in the Tour of Switzerland
and Dauphine-Libere races, one of the following will win the Tour de France in
Paris on July 27th.

In alphabetical order they are: Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Cadel Evans
(Silence-Lotto), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Carlos Sastre (Saxon-CSC), and
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne).

If they all fail, then I can give you at least 10 names to fill the podium that
would include Mauricio Soler (Barloworld), Riccardo Rico (Saunier Duval), Kim
Kirchen (Team Columbia) and Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi), in what may be
one of the most open races in years.

Following the controversial exclusion of Astana and last year's winner Alberto
Contador and his team mate, California's Levi Leipheimer, himself third in 2007,
the organisers have left out the top team of 2008. Does this mean that the
winner this time can enjoy only a hollow victory?

Perhaps, and only hindsight will help here, but it has also ensured a great
scrap over a well thought out route that starts from Brest with a tough
undulating stage to Plumelec. A sprinter may find it hard to win this first
stage.

As always, the late pullouts are the news before the start and gone are the
sprinters, Tom Boonen and Daniele Bennati, the later being injured. Boonen, who
exactly a year ago was vociferously decrying the dopers of the Tour has himself
been caught out using the social drug cocaine. What a clown!

This means our occasional dose of nail-biting sprinting will now be enacted by
Britain's Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia), South African Robbie Hunter
(Barloworld), Norway's God of Thunder, Thor Hushovd (Credit-Agricole), Spain's
Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and the grand master, Robbie McEwen (Silence-Lotto) from
Australia. Oops, I forget grand-dad Erik Zabel who is likely riding his last
Tour and will want to add to his 12 stage wins, so improving his own German
record.

Surprises are not commonplace in the Tour, and history has allowed only a
handful of little known riders to carry the greatest prize of all into their old
age.

In 1966, Lucien Aimar managed it by taking every opportunity that came his way.
He took the lead on stage 17, on the road to Turin in Italy, succeeding in Paris
without ever winning a daily stage.

He beat an excellent field, too, although most of the Italians had boycotted the
event. Guess why? They were protesting over the new anti-doping controls!

Lucien, who was on the same Ford team as the Tour legend Jacques Anquetil, laid
the foundation to his win on the road to Pau on stage 10, leaving behind his
team captain and Anquetil's bitter rival Raymond Poulidor by seven minutes.
Poulidor decided not to chase and Anquetil certainly was not going to, so the
race was lost by the two favourites before the Pyrenees had begun.

Although I have given you the obvious candidates for victory, be ready for a new
name to steal the show. The only difference in 2008 is he will become a
household name, as in the 42 years since Aimar won; the Tour de France has
become more popular than ever and is now one of the hottest news items in the
media throughout the month of July. Tour fever, for which there is no cure, is
very contagious.

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