It's A Wrap

With another Tour de France "in the can," let's review our pre-Tour picks-to-click.

Podium/Maillot Jaune: Floyd Landis - Oude Granny can gloat a bit, as I picked Floyd to win even before some of the Tour favorites were dismissed because of the allegations stemming from Operacion Puerto. The remainder of the podium was a crap shoot and our picks to finish on the podium were literally that, crap.

Maillot Vert: Robbie McEwen - Who better to know the sprinters than our own racer, 53rd Tooth. Tom Boonen pistons, which fired so powerfully earlier in the season, failed Tour-o-03 and Oude Granny.

Polka-Dot Jersey: Michael Rasmussen - The only unanimous pick of the Crankset.

White Jersey/Best Young Rider: Damiano Cunego - We were also all over the board on this one as well. Who would have thought that the Piccolo Principie would have done so well in a race that isn't his beloved Giro?

Dark Horse/Sleeper: George Hincapie - The Crankset really thought "Gentleman George" had the goods to produce, but he ended up more asleep than a sleeper.

Biggest Surprise/Who To Look Out For: Another pick the Crankset was all over the board on. Oude Granny's pick of Alejandro Valverde to limit his time losses in the ITT's seemed to be a safe one, especially after his great ride in the Prologue, but he crashed out before he could really be tested in one of the longer TT efforts. T-o-03's pick of David Millar to steal one of the ITT's came close as Millar's form started to come around, unfortunately, that day came the day before Paris (he ultimately finished 10th on Stage 19).

Biggest Disappointment: Several of our picks fit the bill in this category. T-o-03 picked Jan Ullrich, whose dismissal was certainly a disappointment to his fans. 53rd Tooth chose Alejandro Valverde, who certainly was a disappointment for crashing out (he has yet to reach Paris). But Oude Granny perhaps nailed this one on the head by picking the entire Discovery Channel cycling squad; a team with that much expectation was set up for disappointment.