Mt. Ventoux has always forced a selection when included in the Tour de France. I believe it has forced a selection of a different sort without even being part of the 2007 course.
Teams are looking very closely at riders who are “on the bubble” for the final selection of their respective Tour squads. In a previous post, I worried about the fates of American riders making their teams. Watching the Dauphine Libere, I saw two ride CSC heading in different directions.
Watching Bobby Julich in the grupetto caused me to feel that he may be riding off the tour squad. I hope I am wrong as he can add some leadership to the squad. At the other end of the peloton, Dave Zabriskie showed more maturity as an all around rider. I believe this is important for him to progress from time trial specialist to a more valuable rider. Dave Z. may have ridden onto the squad.
