Former racer and ex-Telekom/T-Mobile manager, Walter Godefroot, weighed in with his thoughts on this year's Tour de France in a candid chat with Sporza following the conclusion of the 50 kilometer battle. Unsurprisingly, the 67-year-old former winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen was impressed with the 2010 version of Andy Schleck. While giving a tip of the hat to Contador as the deserved victor, Godefroot feels that the sky is the limit for Schleck.
"Schleck's performance was magnificent. Contador was the deserved winner of the Tour, but Schleck was much stronger this year. He can still improve. I think Contador is closer to his limit though.
Of course, mention of an ever improving Schleck and a more stably fantastic Alberto Contador would seem to evoke visions of an even more entertaining Tour de France, Godefroot is cautious in his prediction for 2011.
"Will next year be even more exciting? Maybe, but in a Grand Tour of three weeks, a lot can happen."
While Schleck and Contador will forever be the story of the 2010 Tour de France, the surprise of July is unquestionably Belgium's fifth placed overall hero, Jurgen Van den Broeck. The 27-year-old came into the Tour with ambitions of only making the top ten, and consistently reminded the media that his one and only aspiration for the 2010 Tour was a spot in the top ten. His eventual 5th place finish, however, was a significant achievement according to Godefroot.
"Jurgen Van den Broeck is the the surprise of this Tour. He has surpassed everyone's expectations. A fifth place is much stronger than the tenth spot in Paris."
While the three-time Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner was impressed with the budding Grand Tour star, he says that winning the Tour de France could prove a difficult nut to crack.
"Winning the Tour will be difficult, but he should be able to win a stage. However, I think he has the capacities to win the Giro or the Vuelta. If Cunego can win one, Jurgen should definitely be able to as well."
It is an honest, and typically blunt sentiment from one of the older generation's plain speakers. As Michael Rogers pointed out earlier this year: there are very few riders who are legitimate Tour de France contenders. Only a select few can really lay claim to legitimate chances at overall glory. The experienced, extremely successful Russian, Denis Menchov, a winner of both the Giro and the Vuelta, finally edged his way onto the Tour's podium in Paris, but still never really threatened the domination of the top two, Contador and Schleck. Van den Broeck will more than likely focus everything on the Tour de France for 2011, but it wouldn't be a poor idea to aim for one of the lesser Grand Tours either.